I’m happy to see several blogs that I read regularly mentioned in this article, including Maud Newton and Old Hag. Also, I’ve worked a bit with Kate Lee in the past (isn’t “currently a twenty-seven-year-old assistant” a strange place in that sentence for her age?). Obviously there are some authors of big books who also have big blogs, like Andrew Sullivan and Terry Teachout. But I don’t think you’d want to try to convert a blog into a book in any way. I mean, isn’t the whole point of a blog that it’s not a book — it’s a completely different format and forum. I was encouraged by the article recognizing that it’s a blog’s “brand” that should be transferred into potential publications, not the blog itself.
Wonkette should definitely have a book. She’s cuter than the drawing of her at the top of the blog!
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I think it’s definitely true that a lot of bloggers are people who might otherwise be writers but aren’t, perhaps because of lack of time, commitment, or (let’s face it) skill. It’s smart to scan blogs for potential talent; on the other hand, is there really a shortage of people who want to be professional or semi-professional writers in this world? (Perhaps there is a lack of people with the skill and interest to become lucrative writers).
As you know, I keep 3 blogs, and 2 of them are professionally related, and there is a good chance that I will turn parts of what I write in those 2 into work-related articles — who knows, maybe even a book.
But this blog? Not yet. Not until I settle into some kind of theme that I want to develop (which I have, I just need the willpower to do it!)
I think a TV commentary show is a closer cousin to a blog than a book is.
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