If you've been writing a blog or newsletter for a few years, you probably already have most of a book. What you don't have is the book itself — and the gap between the two is bigger than copying posts into a document. Posts are written to stand alone, repeat each other, and refer to things that were happening that week. A book needs an arc. This guide covers how to choose and order your posts, get the text out of WordPress, Substack or Medium, handle rights and images, and turn the result into an ebook and a print-ready PDF.
The short version: don't compile, edit. Pick a single promise for the book, keep only the posts that serve it, put them in an order that builds, and write the connective tissue — an introduction, transitions, a conclusion — that turns a collection into a book.
1. Choose Posts Around One Promise
Write one sentence: who the book is for and what they'll get from it. "For first-time managers: the twelve conversations that decide whether your team trusts you." Then go through your archive with that sentence open, and keep only what serves it.
- Categories and series are a head start. If you already grouped posts by topic or ran a series, that's often a ready-made skeleton.
- Length: a short nonfiction ebook can work from around 20,000 words; many land between 30,000 and 50,000. At 1,500 words a post, that's roughly 15 to 30 posts plus new material.
- Cut ruthlessly: announcements, news reactions, and posts that make the same point twice all dilute the book.
2. Order Them So the Book Builds
Publication order is almost never the right order for a book. Three structures that work:
- Chronological — for memoir, travel, and project diaries.
- Foundations to advanced — for how-to and expertise books.
- Question by question — ordered by the questions your readers actually ask, in the order they ask them.
Once the posts are in order, the gaps become obvious: a concept used before it's explained, a jump that needed a bridge. Write short transitions to fill them, an introduction that says why the book exists and who it's for, and a conclusion that tells the reader what to do next. That new writing is also what makes the book worth buying for people who already read the blog.
3. Get the Text Out
| Platform | How to export | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Tools → Export | An XML file with all posts |
| Substack | Settings → Exports | A zip archive with each post as HTML |
| Medium | Settings → Download your information | A zip archive with each story as HTML |
| Anything else | Open each post, copy the text | Clean text, one post at a time |
Exports are great as a backup, but for building the book it's usually fastest to open the posts you selected and copy the text in your chosen order. Menu names change from time to time, so if you can't find the option, search the platform's help for "export".
4. Rights, Images, and Freely Available Content
You own the copyright to what you wrote. A few things inside your posts may not be yours to reuse:
- Images: check the license on every stock photo, and replace anything you can't confirm. Screenshots of other people's work need the same care.
- Quotes and embeds: embedded social posts and long quotes become quotations in a book. Keep them short, attribute them, and cut what you don't need.
- People: if you wrote about clients, colleagues or family, think about whether they'd be comfortable seeing it in print.
If you publish on Amazon KDP, be aware that books containing content that's freely available online can trigger a request to confirm you hold the rights, and enrolling in KDP Select (which puts the ebook in Kindle Unlimited) requires the ebook to be exclusive to Amazon. Restructuring and adding new material addresses both — and gives existing readers a reason to buy. Check KDP's current help pages for the exact rules.
5. Turn It Into an Ebook and a Print PDF
You need two files: an EPUB for ebook stores, and a PDF at a fixed trim size for paperback. Each chapter should start with a real heading so the ebook gets a working table of contents — our formatting guide explains why this matters.
With DraftZero's free manuscript formatter, you paste the assembled text (or upload a .txt or .md file), choose a trim size — 6 × 9 in is the KDP standard, with 5.5 × 8.5, 5 × 8 and A5 also available — and download an EPUB and a PDF with a cover page, table of contents and page numbers. No signup.
6. Price It and Publish
A blog-based book is usually priced like other nonfiction in its niche. If you use KDP, the 70% royalty band between $2.99 and $9.99 matters more than any other pricing decision — our Kindle pricing guide walks through it — and the right categories and keywords decide whether anyone outside your existing audience finds it.
Checklist
- One sentence: who it's for and what they get
- Posts selected against that sentence; the rest cut
- An order that builds, with transitions, an introduction and a conclusion written
- Images, quotes and people checked
- EPUB and print PDF produced and proofread on a phone and on paper
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep the posts on my blog after publishing the book?
Generally yes, but it can conflict with KDP Select exclusivity and may prompt a rights check on Amazon. Many authors keep the posts up and make the book the expanded, reorganized edition.
How many posts do I need?
Enough for around 20,000 words at minimum for a short ebook — often 15 to 30 posts, plus new writing to connect them.
Should I rewrite the posts?
Lightly. Remove time-sensitive references ("last week", "this year"), repeated introductions, and calls to subscribe. Keep your voice; it's why readers came.
Last reviewed: September 25, 2026. Platform export menus and KDP policies can change.