I was asked to review the book 62 Blog Posts to Overcome Blogger’s Block by Marcie Hill before it went out to the public and I was glad to do it for more than one reason. Marcie is a very good writer who’s got a lot of accomplishments, and I was honored to be given a preview copy. Also, I’m in the book; yeah, kind of a vanity thing but you folks know me; I’m going to tell it like it is. And I’m not getting paid for this; y’all know how I roll. 😉
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First off, this isn’t a piece of fluff. It comes in around 166 pages and was well researched, as it took her a long time to compile everything and put it into a proper order. There are a lot of examples throughout the book, which helps to make it an easier read and I have to admit that sometimes I got caught up in wanting to look up the specific article examples she shared to comment on them; I did do that a few times anyway.
She separates the book into 11 main categories, then has multiple categories within. For instance, the section that includes me is listed under “multimedia posts”, and under that there are 10 more specific titles. I’m listed under “audio” because of the ReadSpeaker option I have on my blogs where people can listen instead of always having to read the entire thing. Of course my own vanity told me there were multiple places I would have fit in, but truthfully I’m not sure I’ve seen all that many blogs using the program I do so that makes a lot of sense and shows the type of research she did looking for things both common and uncommon.
The book is kind of a dichotomy; I love that. In one respect it’s laid out like a course, and Marcie indicated in the Google Hangout video interview I and my Hot Blog Tips buddy Brian Hawkins did with her, which is below, that she’s hoping to turn it into a training class of some sort. In the other respect it’s easy to read and get through relatively quickly because there’s not a lot of prose, instead opting for a list style of presentation which is easier to understand while having prose to explain the story behind what you’re about to see before she gives you the example.
I think you’d be impressed with some of the names that are in this book, all with approval. At least I am since I know a lot of these people. I highlight specifically Vernessa Taylor, who I highlighted in my Black Web Friday series and also thanked for creating some virtual book covers for two of my books, as she helped Marcie with some graphics as well as being highlighted in the book. A few other names, buddies of mine if you will, includes: Ileane Smith, Ching Ya, Ben Barden, Justin Germano, and Kristi Hines, and a couple of big names such as Darren Rowse and Chris Brogan; you really can’t have a major book about blogging without those two in my opinion.
The book can be purchased from Marcie’s site only at this time, and there’s also a companion guide that can be purchased as well. I’m going to tell you this up front; the book isn’t cheap. It is thorough though, so if you’re looking for blogging guidance or information you should at least check it out; after all, I’m on page 37. 🙂 If you’d like to see another review of the book check out this post by Sharon Hurley Hall, who was featured in my last Black Web Friday post.
And now, the interview:
