To turn a blog into a printed book, edit the archive into a book manuscript first; do not simply print every post in date order. Choose a reader and one clear subject, select only relevant posts, remove web-only elements, reorganize the material into chapters, then review the complete PDF at book size.
A book made from posts is most useful when the posts already form a coherent record—such as a garden journal, long-running travel series, specialist tutorials or a family history blog. The printed edition should make sense to someone who never saw the original website.
Step 1: Back up the source and make a post inventory
Start with your own blog account and save an export or backup before editing. In WordPress, Tools → Export can create a WXR XML file containing selected posts and related WordPress data. WordPress documents WXR as a transfer/import format, so treat it as a content backup—not as a print-ready PDF. The official WordPress Export Screen guide explains what an export contains.
Make a simple spreadsheet with these columns:
| Column | What to record | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Post ID / URL | Original post reference | Lets you return to the source and check images or links. |
| Title and date | Original headline and publication date | Preserves provenance while you reorder the book. |
| Theme / chapter | One proposed chapter or “exclude” | Stops the book becoming an undifferentiated archive. |
| Rights / assets | Your text, contributor, image source, permission status | Flags content you should not reproduce without checking. |
| Action | Keep, combine, update, excerpt, omit | Makes the editorial decision visible before layout. |
Step 2: Pick one reader and one book promise
Finish this sentence: “This book helps ______ understand or remember ______.” If you cannot fill it in specifically, your selection is probably too broad.
For example, a five-year travel blog could become a book about one route and the decisions behind it, rather than 60 dated posts about every trip. A home-gardening blog could become a seasonal guide for a particular climate, but only if the advice still fits the reader and conditions you name. These are planning examples; do not reuse another writer’s material or present a personal archive as tested universal advice.
Step 3: Sort posts into a chapter map
- Group posts into three to seven provisional themes.
- Under each theme, place posts in the order a new reader needs them—not automatically in publication order.
- Mark repeated explanations. Keep the clearest version, and add a short bridge where two useful posts need context to connect.
- Move off-topic, outdated or incomplete posts to “exclude” until you decide whether they need an update.
- Read only the chapter titles and post headings. If their sequence does not tell a clear story or learning path, rearrange before formatting.
Simple example: a travel blog might group “planning,” “arrival,” “walking the route” and “what I would change” as chapters. The book can retain dates in a small source note while presenting the actual reading order by task. A memoir-style blog may work better chronologically. Let the material and reader decide.
Step 4: Convert web posts into book pages
Copy selected posts into one manuscript document, preserving the source URL and date in your inventory. Then do a print-editing pass:
- Remove navigation menus, newsletter sign-up boxes, cookie notices and repeated “read next” prompts.
- Replace “click here” with a descriptive note or a short readable URL. Check every link you keep; a web address that is useful today may be broken later.
- Decide what to do with comments. Do not silently treat another person’s comment as your own writing; get permission before including identifiable contributions.
- Replace references such as “last week,” “in the post below” or “see the photo in this link” with dates, section names or a proper caption.
- Update facts only where you can verify them. If a dated post is retained as a historical record, label the original date instead of quietly rewriting it as current guidance.
- Use consistent title levels, image captions, spelling and units throughout the manuscript.
For a WordPress site, the Print My Blog plugin listing describes options for selecting posts, removing site furniture and generating print/PDF output. Automated output can speed up collection, but it cannot decide which posts belong together, verify your rights, repair old links or proofread the finished book for you.
Step 5: Check image ownership and print quality
Review each photograph, illustration, chart, logo and guest contribution. Confirm that your right to display it on the website also covers reproduction in a printed book and the intended audience. Check contributor agreements, stock-photo licenses and any client or privacy restrictions before including the material. If you cannot verify permission, replace the item or leave it out.
Use original image files where possible. Inspect them at their actual size in the book layout; a large image on screen can become soft or pixelated when enlarged on paper. Ask your chosen printer about exact image resolution, color and bleed requirements because they vary by production process.
Step 6: Make the front and back matter
A website reader can see your author profile and blog navigation; a book reader cannot. Add only the context the printed reader needs:
- A title page naming the book and author.
- A short introduction explaining what was selected and how the posts are organized.
- A contents page matching the final chapter order.
- Image credits, acknowledgments or source notes where appropriate.
- A short closing note with a current website or contact method, if you want readers to find later work.
Step 7: Export and proof the whole book
- Confirm the print size and required page order with the printer before setting up the full document.
- Export the interior as the file type the printer requests. Do not assume a web archive, WXR XML file or browser printout is ready for binding.
- Check the contents page against the final chapter order and inspect page breaks, blank pages, headings, captions, tables and image crops.
- Search the PDF for leftovers such as “click here,” broken URLs, newsletter prompts, “above/below,” duplicated text and missing-image markers.
- Review the digital proof from beginning to end before approving production. Reopen the final exported file after any revision to make sure you are checking the version you will submit.
WordPress’s documentation on site exports and its Print My Blog guide can help with content extraction; neither replaces the editorial and page-by-page checks above.
Final checklist
- The book has one reader, one promise and a deliberate chapter sequence.
- Every selected post is complete, relevant and either current or clearly dated.
- Web-only calls to action and broken-reference traps have been fixed.
- Third-party images, comments and guest writing have been cleared or removed.
- The correct-size print PDF has been reviewed page by page and matches the printer’s instructions.
When your manuscript and files are ready, YourBookBound’s US$99 standard service includes one hardcover, human file review, layout and cover support, a digital proof with revisions, and standard tracked worldwide delivery. Send the finished files for a free check before paying. The service produces your supplied material; it does not select or rewrite blog posts, clear third-party rights, assign an ISBN, publish the book or distribute it to retailers. The site and support are currently in English.