Yonhap Feature) Blogosphere becomes 'Blue Ocean' for publishing houses

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, May 7 (Yonhap) -- She is an author of four steady-selling books, hundreds
of thousands of them sold while the country teeters on the edge of a recession.
But it is not pen and paper, but the blogosphere that continues to inspire Moon
Sung-sil, a stay-home-mom and a self-acknowledged blog addict.
"I debuted through the blog, and it remains a limitless space that motivates me,"
said the 34-year-old author who runs www.moonsungsil.com, visited by more than
2,000 each day.
Moon started blogging in 2004, uploading pictures of her newborn twins. What
started out as a personal journal turned into something else altogether after she
began to post "quickie recipes" for busy moms like herself.
The blogosphere loved Moon's cooking advices, and so did the publishing industry.
Within six months, Moon was contacted by editors and literary agents. Now, Moon
is dubbed the country's pioneer of "wifeloggers" and is the credited author of
"Preparing Meals while Raising Twins" and three more cook books.
"I never expected this much attention," Moon admitted. "Publishing a book under
my name was an overwhelming experience, but my heart remains in the blogosphere.
I feel loyal to my first fans."
In South Korea, the world's most wired country, the cultural phenomenon of blogs,
or Web logs, turning into books appears to have reached its apogee.
Thirsty for safe, and cheaper, investment materials as their budget tightens,
publishers are eagerly searching the Web for the newest "blogging talent." They
now call the blog-based books "blook," a combination of "blog" and "book."
"Blogs are like a limitless sea of ideas -- a real Blue Ocean for us," said Kim
Eun-joo, publishing manager at Yedam Books.
Several factors make bloggers' books attractive, including the positive
word-of-mouth buzz, considered even more valuable and effective than paid
advertising in many cases.
"These bloggers already have a platform of a built-in blog audience of easily
tens of thousands -- a safer gamble for us," Kim said.
It was roughly around 2000 that local publishing houses began to turn to bloggers
as potential authors. By 2005, there were dozens of blog-based books on the local
bookstands, most authors in the young and vibrant age of 20s to early 30s. "A
Ten-day Voyage," "Picture Showing Finger," "Setting the Table with 2,000 won" and
"Chanel Hits Art Museums" are among the steady-selling blog books.
Kim Yong-hwan's "Setting the Table with 2,000 won" sold nearly 800,000 copies
after its first print at the end of 2003.
"I came across Kim's blog while searching for materials to create a brand new
cook book," said Kim Sun-sook, head of the book's publisher Youngjin.COM.
"Instead of all the usual boring rules and explanations, Kim's cooking method had
a story. It was perfect."
Many of her colleagues, however, were skeptical at first, Kim said.
"Not everyone was convinced that the style of blog writing will work in real
books, but I actually loved the sense of immediacy and disposability," she said.
"Readers aren't necessarily looking for high-quality information in these sorts
of books. Rather, they find the entertainment in the realness. It's like taking a
peak at a friend's diary."
"Blogger Shoots Myung-bak," co-authored by blogger MP4/13 and media critic Kim
Yong-min, made headlines for its sharp approach toward the incumbent Lee
Myung-bak government.
The blogger who created the term "Ko-So-Yeong line" -- combining the first
letters of President Lee's college, church and hometown to call his well-off and
well-educated confidants -- MP4/13 showed how bloggers were beginning to expand
their interests to broader social and political subjects.
"Bloggers are no longer just touching on the personal issues," said Lee Han-sung,
a researcher at the Korean Publishing Marketing Research Institute. "And their
views are so much more tempting, being based on real experience and reflect real
aspects of society."
But blog books are not a sure-fire hit at the cash register with many failing to
sell more than a few thousand copies.
"Not all are willing to purchase books when they can simply read for free on the
Web," Kim Eun-joo said. "The number of visitors to the blogs is not the key
factor in deciding whether or not to publish a book. We base the decision more on
whether there is a possibility of creating something new that cannot be sought on
the Web alone."
And there is always a risk that the Internet crowd will get bored and move on to
another trend before the book comes out, she said. "We need to move real fast to
catch the wave while it's cresting."
Lee Young, an official at Galleon Books, called the potential of Blog books
"limitless."
"I call the future bright for blog books because of the noticeable change in
bloggers," she said. "Considering themselves as potential authors, many bloggers
are taking more time and care before putting up posts, and are expanding
interests to even academic areas. I say we can look forward to much more
reliability and diversity in future blog books."
hayney@yna.co.kr
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