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An obvious answer
Writing a book does take a certain amount of talent and resolve. Few people write well enough to be published and of the talented fewer have the resolve to actually finish a book. Not taking a slap at the above authors who have had the resolve and may have the talent. <img> They are in the minority.
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this is good
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Well, I'm on page 106 of this guys .PDF file download book. And, I must say, considering mark doesn’t write books for a living, it’s a fine book. I’ve got to find out how much it cost him for set-up costs because, I’m defiantly thinking about this after my RTW in a couple years. Not for any big bucks, just something to pick-up in my older years and think back. If I put all my biking stuff in from when I was a lad, leading up to the RTW in a logical format, I could do a good story I think. must learn how to (or is that “too”) spell first...:rolleyes2: Shaun |
I’m not sure how this COULD work but...
(1) If all the people who’d done a good trip turned it in to one of these download books.
(2) Then make a posting/advert about it in the Money Saving Ideas, and making travel money forum, with the preface. (3) We could have a judge, Grant/Sue and Chris Scott for example. (4) They could then pick the 10/or 15 best/most interesting preface (5) Ask the author to send it in, for free to the judges (6) Do some kind of results poll after they review the book with the one/ones they found most interesting The latest number of members is 14,712 on the HUBB – with that many possible downloads at let’s say £2.50 per book, we could have a yearly competition based point (6) Once a year, somebody gets to spend a long time on time road. What you recon Grant Sue and Chris and everybody ? Shaun |
That may work but travellers tales, blogs, the ezine covers so many rides already I dont know if people will want to do both or read both.
Always worth a try. A book report on online published books can be done by any one as far as I know and posted in the HU BAR it has the easest rules on the forum. The report may be useful for the writer to point out things they need to work on. Like a proof reading and content review ext. Any hipe the book gets will be grate for the writer to sell his book to the publisher. Still going to a tight target market. The writer will still need an angle to sell the book. That or do something to get on Oprah. |
If I honestly reviewed some so called bike travel books I've read I would probably be sued by the author or publisher. It's a minority readership and a lot of the potential buyers would read the review on here. How do you stand legally? I'd like to help people save money buy not wasting it on crap. There is one book where I'm convinced the author didn't even travel by bike as his descriptions of it were bizarre!
I'm always on the look out for new titles though, but non get near to Ted's first book. I read it in the 80's when it first came out in paperback, and several times since, top book. They don't have to be on bike travel if they're really well written. Pete McCarthy's, McCarthy's bar is superb. Driving an old Volvo around Ireland. |
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To be honest though if you think that a site like Amazon invites people to leave reviews, good and bad, then I don't think one can be sued for a poor review as long as it is itself well-written and constructive. |
What about submitting part of your book to a bike magazine, just enough to make an article but also enough to get people interested in buying the rest of the book. We've already had the discussion that magazines are all out to get something for free, so why not give them something but make them work for you by letting you give your book a shameless plug?
Here's a question for you all. How many people do you think would be interested in subscribing to a magazine at say £25 per year (12 issues), for a mag similar in style and quality to RIDE magazine, but dedicated to long distance overland travel (including bicycles and 4x4's) and motorcycle travel in general? |
Interesting...
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I remember a bike magazine from a few years ago about foreign travel, Motorcycle Voyager,I loved it. My mate paid for a years subscription and then it went bust so he got nowt for his money. I'd happily read a title that covered other adventure travel on cycles and 4x4's but I don't know about paying for a subscription. I tend to only read them in the winter I'm too busy in the summer. Then there's the distraction of this site and others too. Have magazines had there day?
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Motorcycle Voyager
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I still have a copy of Motorcycle Voyager - it sits on a shelf at home to remind me not to subscribe to any more magazines. I got two copies, IIRC, before it went bust. Yep, mags have had their day. |
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Out of interest, if a magazine was free, say emailed in PDF format but paid for entirely by advertising revenue, would you make the effort to read it? |
maybe
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Was more like a free weekly yellow pages but, like you say, the ads are necessary. So the answer to your question is providing the balance was right, then yes. Why? You thinking of doing one Shaun |
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Quite a good read though, in newspaper broadsheet format: it is published by one of the bike mag publishers. |
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I think Dan23 scarpered off to SA with all the money! Ha ha. He didn't waste it though he spent it all on girls and coke.
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