What,pray-tell,is wrong with "motorcyclist"?

You sound like a hard man to please Chris Most authors would probably admit their output is never going to please all of the people all of the time and that enough sales to make the project worthwhile is the best they can hope for - you've only got to read a few Amazon reviews to see how people differ. It is a big world out there though and the problem with a lot of books (from an author's perspective anyway) isn't the quality of the writing but the quality of the marketing. If nothing else putting the written version of the trip on a freebie site like Smashwords may just be the cathartic ending many people need.

I would agree that a "what we did on our holidays" approach to travel writing doesn't usually make for an interesting read but we're not all Dan Walsh or Ted Simon and typed up travel notes may be the best many of us can do. I've read three bike travel books in the last couple of months (thanks to my local charity shops) and the one written by a professional (Uneasy Rider by Mike Carter) is the one that bugged me the most and came closest to ending its half read days
in the recycle bin. The other two "amateur" books had far less style / polish but were at least honest within their limits. If the subject material appeals I'll forgive a certain degree of roughness round the edges.

Personally I think it's a pity that more people don't put pen to paper. There are a number of people here whose wit, wisdom and life experience (as perceived from the content of their posts anyway (he said flatteringly)) suggests they might have something interesting to say. To them I say ignore the one star reviewers and go for it. I'll put my money where my mouth is and buy it when a copy turns up in Oxfam

Apologies to the OP for another response to his question about whether there should be multiple "different" English translations of his German book. Why different English anyway? English was invented in England and the language spoken in Nord Amerika is just that of the descendants of chancers and gold prospectors and Australian convicts (please note emoticons!....)

I struggle (call me cynical if you will: You'd be right) to understand why people who ride a m/c in interesting parts of the world then feel the need to write a "book". I was asked multiple times when doing my RTW jolly around the turn of the Millennium if I was writing a book (often by people in Nord Amerika: Maybe that was the done thing to ask in the days before asking you if you're copying Ewen and Thingy from the Long Way series). When I asked if they would buy a copy if I did, they looked perplexed.

In order to keep your friends and family amused and to stay in touch: What's wrong with having a website/blog, posting on Facebook and/or updating a ride report? Why the need to print a book of what you did on holiday? Unless you know you're good at writing and/or you have a really good story to tell, the time and expense of bringing such a tome to market will be huge.

An aside: I thought Carter's Uneasy rider wasn't that bad. Memo to self: Spend more time in Oxfam shops

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