Writing a guidebook Takes More than just a Walk in the Park

Published in the Mountain Xpress 07/08/2009

When I first met Milestone Press Publisher Mary Ellen Hammond, she asked me why I wanted to write a hiking guide to the Carolina mountains. Was I hoping to make some money? The answer had better be "no" because virtually no one makes a living this way.

Well charted: GPS tracking matched actual hiking routes with existing maps.

Johnny Molloy, who's penned more than 30 outdoor guidebooks, says he still makes less than $30,000 a year.

But I wanted to write a guidebook because you can't really understand a place until you have to explain it to others.

So I bought a new GPS device, tested it and got ready. Equipped with a camera, the GPS clipped to my pack, a compass around my neck, and a digital recorder and notepad in my pocket, I went hiking.

On the trail

Compared with tracking a gazillion details, the actual hiking is the easy part. I take copious notes - and, trying to focus on the reader's hike, not mine - I don't mention the weather, my hiking pals or what I'm snacking on.

I stop at visitor centers to learn about local conditions, view the exhibits and
talk to rangers. I write up the hikes as I do them. If I mention a side trail to
a waterfall or cabin, I include that distance. All my hikes are on maintained
trails: With thousands of miles of official trails here, there's no need to
trespass on private land or go bushwhacking.

Jim Parham, the author of Milestone's inaugural series (Off the Beaten Track),
saw a need for books on cycling in Western North Carolina. While working for the
Nantahala Outdoor Center, he noted, "Folks in the store were spending a lot of
time giving out advice to the many mountain bikers who were showing up in the
late '80s and early '90s. People said there needed to be a mountain-bike
guidebook for the area, and I wrote one." For Jim, the best thing about writing
guidebooks is having an excuse to explore new places and see things he's never
seen before. "The most annoying thing about writing guidebooks is having to ride
in bad weather just to get things done." he says.

Luckily, I'm not as bothered by rain or cold, since my feet are firmly on the
ground, and you can hike comfortably all year here.

Writing

At home, I download everything into my computer, holding my breath when I
transfer my GPS track. Is it good? Have I marked the highlights I'm writing
about, such as trail junctions, cabins or waterfalls? The boring part is
listening to myself repeatedly while transcribing my notes.

Every route requires an angle. What makes this trail worth hiking? Historical
home sites? Outstanding autumn flowers? A waterfall? In our mountains, flat
terrain is enough to make a hike special (the Pink Beds and Laurel River, for
instance). Each trail description needs to provide more than "turn left/turn
right" directions, and I must avoid over-the-top superlatives (go easy on
"magnificent" and "outstanding"). I try to explain what I see, and though I ask
questions of everyone, I try to get the definitive answers from rangers, books
and official Web sites.

After I hand my editor the text, photos and maps, she sends them back with
dozens of questions I have to resolve. "I wasn't clear here,", "Joe-pye weed has
a dash on page 248 but not on page 300," and What's the exact name of this
gap?"

Marketing

Writing, though, is only part of the job. Marketing might be the other 90
percent. With each book, I've updated my Web site, sending out post cards and
printed bookmarks to a huge mailing list. I wrote a personal letter announcing
my book and offering to give a slide show, which I sent to more than 150 stores.

By my second book, stores were inviting me. At several events, only four readers
showed up (they got a private tutorial about hiking in the WNC mountains). At
others, I had standing-room-only crowds.

Often someone will flip through my book and ask, "Did you do all these hikes?"
How else does one write a guidebook? They also want me to suggest easy hikes.
And inevitably, I hear this question: "What's your next book going to be about?"
"What do you think it should be?" I reply.
"Easy hikes for old geezers," most folks say. Perhaps there's some potential
there ...