View Full Version : book writing aspirations for thru-hike
for all those thinking of writing books during and/or after your 2004 thru hike:
i was talking to a couple of thru hikers at a shelter a couple of years ago when i asked one what he thought he might be doing after his hike. he said he was going to write a book. the other hiker jumped in and said "oh yeah? get in line buddy!"
i thought it was a funny "sum up" of how a lot of hikers aspire to write books when they are planning and starting the trail. i must have met a dozen hikers planning to write a book in my first couple of weeks on the trail. has anyone else noticed this or is it solely "my hike". :-?
Lone Wolf
02-04-2004, 21:40
Yup. Everybody wants to write a book and "give back" by doing trail magic the next year.
[QUOTE=mdionne]i must have met a dozen hikers planning to write a book in my first couple of weeks on the trail. has anyone else noticed this or is it solely "my hike".
I toyed with the idea for a book. But luckily I met an editor for one of the major publishers at the Lake of the Clouds Hut, just south of the summit of Mount Washington. He assured me that the market was already saturated. Luckily for Bill Bryson, he never got far enough on the trail to meet that guy.
Weary
[QUOTE=weary Luckily for Bill Bryson, he never got far enough on the trail to meet that guy.Weary[/QUOTE]
Bryson was paid in advance by his publisher to hike the trail and write the book. It wasn't his best gig. His publisher also sent him to Australia to travel the country and write funny stuff. Given the choice of being paid to go to Sydney or Troutdale, the Outback or Harrison State Park, I know what my pick would be!
Tom
[QUOTEIt wasn't his best gig.
It may not have been his most fun gig, but it sure produced his biggest ever pay check.
I'm sure he had signed a contract and got an advance for the book. Which is why he finished it. It was a lousy book, and a profitable book, I suspect, because he hated his trail experience, ignored most of the people he met, and mostly just stuck together some trail stereotypes and library research.
No one was more surprised -- an probably embarrassed -- than Bill Bryson that it sold so many copies. He probably alternated between crying and chuckling all the way to the bank.
He's a very talented writer, who wrote a very terrible book.
Weary
funkyfreddy
02-05-2004, 01:53
It was a lousy book, and a profitable book, I suspect, because he hated his trail experience, ignored most of the people he met, and mostly just stuck together some trail stereotypes and library research.....
He's a very talented writer, who wrote a very terrible book.
Weary
I disagree. He's a good writer who wrote a good book - one which many people could relate to, not just hikers, which is probably why so many "purists" hate it. As for just sticking together stereotypes, I have to ask - did you actually read the book or just skim through it with your mind already made up about it?
I don't care whether he hiked all 2200 miles of the AT. He never claimed to and went one better, he wrote a classic or at least the closest thing to come to a classic from the AT, a far better book than "Walking The Dream" or any number of others I could name. Like Ed Abbey, he had a sense of humor and poked as much fun at himself as he did others. That's probably another reason why the purists hate him - he didn't write about the AT like it was a religious pilgrimage or something.
As far as writing a new book about an AT thruhike, good luck.There's already a lot of AT books written by the purists for the true believers but unfortunately not that big of a market for them. You'll have to come at it from a new angle with a fresh perspective, both of which Bill Bryson did. I'm sure someone will, but it will have to go beyond the food, boots, and mileage obsessions that seem to dominate most of the AT stories.
It would have been interesting to have seen what Ed Abbey would have written had he ever attempted a thruhike. I doubt he would have pleased the purists, either.
MadAussieInLondon
02-05-2004, 04:15
its funny how every hiker thinks they are a regular thoreau.. then you read trailjournals and 9/10ths are "walked all day. tired. ate. slept. burped. walked."
I'm no writer but I plan on keeping a journal just cuz I have a bad memory. Also I think it would make you more observant.
Rick Bayley
02-05-2004, 11:32
I'm not sure if A Walk in the Woods produced Bryson's biggest ever pay check, in the States, yes, but not worldwide.
In the UK, where his target audience resides, his previous book, Notes From a Small Island sold over 1 million copies and remained in the bestseller lists for a couple of years.
Personally, I rated the AT book but reckon his Australian book is by far the weakest. It's full of factual inaccuracies, the author spent a very short time in the country and it reads as more a contractual obligation than a labour of love.
I'm not sure if A Walk in the Woods produced Bryson's biggest ever pay check, in the States, yes, but not worldwide.
In the UK, where his target audience resides, his previous book, Notes From a Small Island sold over 1 million copies and remained in the bestseller lists for a couple of years.
Personally, I rated the AT book but reckon his Australian book is by far the weakest. It's full of factual inaccuracies, the author spent a very short time in the country and it reads as more a contractual obligation than a labour of love.
Interesting. I enjoyed the Oz book. Didn't read it but had it on tape from the library. Perhaps his reading of it made it more entertaining.
I was horrified at the hiking practices he describes in WALK, tossing food and gear off the Approach Trail, etc. But I thought the book humorously written and an enjoyabloe read. I admit it is hard to separate dislike for the depiction of hiking from enjoyment of the writing itself.
Tom
MadAussieInLondon
02-05-2004, 12:04
i didnt like the oz book and I'm from there. I found his american books... weak as well. I did like his trip around britain.. i guess i'm just not enamoured of his travel writing :) Josie Dew writes better travel books than bryson :)
maybe to appreciate his books you have to be not from the country he is writing about :)
Yup. Everybody wants to write a book and "give back" by doing trail magic the next year.
i wrote a book about my hike adventures....its called my trail journal!
but, me & a few close friends only get to read it...heheheheheheehee!
in fact, i add a new chapter & revise it every summer!:D
www.trailjournals.com/Jaybird
see ya'll UP the trail!
Well, rather than ask us about writing a book, why not talk with some one who has done it. Model T, Robert Rubin at ATC, Larry Luxemborg. All good people who have written books based on their thru-hike.
bloody cactus, I don't think most hikers think they're a throreau or anything close. I'd say just the opposite. Most hikers accept the fact that the journal is just that. A daily record of who you met, what you saw, what the weather was like, how many miles you hiked etc. Not saying it can't be done, but if you were writing deep personal essays and ecological articles on a daily basis you wouldn't get much hiking done. Thoreau never thru-hiked, so I think there is a huge difference.
And look. Bryson to me is a good writer. He made me laugh and he turned a lot of non ATers on to the Trail. I'm not in any way commenting on his inacuracies and awful misrepresentation of trail folks and lack of appreciation for the community.
I feel sorry for him when it comes down to it. He spent weeks on the Trail and never 'got it'. He was never able to achieve the joy and happiness and comfort that the AT brings to so many of us. He completely missed the importance and presence of the strong AT community and for that I just feel sorry for him. More important to me than all the millions of bucks
sorry that comment was to madaussielondon, not bloody cactus
mindlessmariachi
02-05-2004, 21:53
that book started out really good - the inept friend was hilarious. Then the friend quits the hike and it got less good. Then Bryson quits the hike and you've still got half a book to read, about him doing day hikes. There's a whole 'filler' chapter about centralia, pennsylvania, which happens to be closer to Duncannon than it is to, say, san diego, but in no way has anything to do with the AT. it read like something he wrote because he had to come up with a certain number of words or else he'd lose his advance!
Bryson to me is a good writer. He made me laugh and he turned a lot of non ATers on to the Trail. I'm not in any way commenting on his inacuracies and awful misrepresentation of trail folks and lack of appreciation for the community.
I feel sorry for him when it comes down to it. He spent weeks on the Trail and never 'got it'. He was never able to achieve the joy and happiness and comfort that the AT brings to so many of us. He completely missed the importance and presence of the strong AT community and for that I just feel sorry for him. More important to me than all the millions of bucks
Well, I can't say I'm sorry for him. But A-Train understands the essence of Bryson's failure. The trail has some of the nicest and most fascinating people i've ever met. Bryson was so put off by the trail experience that he missed them all. The book basically is a very humorous fraud. A pretend book. Allegedly an account of a trail that was never experienced.
Yes. The honest among us chuckled, sometimes even laughed. But those who know the trail and are perceptive, know that though he may have given us a fewchuckles, and even physically walked a few hundred miles, his account was totally unrelated to the experience that most of us have enjoyed.
Weary
I was thinking about writing a book, but a different sort, not a travelogue at all.
I write mystery stories, and thought of writing a collection of short stories set on the AT. Fourteen stories, one set in each state, detailing the adventures of a thru-hiker who manages to solve a mystery in each state.
Moon Monster
02-05-2004, 23:36
Neat idea Frosty. The AT seems like a great setting for stories or a novel. I'm aware of only one murder mystery that has some connection to the Trail (actually half of the book is an intertwined mystery set in NYC); its called "Blue Ridge" by TR Pearson.
I think there is plenty of room for fiction based in part off of hikers' experiences. Write what you know.
SalParadise
02-07-2004, 18:07
I think it's unfair to call his book a sham simply because he didn't represent the attitude of the majority of hikers. He wasn't trying to represent all hikers and he shouldn't have to. His was only one account of many and we shouldn't expect everyone's opinion to be the same.
It seems like there's a fear that every person who reads this book will come away thinking that the AT stinks and all thru-hikers are idiots. But I really think that the average person will view it as the humor piece it really is and not as the true way of things.
I think Bryson's book is responsible for a number of people getting interested in the trail. It was funny and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I probably never would have thought about hiking without reading the book. Now that I have spent time on the trail, I know what a different experience it is. But that doesn't take away from Bryson's book. He never claimed to be a thruhiker... he is a writer, and write - he does!
micromega
02-20-2004, 12:39
I don't think the problem is so much the market for these stories, it's just the specific niche that most AT thru-hikers would fill that is whats saturated. If someone brings a fresh perspective to the story, a new insight, something profound, different, or just downright funny, and it's written well, I wouldn't imagine there'd be a problem (aside from convincing the editor to read the manuscript in the first place, perhaps?).
I wouldn't mind seeing a compilation of short stories (by one or many authors) about the people along the trail and the experience in itself. Not the Shaffers and Gatewoods and Mackayes (no disrespect to them but they're well documented, and deservedly) but the ordinary people that make the trail scene so unique. Just an idea.
I think Frosty hit a great idea with the mystery fiction... Run with it, Frosty!
As for Bryson, I thought he wrote an enjoyable book, though one to be taken with a grain of salt (or two o three). Just goes to show what a talented author with a flair for literary obfuscation can do...
I disagree. He's a good writer who wrote a good book - one which many people could relate to, not just hikers, which is probably why so many "purists" hate it. As for just sticking together stereotypes, I have to ask - did you actually read the book or just skim through it with your mind already made up about it?
I don't care whether he hiked all 2200 miles of the AT. He never claimed to and went one better, he wrote a classic or at least the closest thing to come to a classic from the AT, a far better book than "Walking The Dream" or any number of others I could name. Like Ed Abbey, he had a sense of humor and poked as much fun at himself as he did others. That's probably another reason why the purists hate him - he didn't write about the AT like it was a religious pilgrimage or something.
Whether or not it's a good book is purely subjective. I disliked his book a great deal. I started reading it (and I read ALL of it) expecting to like it. It didn't take long for me to tire of his smug, condescending, cynical attitudes about hiking and the trail community.
I think it's unfortunate that this book is perhaps the major source of "information" on the AT, and was written by someone who didn't really enjoy hiking, nor, in my opinion understand why the AT so special.
A summer on the AT is, for many, something approaching a religious experience. When an outsider laughs at another's deeply held convictions, it is human nature to resent it. No one needs my permission to read and enjoy the book. And I will continue to think of Bryson as a cynical, smug, weenie who happens to be a skilled writer.
freewheelinmilo
02-20-2004, 16:39
they say the market is "saturated", but i am really surprised that a really good book about the at experience is yet to surface. ive read parts of horrible ones. but so many people do it, and so many people are interested in it, when will it get its abbey, its snyder, its jeffers, and not some smelly hack who for a journalist is rather self-absorbed. its strange to me that b.b. has easily the most popular book ever writen on the subject coming at it from the perspective of an outsider. hes a total outsider, a failure. hes so outside he doesnt know hes outside. i think thru hikers treat the trail like an inside joke. we are the ones who are saturated; we lose all hope of objectivity and blabber on and on about stuff that the outside world has no clue about: "and then ape lit his whisperlite and goodtimes put on his gaiters." also, i think the experience can be such a source of joy, we just become graceless and braggadocious. were like pepe lepu or something, we sorta look foolish for loving something so much. and we stink. just some thoughts, ive thought alot about this. i think it would be nice to have a modern poet lauraete of the trail.
loonyhiker
02-20-2004, 17:41
Leave it to me to be backwards! I don't want to give back, I want to give forward. I've always heard what goes around comes around, so I figure to do some trail magic before I get to do the trail. Then when its my time and I need someone, hopefully someone will be there for me. I figure if I can't do the trail yet, then I can help others and feel the excitement and enjoy their adventures by listening to their stories. I guess you can say that I'm "banking" the trail magic. We try to do that every day as much as we can even off the trail and sure enough, when things get rough for us, there is always someone or something to encourage us forward. I hope someday to meet all of you, one way or another!
Yup. Everybody wants to write a book and "give back" by doing trail magic the next year.
i must have met a dozen hikers planning to write a book in my first couple of weeks on the trail. has anyone else noticed this or is it solely "my hike". :-?
I'll bet there is a substantial percentage of thru-hikers who have had the thought of writing a book cross their mind. And I think it's natural. I'm one of them! For most of us it was one of the greatest adventures of our lives, and it's natural to want to share it with other people. That's why so many books have been written "per capita" by AT hikers. Not many people write books about their daily lives at the Post Office or the factory.
I agree with another poster: the great AT book of our time is yet to be written, and when it is, it will be written by an insider who understands what makes the AT a life-changing experience, yet recognizes human foibles. Someone who can portray the pain and the humor and disappointment and satisfaction.
Written well, it will make someone wealthy and famous, but there will be many authors along the way who end up with a garage full of unsold books.
I'm seriously considering writing a book about my hike. A chance to elaborate a bit on my tired mutterings seen in my journal
I thought the Bryson book was rather funny. True, the hiking parts were painful for a LNT hiker to read. Abominable hiking ethics. But, come on, are we pretending that no hiker has ever left gear on the trail?
No, we don't like it that most people read his book and that's all they know about the trail, but we do tend to take ourselves rather seriously and that is being a prime target for someone to make fun of.
If you read the book looking for the essence of a thruhiker to be on the pages, then for sure you were dissappointed. But that wasn't Bryson's goal. There are lot of books out there with the true trail essence and none sell very many copies.
Bryson looked at the trail as an outsider and that's what he saw. If you want to write anything decent, you must separate yourself from the culture about which you are writing, or your scribblings won't ring true. They'll contain the biases and the assumptions of the culture, and ignore the taboos.
You must leave the tribe before you can record its doings.
Bryson looked at the trail as an outsider and that's what he saw. If you want to write anything decent, you must separate yourself from the culture about which you are writing, or your scribblings won't ring true. They'll contain the biases and the assumptions of the culture, and ignore the taboos.
You must leave the tribe before you can record its doings.
How is it that a person who said something to the effect that "I don't care what anyone says, I hiked the Appalachian Trail" wrote his book as an OUTSIDER? How the heck can you be an outsider after all those weeks?? I think that's the point for me, he simply didn't get what the experience is all about, and I don't think he DID achieve what he set out to do. I think he set out to thru-hike the trail and write a book that was funny AND insightful. He didn't complete his hike, not because he was sick or injured or had family problems or the like, but because he's not really a hiker and obviously doesn't really care for the outdoors. Most people think his book is funny, but I think most people who really appreciate the trail don't think it's insightful.
I think a funny book about baseball might have a little more depth if the person actually UNDERSTOOD baseball.
Bryson separated himself a little bit too far.
And he's a weenie. ;)