Some Thoughts on Publishing Your Own Travel Book

Two years ago this month, I embarked on a personal adventure, launching a publishing company to print my travel book, "Planet Backpacker."

My book is about a solo trip around the world in 2007, including through a number of developing countries. Since many people dream of writing a book or launching a business, some of you might profit from my experience. Or perhaps, enjoy a cautionary tale.

I published "Planet Backpacker" on my own because I knew that finding a literary agent and going through the traditional channel of seeking a mainstream publisher in New York takes about three years -- if ever. My book was timely in nature and I didn’t feel like begging an agent to take it on and then sitting by the phone for years, hoping a publisher would bite at a time when the book industry is caving in. Two years ago, hundreds of green-lighted books were being cancelled by the big publishing houses.

Consider that an estimated 2,000,000 manuscripts are submitted to publishers each year, with some large publishers receiving 3,000-5,000 manuscripts per week. Of those which get published, the vast majority of books sell less than 5,000 copies, and the author’s share may be only 6% of the net receipts. So there’s good reason to do-it-yourself these days, and you join a fraternity that included self-publishers such as Mark Twain, Margaret Atwood, Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens.

I approached publishing as a hobby and a learning experience with the goal of simply breaking even. I’ve known many people in the creative arts who wrapped all of their hopes and self-esteem into producing their own CD, film, or publishing venture, only to have their feelings crushed by the inevitable flop. So I aimed low, rather than high.

Even so, I never anticipated that my so-called ‘business’ would become one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

But it was also a very humbling experience. I made mistakes -- my first batch was rushed to the printer with a spell-check error that was entirely my fault, resulting in words running together throughout the text. The whole thing had to be reprinted at considerable cost.

I also learned that it’s fairly easy to write and produce a book, but infinitely harder to get it distributed. Locally, this involves nagging independent bookstores to take you on. Nationally, it means finding a distributor who has an extremely slim shot at placing your book on the shelves across the nation, where tens of thousands of other books vie for attention.

Since there are up to 700,000 new books published each year in America, you can imagine the odds for the budding author. Major publishers pay for space on the front counters of chain bookstores or at airport kiosks where books have the best shot at selling. That’s why gems such as Do They Serve Beer in Hell? stay on the New York Times bestseller list for years on end.

The solution for me was to take my book on the road. I’ve spoken to hundreds of people in the past two years with a funny slide show at libraries and bookstores throughout Michigan and the Midwestern United States. Audiences have ranged from zero attendees on a sunny spring afternoon at a New York Public Library branch in Harlem, to library crowds of 150 and packed houses at the REI Superstore on Chicago’s North Side.

More than anything, it has been this one-on-one contact with people, sharing laughs and adventures from around the world that did the trick. I’ve had the honor of being featured in the Sunday travel sections of the New York Daily News, Detroit Free Press and many other papers, in addition to writing articles for newspapers and magazines in New York, South Africa, Canada and elsewhere. These have reached millions of readers with little effect; I’ve found it’s the personal touch that greases the gears of commerce.

Similarly, my adventure has made me deeply cynical about the Internet as a way to 'save' newspapers or promote local television and radio stations. My book has been reviewed by some of the world's top travel websites in addition to consistently having 5-6 first-page hits on Google (this is considered 'huge'). But again, with fairly small effect: these days a website or a blog is a lonely pine tree in a digital Siberia of millions.

All of the above has meant a crash education in publishing, distribution, marketing, website design, web optimization, blogging, ebook publishing, and assorted kicks in the head.

But an education doesn't guarantee a high return. Often, I sell a book from my website to a reader in Europe or Australia and make nothing at all after the $9-$12 is paid in postage. Even so, I’m grateful to have a reader.

I've sold out my second edition, and after all of the bills were paid for the printing, marketing and travel, I managed to make a small profit -- but it was on par with what a high school kid might earn working part time for the summer at a Dairy Queen.

But I’ve had a lot of fun -- made new friends around the world -- and learned some new tricks. And I’ve gained new respect for anyone who dares to put themselves on the line with a business plan. A new business is like going to war: you have to take risks and be on patrol 24/7. You need passion and inspiration to carry out the mission; sometimes you step on a land mine, but sometimes you win a battle or two.
Recently, a British writer living in Siberia contacted me, asking if I’d be interested in publishing his adventure travel book, as did a young woman living in Malaysia who’s writing a travel novel. I’d love to, but as I explained to them, for me this has been a hobby that paid off more with memories and good times than with money.
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But there is a third way for would-be authors: I'd advise creating an e-book through Lulu.com and have them publish it. They can handle the distribution to amazon.com, etc.

It's also possible to create your own e-book via Indesign's e-publishing software, which adapts to multiple e-reader platforms. Amazon.com's Kindle requires a simple PDF document.

It's also possible to create print-on-demand copies for keepsakes or bookstore sales. That's the route i'm going with 'Planet Backpacker' in the months ahead: an e-book with more photos and a print-on-demand version.

For more travel writings, see www.planetbackpacker.net