It has been a while since I’ve asked for help from the brain trust. I’m asking here because this is the group most familiar with my writing.
I’m thinking about quitting my job, hopping in my retiree sedan and driving around a good chunk of the country for a few months. I think I have a book in me, and wandering around the country seems like a good way to grease the wheels with some new experiences. The question is:
Would anyone buy my book?
Subject TBD. Something similar to A Walk In The Woods, where I describe the journey, the people I meet and the connections I see to topics like history, current events and culture. Not the most original idea, but I think I can write an original book.
Honest feedback is appreciated.
I would buy your book and eagerly read it.
I would buy your book and hate read it.
I would not buy your book, but I would read a stolen copy.
I chose “buy and eagerly read” but would have done better with options like definitely would buy/very likely/neutral/very unlikely/def would not buy.
I would be a “very likely.” The book you describe is not my usual jam, but I do pay attention when I see your avatar because you consistently deliver thoughtful, well-written posts, whether or not I agree with them. When you do humor, you do it well. I can see a book of yours succeeding. That said, writing is a “don’t quit your day job” kinda gig for most people, even the talented ones. OTOH, look at the success of books like Hillbilly Elegy (which I did not read). Sometimes they just take off. There’s no reason this couldn’t be you.
I’m writing a slightly similar book with a friend of mine (it’s about our careers, not the Jack Kerouac thing you described), and we both agree that it would have been better to write in the moment and edit later, instead of completing the journey then reminiscing.
I liked A Walk In the Woods, but the justification at the end for quitting the trail made it feel like half a book. Whatever journey you pick, have a good ending.
I’m not betting the farm on this and returning to work later this year is the likely next step after the trip. I’ve just outgrown the job I’m in now and I’m ready to move on. I’m in a secure financial position where I can take an extended period of time off and fund a coast-to-coast road trip, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.
It won’t help my overall retirement plan or inheritances I will leave behind when I’m dead, but I’ll still be in good shape even if I burn through some funds this summer. It is a long vacation that may or may not result in a book, which may or not be published and may or may not result in money. I’m fine with all of those possibilities.
The basic idea is to just start driving and to meet as many people as possible face-to-face with no schedule or agenda. Maybe even stick around some places or pick up odd jobs along the way. There would be some family visits and tourist trap kinda stuff too, like Yellowstone and Yosemite. The trip would mostly be focused on having a variety of interactions and making sure to write about them daily. I would have no pressure to make miles or reach any particular destination at any particular time.
Maybe a book takes shape from all of that, but if not it will still be a good experience that I can afford to have right now.
I enjoyed “A Walk in the Woods”. That said, it would be impossible to say if I would buy it and read it without knowing more about it. So, for me, it would be a “maybe, pending more information”.
I enjoy pretty much all the content I’ve seen from you on these forums. You’re a stylistic/witty writer, and if you wrote a book I’d probably pick up a copy.
That sounds like neat way of doing it. It reminds me of a few YouTube channels I’ve seen that drive around some of the more forgotten regions of the US (rural West Virginia, the Mississippi delta, etc.) and interview people.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. The idea of quitting my job and having an adventure has been pulling at me hard for the last few months.
Turning it into a book just popped in my head today, hence this post.
I referenced A Walk in The Woods not because I want to repackage it, but because I liked how he used his journey as a launching point to a lot of tangents I found interesting, and I agree that the ending was unsatisfying.
I’m not set on that notion, but it was the first book that came to mind when I was thinking about the type of book I think I could write.
I don’t think I would attempt to write the book until I’ve returned home and had some time to review everything I collected during the trip. Do I want to tell a big story of some kind? Many a collection of little stories? What sort of thread connects everything? What sort of patterns can I discern?
Who knows? Putting my thoughts into words comes fairly easy to me, so I figure I can just do that every day and see where that process leads.
I’m equally comfortable with well functioning, successful adults and dive bar denizens. I can even tolerate the presence of rich people. I’m interested in gathering experiences with people, making observations and connecting them to topics I find interesting or important.
Like a 250 page T-Nation post, but with an editor.
I’m with @ChickenLittle, I’d buy the book because I “know” you, but that type of book is not my thang either. Definitely would be an easier “read” for me if it could be an audiobook. I’m with @EmilyQ on her options option.
ALSO, most importantly, your book must include a trek to the hinterlands of Minnesota and a throwdown on the mats with our resident sexagenerian badass…in which case I would buy the hard copy, the e-book, and the audiobook.
Sorry guys, but those are the only options available for the survey.
Settling internet political disagreements through grappling could make for compelling reading, but I had other things in mind. This is the kind of vacation where I would have the time to take an Aikido class at the strip mall in Bent Armpit, Minnesota.
If my calculations are correct, doing stuff like that should give me a launching point to create material of some kind. Shaping that into a compelling and coherent book is the challenge.
I still haven’t googled “How to write book that makes money”, but I’m confident that the newest algorithm will lead me in a good direction.
Thats easy. Write a book on how to make money. It can be purely fiction and it will still do great.
I’ll reiterate what others have said- From you, yep. I think that would be a good read. You’re responsible for the most of the legitimately laugh out loud and thought provoking posts I’ve read on this site. And congrats on reaching a place in life that you can do something like this.
I started reading Dave Barry’s column in the news paper when I was a kid, and I believe your wit and humor is on par with his, plus a little bit of an edge that a different life experience brings, and minus some of the gosh golly shucks remnants of Rockwell and Mayberry.
I started out my career as a writer (news reporter on a daily newspaper) and VERY quickly figured out that was guaranteed poverty!
This is even more so today where there are no barriers to entry in journalism, so I suspect we are re-entering the era of gentleman authors, where the only people who will write books are people of independent means.
So if you have the time and the desire, have at it!
I’d definitely give it a try - even if it doesn’t come out under the “Twojarslave” name - and I wouldn’t begrudge spending a few bucks at the Kindle store.
Have you considered submitting individuals chapters upon completion as separate articles/essays to some (well, any) serious on line publication?
I assume their publication would showcase your writing style to their readers and hopefully create interest for the book. It’s not necessarily a topic that interests the reader but the writer and his writing style.
I’m not the type of guy who purchases phone sex but I can offer you a rate of $2.99 for every text message you send me during the road trip.
Thanks for the good feedback. My goal is not to make money but to organize my thoughts the way I always have with writing, just on a bigger scale. It is encouraging to hear that a few people believe selling that writing to be a possibility for me. I have no interest in publishing under my real name so my handle here is as good as any pseudonym. Book salesmen may disagree, but I can probably lift more weight than them.
If I write it and have any interest, sure.
If not, I can still make it available by hiring a guy I know from working at the bar to read it to you in the same buttery voice that’s made him a local favorite at karaoke for years.
I could just keep buying him Budweiser until he finishes the task and then I’ll have an audiobook.
I will. If I write a book and get it published I could be a guest speaker at one of your local schools. I would love to deliver a lecture about the North American cultural legacy of Steven Seagal’s oft-misunderstood film masterpiece, On Deadly Ground.
As for the book ideas, I have not ruled out an erotic fiction novel.
I haven’t considered much at all yet. I am entirely unfamiliar with the publication process. That sounds like something I could take a crack at eventually.
I’m realizing that I actually do have a style, that some people like that style and that it is at least somewhat distinct. I had a manager at work compliment me on how I pulled him along on the story of the first and only letter to HR I’ve ever felt compelled to send in my entire career. I have received some good feedback here and I’ve had a few local people who I respect compliment me on the words I use to describe the local situation.
The last one is very recent because until recently, I didn’t even use normal social media to post much at all. Unfortunately, my plan to befriend my local politicians through our shared interest in matters of local governance has backfired.
The worst case scenario is that I’ll post it here.
Add me to the “would buy and eagerly read” list. Enjoy the trip brother. A friend of mine did something similar a while back and it was always the right call.
