The History of Trekking is a book about the people, places, and campfire tales of one of the most beautiful and fascinating places on earth: Himalayan Nepal.
This blog is a place to see that book get created, step by step.
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So… What is this thing, what are we doing, and how are we getting started?
The overall plan is that Jwalant, who knows all the good stuff, will essentially be the content advisor and editor. He has a huge rolodex of great people to talk to, many of whom are old friends and relations. If he and the people he knows can’t explain the Nepali trekking industry to you, it can’t be explained. He is already in the process of putting an interview list together, and helping me put the basic outline for the book together.
I (Chris), on the other hand, will do the bulk of the actual writing and editing. While I’ve never written a book before, I’ve been a content writer for games for decades, and in the last year alone have written over 250k words of game text. I’m terribly worried that this will be very different, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.
That’s the plan anyway. I’m reasonably certain we’ll look back at that and laugh in nine months or so… But you have to start with some kind of plan, and that’s a plan.
Along the way, we’ll use this blog (and various social media) to keep people up to date on how the project is progressing. Hopefully by the end of the year, we’ll have built a small audience who can support us on launch and help us bring the story of Trekking in Nepal to MILLIONS of people.
Well… Maybe thousands.
Hundreds?
We’ll see.
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So it begins.
With me fighting WordPress all morning damn day to make the world’s simplest blog site.
One might wonder: Isn’t a website for a book that’s barely started a bit premature? Actually, not really. If over 30 years in the entertainment industry has taught me anything, no matter where you are in your project, the time to start your marketing is “a couple months ago.”
I’m determined not the mistake I have made a hundred times before of jumping into a project, working on it for months/years, and then wondering… How do I sell this thing? So from the very first days of this project, we’ll will be including a potential audience, and getting them involved in this journey.
By “them” we mean you.
Yes, you.
This started with a social media call-out to friends and family.
I asked them if they would commit to supporting this endeavor. Specifically, I asked “Would you commit to supporting a $25 crowdfund, sharing this on your social media, and writing a review when it’s released?” Because as everyone knows, unless you ask… You don’t get. That’s how getting works.
The response was strong. Over sixty people committed to supporting this journey without even knowing what they are supporting beyond “Chris is writing a book, and I’m in!” For all they know we’re writing a treatise on goat dingleberries in post-communist Mongolia.
We’re not, but we could.
And at this point, they’d have to buy it, tell their friends they bought it, and tell the world of Amazon what they think about it. And if they all actually did, we’d already have more reviews than the current Lonely Planet Guide to Trekking in Nepal.
My family and friends are apparently awesome.
Seriously, sixty people may not seem like a lot, but it’s a huge milestone. If everyone comes through, that’s an enormous pile of reviews on release day, especially in the world of niche-non-fiction. Way more than some books get in the first six months. Or, ever.
So, yeah. we’re holding all of you to that. In return, we promise minimal dingleberries.
And as we continue to build, we’ll be using this site as a repository for all of the ways we’re keeping people involved with this journey, including:
All of that being said, I will be honest: I’m terrified.
This is a big new journey for us, and I’m certain we’re already getting some of it wrong… But that’s the very spirit of trekking: You’re starting a long journey, you have no idea what you’ll see, you are probably packing a bunch of the wrong stuff and forgetting a bunch of things you’ll regret, and you’re probably not even sure what path to take.
But you can’t just prepare forever. Sooner or later you have to take the first step and get started.
Well, this is that step.
Trek!
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