A Great Guidebook for the Wind River Range

[Wandering Daisy]

Thanks for that information. I certainly will call the self-publisher you recommended. Quality control of the publisher is very important to me. I do not mind buying a set of 100 books at a time as long as I can simply pick them up myself and have to pay shipping. My publisher who quite also did print on demand and took care of wholesales to stores and distributors. However I proceed, I have decided NOT to sell through Amazon.

My big question is demand and price. $50 sounds like a lot for a book, but then being on a fixed income I probably see things differently than others. One other problem is the CD that goes with the book. CD's are becoming obsolete but are very cost effective for me to produce.

A bit off the subject but I have wondered why there has never been a new edition of RJ Secor's Sierra Guide, or an equivalent updated guidebook by someone else. I think so much information available free on the internet has really killed guidebooks.

[shawnterustic]

Fellow guidebook author here (hi!) - and someone who wrote about RJ (and his Peaks, Passes, Trails book) for Alpinist after he passed. I really went down the rabbit hole for that story and it was quite illuminating.

His High Sierra book is the result of someone who was laser-focused and devoted just about 100% of his time to the mountains. He never had (any publicly revealed, at least) relationships, still lived with his parents, and had no interest in material goods that didn't serve the purpose of getting him out there, doing and documenting. I think it would simply take multiple people to replace one R.J. in order to update / create a new version of that book. I just don't know how one person could do it unless they were similarly one-track-minded (obsessed, if you will). Not to say it's not possible, I just wonder if the whole internet-killing-guidebooks thing makes it less appealing for folks. I really do think that guy was kind of a sample size of one.

I'm working on a new guidebook now, but it's a somewhat outside-the-box concept that sort of goes beyond the traditional purview of guidebooks and digs into something a bit deeper about the human experience out there, which is my stab at rethinking what guidebooks could become in an increasingly digital world. I was surprised (and pretty excited) when my publisher said yes to the idea - I'm deep in the weeds on it now, so I suppose we'll see how it all turns out! But do think there are still plenty of us who love holding a book (or, at the very least, popping one on our eReader) to go beyond what AllTrails and the interwebs have to offer. Perhaps a silly optimist, but I'll take it

Have you considered seeing if another publisher would be interested in bringing on your Winds guide before you go to the work of self-publishing?

[Wandering Daisy]

Good luck on your book! Yes, finding a local publisher/printer would be my preference to self-publishing.

I had done many CMC trips with RJ before his unfortunate accident. I was under the impression that he was working on a new update and was nearly done. He mentioned pressure from his publisher to get it done. On several of the trips I did with him, he was gathering photo documentation. So, I wonder why someone did not simply take up the last bit to finish. It may have had to do with copyright issues. Much of the climbing data was from others who gave him route descriptions. Those of us who knew him kept him in the loop on the climbs we did.

Climbing guides are a bit different from backpacking guides. There are lot of detailed climbing route information and graphics now used in addition to descriptions and photos. These are now available on the internet. The advantage of electronic data is that you are not confined to what fits on a page and can take the "book" with you and view on your phone. All sorts of public resources have exploded in the last 10 years- Google Earth, Cal Topo, forums like ours. Andrew Skurka's website is a good example using the internet. He seems to have done it quite well and is making some money at it too. Our HST forum is really a guidebook of sorts, too. Again, a big thanks to all the moderators and members who make it happen!

This begs the question, are printed guides even needed? Another problem is the pervasive attitude nowadays of totally ignoring intellectual property rights and expecting to get everything free. Some outdoor shops now have to put guidebooks and maps in locked cases to prevent people from take photos of pages using their I-phones. Having a copyright does not prevent stealing of intellectual properties. That is where a real publisher is an advantage. They have more resources to deal with this than the single self-publisher.

One of the unique items I have is the database that I have built to develop routes, reverse them to see if it makes more sense, figure out the best logistics for getting over passes to avoid storms, etc. Although I have toyed with simply selling the database, it is not user-friendly. I do not have the expertise (or desire) to make a user-friendly interface or tie it into available public programs, like Cal Topo.

[shawnterustic]

@Wandering Daisy - Have you considered reaching out to a publisher like Mountaineers? (Disclosure: this is my publisher, which is why they came to mind.) I did a quick search and it seems they don't have any books on the Winds, so it might be a good fit?

I had done many CMC trips with RJ before his unfortunate accident. I was under the impression that he was working on a new update and was nearly done. He mentioned pressure from his publisher to get it done. On several of the trips I did with him, he was gathering photo documentation. So, I wonder why someone did not simply take up the last bit to finish. It may have had to do with copyright issues. Much of the climbing data was from others who gave him route descriptions. Those of us who knew him kept him in the loop on the climbs we did.

All good points - it's hard to say whether he'd already sent the bulk of his updates in to the publisher or not. I wonder if they just haven't prioritized finding another author (or two...or three...) to pick up the mantle. For my existing guidebook, for instance, there's a clause that if I don't continue to update the book for future printings / editions, they can reassign to another author. Hm - makes me want to inquire! (Not about taking up the mantle...not enough hours in the day!!)