New Mini-Guides coming out soon!
I'm excited!
For years, I've been working on a book (which I set this site up for) about all the tools, ideas, and techniques I use for a successful day trip with my kids. It's been quite the labor of love, and earlier this year (with the help of my sister the editor) the book finally neared completion!
Well, at least the writing part of the book... There are so many details that can go into self-publishing a book, more than I had ever realized. Cover design, different kinds of edits, advance reader teams, first book free in a series, marketing, ads; the list just goes on and on. Plus every book is different, so it's some combination of all of this as well as fostering your audience.
I had always intended to write a series of non-fiction books, well two series that supported each other. The first is more of the "how to" type of book. A structured approach to getting out and successfully have day trips, then overnight trips, and eventually road trips with your kids. A practice to become better adventurers. The other series would focus on the SF Bay Area with ideas for day trips, overnights, and road trips you could take.
Launching your first book is a big step. In talking about my fear of taking this first step, someone suggested making a mini-book to kick things off. Something short and sweet, I could initially sell for 99¢ to practice self-publishing, try out Kindle Unlimited, and mostly get my feet wet.
This seemed a lot less intimidating, and a much better way to start. I had outlined a book for 52 Weekend day-trip adventures around the SF Bay Area which also had around 8-10 bonus chapters that would focus on Golden Gate Park. Originally, this book was intended to be my second project, which admittedly I was having trouble getting started.
So it seemed to make some sense to take that bonus content and make it into 2 mini-guides, the first would focus on the west end of Golden Gate Park, the second to cover the east end. In outlining these books, I also realized they could also have some bonus content too. I'm estimating these books to come in around 15,000 words.
These books will allow me to kick off publishing with less pressure and give me room to learn along the way. Initially, I'll sell these for a basic price (99¢) on Amazon only, then I'll "go wide" publishing them on multiple platforms for free everywhere. I also intend to publish these in sequence on a 90-day schedule. Amazon requires a 90-day commitment to participate in Kindle Unlimited, and I'll be able to try out some of their tools and special offers while the book is participating in the program.
So, this summer I'll publish my first book covering Golden Gate Park West, and hopefully be able to share some ideas with you for fun days out in Golden Gate Park!
In the meantime, here is a sample hike from one of the sections currently in progress.