Camino Frances eBook

[Leslie]

I am looking for opinions.

I am about half way through an eBook for the Camino Frances. My thoughts on the layout are that directions, turn left at this point, turn right at the next point - are a complete waste of time for the Camino Frances as it is almost impossible to get lost on the Camino Frances as you follow the yellow arrows.

Any thoughts?

So I have been writing it with these sections in mind:

Day by day guide, with maps, elevation, hostels, distances, and what to see that day
History of the Camino and St James
Packing - but there are loads of lists for this anyway when you search
How to get to anywhere on the Camino Frances from all the main airports - about 8 of them
Before you go
A big section on FAQ's

A bit on my experiences - set in a day by day fashion
Useful addresses and further reading.

I would love any thoughts on this. Thanks

Additionally would you use an eBook, is it useful compared to a printed book? My thoughts on this are that it is as you can again save weight by loading it on your smart phone, iPhone, or book reader. The downside is that you don't then want to run out of battery. But can be printed also and limit print to only the pages you want to take with you.

Leslie

[Anso]

By ebook do you mean a PDF? As the Kindle format may be a better route. This would allow updates to be download, giving walkers the latest info, potentially while actually on the Camino.


I've already bought a couple of kindle Camino guides, one factual including maps, hostels etc. The other a daily journal, detailing the experiences of a retired American married couple doing the Camino Frances for the first time. However they mostly staying at hotels and guest houses so that lacked some of the grittier flavour of albergue life.


I assume by the poll you are considering if your effort could generate a little profit perhaps to support additional camino's. As a 40 year old camino newbie, I think I'm your main target market audience, for three main reasons, I'm of a generation that accepts value in electronic information, I'm financially secure with a disposable income and of course as a newbie I'm looking for camino guidance.


In my humble opinion I think the Camino Frances popularity is going to grow and grow over the next few years, so I'm sure there will be a market for another Camino Frances guide. However I also think that there will be significant growth in the other routes such as the Portuguese, del Norte, Ingles and Finisterre, as people including experienced pilgrims, look for an alternative routes away from the maddening crowd.


Personally I've already bought the John Briery guide books for the Portuguese routes but there is little else out there at the moment that I've come across, so I certainly think that a decent kindle guidebook of some of the emerging camino routes that focuses on the facts and gives positive guidance, rather than devoting significant space over to the spiritual awaking of the foolish and materialist western pilgrim. Sorry JB perhaps my mindset will change after I've completed my first camino.


Hey Leslie at least an ebook would be lightweight! I hope my comments are usuful to you, good luck with the guidebook.

[Buffalo Girl]

I want to clarify my vote. I wouldn't buy the ebook to take with me on the Camino, but I would buy it to read while planning my Camino. It woud be great to have an ebook so handy at the touch of my fingers, and I too, love my iphone and ipad, but I am leaving them behind for my Camino. And just because I'm in my young 50's it doesn't mean that it's going to be easy to go without these wonderful little devices, I have 2 kids and a pottery business here at home, but I'm thinking that the spiritual awakening thing and the casting off the foolish material possesions thing is right on the mark. This will be the first time since I was single and in my 20's that I will be unplugged. I think that's great for your head!
Leslie, I have no doubt in your writing, or the value of your expieriences on the Camino, and I look forward to reading it when you have finished it!

[Leslie]

Thanks for your feedback.

Being unpluged on the Camino is something that I go for. I do take a phone but switch it on only at the end of the day. Though now because of the websites I have I have a little computer that goes on all holidays with me and i use for about 10 minutes every morning to make sure everything is running okay.

Re kindle, I will have to down load the software and have a look at it. One of the attractive things about an eBook is being able to in-bed links to other sources and I don't know how kindle handles this.

I see the value in any book for the Camino Frances being information around the walk, where to stay each day, distances, shops, bank machines, bars, and water. I am trying to cover both ends in making it something that can also be printed to be taken with you - but not the whole book only about 35 pages which would cover all the info above.

Like I say only half way through, and a way to go. I am sure I will talk about it more here.

It is just good to hear what people would like to see as info inside.

Thanks

[geraldkelly]

Hi Leslie

I bought a Kindle recently and already we're inseparable. I take it everywhere, I read the newspaper on it I read books. You can even play music on it although I haven't tried that yet. So definitely I would buy an ebook on the Camino but I wouldn't take it with me. Bringing gadgets on the Camino is just a no no.

Also, especially in summer, you're unlikely to have a handy pocket big enough for a Kindle.

So I think giving people the option of printing out the bits they need is the best. So, I'd advise you to go for both.

A word of warning: download and familiarise yourself with the software for generating Kindle files sooner rather than later so as to avoid doing your book in a format that could be difficult to convert, especially in relation to pictures and maps, etc. which the Kindle handles quite badly.

Good luck!
Ger

[unadara]

Gerald
Can you get stamps on your passport on the Baztan route ? How many days did you spend walking it ? have you a description, your guides are brilliant, to date I am reading/Not walking but still hoping it might happen this year.
Una

[Lipka149]

Gosh, Leslie ... I dunno.

I am an event planner by profession, so admit to a bias on this. But from personal experience ...

Almost without exception, the times I had a plan, knew how I was going to get from where I was to where I wanted to be, or figured out my level of fatigue/endurance, I found:

a) the plan needed to be more flexible to incorporate interesting things/people along the Way
b) destinations changed because of a stupid blister at the wrong time. or
c) I had to stop/could not stop walking.

Guidebooks are nice to have. Guide-people are even nicer ! Perhaps it is the mysticism of my Catholicism (now there's a phrase !) that gives me a certain comfort level in the philosophy of "just start walking and trust that enough direction will be given to get you where you are supposed to end up". My Catholic Tradition, however, tells me to find the Rule ... <sigh> ...

I say go ahead and create the best guide with the most up to date information accessible on a minute to minute basis. Make it portable, light weight, inexpensive, and able to hold a charge for 60 days. Some people will use it religiously. Others not at all. Most will be in between. Making the information available is a good thing.

But in all honesty Leslie ... I would prefer to experience the Camino with you, personally, rather than read about it. Having been there, I'm not sure any "guidebook" can substitute for the real thing. Maybe it is just better to let everyone find their own Way. And then be able to talk about it. In a Forum. Such as this.

IMHO, you do an infinitely better service to those who will walk or have walked the Camino by moderating this Forum than you could ever do by publishing another Camino guide. This Forun is all about COMMUNITY ! None of the books addresses the actual effect of the Camino after the walking is done. Better to facilitate the synergy of shared experience in real time than guidance that is out of date as routes and lodgings change.

My thought is to let the Forum be the Guide. My advice to yourself, my brother, is to keep the Forum alive and vibrant. And go ahead and write a book if it helps you do that.

My very best regards, respect, and a tip o' the hat !

~ Alan

[Buffalo Girl]

OMG Leslie I`d give anything to have that e-book right now so I could marinate the Brimley-guide-bible in frog guts and watch the storks carry it up and line their nest with it. If it wasn´t for Mapquest and Google Earth on my Iphone I would have been lost a few times. I really wanted to unplug, but realistically I think that´s just not possible for this amount of time. At least not for me! So I offically have changed my vote!

[Gazza]

Buffalo Girl, put the little PC away, lose Google & look for the little yellow arrows & follow the sun to the west lol

[Leslie]

It is funny how life has changed, and in some ways due to the Camino and this site.

The last time I was on the Camino I used my Mob more than the first, but still I was only switching it on every day or so just to check messages. Now I don't go anywhere that is longer than 24 hrs without a computer and internet access.

Many times in my life I have tried to finish one of the books I have started. The last one was in 2006, I just ran out of steam and had nothing else to write about and the book was abandoned. I woke one day a few days later and decided that I should know how to build a website - so I built this one. That after a while took me into internet marketing and I have been there since.

I love reading and writing and writing on the web is easy, most things I write are less than 1,000 words and they are mostly quite enjoyable. But one of the funny parts is the better and more successful I have become the less time I have to write and the more I pay others to do it for me. I have been trying to balance this a little this year, but I way off from what I would like. I wrote loads in the beginning and loved it, I still love it but there is less time.

However I do have to keep reminding myself that it is me who makes these decisions, additionally I am very lucky in these uncertain times to work in an area that seem to have been affected little. It is good to remind myself to be grateful when a client is pushing at me for something as gratitude is not something that come naturally to me.

[Caminobd]

My husband and I, plus two grown daughters, plan to walk the camino France's starting July, 2012. Last summer, we walked the West Highland way in Scotland. One of the hostels that we stayed in showed the silloette of the walk on the wall. I believe the hostel was located in Tyndall. Anyway, we all felt that if we had had this type of map in hand, such as in an e-book, it would have helped us daily to plan distances as well as know what we were in for on any particular day.
If you are planning to put together an e-book, it would be helpful to have phone numbers and location maps of small hotels or hostels along the walk.

We will be taking an iPad and a kobo for reading books and sending emails.

[malcolm]

Just beginning to prep for my Camino this Sept/12. A reference eBook to carry with me would be most comforting. While I am a bit foolishly/naively brave, an book with lots of references and URLs to check would ease my insecurities. I expect to begin my walk alone. Hope to find various folks to share parts o the journey as we progress. Expect to buy an iPhone to use as a reader and GPS, though plan to rely on the yellow arrows. Some posts say that the arrows are generally good but absent in some areas. Thank you for considering it. I would gladly purchase such an AP. Updating this virtually yearly would be a good retirement plan.

[ken huocj]

. . . . . .

IMHO, you do an infinitely better service to those who will walk or have walked the Camino by moderating this Forum than you could ever do by publishing another Camino guide. This Forun is all about COMMUNITY ! None of the books addresses the actual effect of the Camino after the walking is done. Better to facilitate the synergy of shared experience in real time than guidance that is out of date as routes and lodgings change.

My thought is to let the Forum be the Guide. My advice to yourself, my brother, is to keep the Forum alive and vibrant. And go ahead and write a book if it helps you do that.

My very best regards, respect, and a tip o' the hat !

~ Alan

I second your succint thoughts mso aptly phrased.

[Tim Campbell]

Leslie,
I love the idea of a Camino eBook for many reasons. First, it would be lightweight (Kindles and Nooks weigh 6 oz or 160 g). I like the thought of adding locations of banks and the like because cash is king on pilgrimage. One bit of advice that I offer is to make it available to Kindle and Nook owners, because Amazon doesn't own the market on eReaders, they just appear to.

[unadara]

HEHE
I wait for these posts. Cash is king! 160g is light!. Banks are everywhere...Please don't bring the kindle..I can't help but accept the abundance of i phones etc but I do not think they add to the pilgrimage. Think of where you are, where you are going, be prepared, read a bit, if you want to visit sites of historic worth/interest, carry JB's guide, or just go with the flow. Our american friend carried a kindle, and she read every night, but others caused issues with plugging in, charging lights, txting late night messages to "all and sundry", our young czech friend checked all her work messages every night!. I also am a reader/book lover ..I can see how an app for a phone that you are going to carry anyway is a good idea. BUT again, I am reading and absorbing the spiritual and multiple motivations for starting out on a Camino and believe travel light, be open to changing your plan, take a break from the world of technology, if you can..I blogged, tried to upload photos etc, NEXT time it is the paper journal, do all the blogging thing on return,

[Tim Campbell]

Una,
I was thinking of the plain Nook. Which if WiFi is off, lasts 60 days on a single charge. I think I should be able to unplug from Facebook, Twitter and the like for the most part. Might need to check my email in the larger towns or private hostels. Otherwise, it's a time to let go and let God (as we say in the Cursillo community) on the pilgrim path.
¡DE COLORES Y ULTREYA!
@1Timothy315

[Lipka149]

I was thinking of the plain Nook.

Rather than another Camino Guide, how about a Camino GPS ?

I have a MAP application that spots me where I am and gives me directions to were I am going. Such an APP for the Camino would be wonderful. Expanding the map by doing that "open hand with gusto" thing and getting detailed information on albergues, casa reales, and hotels would be better than butter on sliced bread.

Imagine ... typing in Leon and getting those neat little pins with street address, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses for all of the places to stay there.

Any chance you could do that, Leslie ?

Big job ... I know ... but what a way to paint some yellow arrows !

[smkymtnhiker]

I guess I am your target audience, planning my trip for 2013. I would love two sections: nuts n bolts planning for the trip and a second section to accompany chockful of useful information regarding places to stay, eat, interesting sites, websites, phone numbers, etc. Having this info does not guarantee my trip will follow a set course (I hope not) and that I won't have surprises. I do want to avoid those "slap your forehead" surprises, where you utter " if I had only known. " Traveling to Peru, I did minimal planning and found myself in some precarious spots. And, on the fly I was fortunate enough with Internet access to make some last minute changes to assure a meaningful experience at Machu Picchu.

I guess I would like an "e-buddy" book (like planning and taking a trip with a buddy who has already done it) that tells me things to avoid later hassles and allows me to have those unexpected events on The Way be life enhancing rather than ruining the experience.

A quick thanks to all of you sharing on these forums. Unlike some message boards, the folks here allow us to ask the "dumb"questions. Thanks for your patience

[Leslie]

I keep writing parts of it and then finding more "important" stuff to do. I hope to come back to it in March. I would like to finish just for the sake of finishing - sometimes a problem for me.

We all have dumb questions. I have worked now on websites for the last 6 years and I dislike how people can often relate to each other on the web, often in ways they would not face to face. In the beginning I just deleted posts I though were snappy, but during the last couple of years that has not been necessary much as there is a really great and helpful crowd here.