Thinking of writing a book about your camino?

[Stephen Marriott]

Hi Lovely Peregrinos and fellow authors,

I hadn't realised that so many of us have felt compelled to share our Camino experiences in printed and electronic word! It further reinforces the magical benefits of that journey. I still don't fully understand such gifts and the energy of that road, but collecting our thoughts and experiences in words naturally helps improve our understanding. And such words, can no doubt inspire would be pilgrims who are uncertain about embarking on the road to Santiago. So we should continue to keep journals, blog and publish books. I now realise the advice I received in 2012 about going for a 'long walk' is the best advice I've ever received!

I hadn't even envisaged that a book would come out of that journey and I was walking the Camino for completely different reasons: I was trying to come to terms with a life that dramatically changed beyond my control. In fact three stories came out of my five week walk: my outer experience, an inner healing process and the novella: Candyfloss Guitar.

We are so lucky to live in the modern world of self-publishing. For those who are thinking of going this route please don't be put off by KDP Kindle publishing, CreateSpace, SmashWords, Nook etc. I was initially daunted (I'm not a technical person) but my experience of using KDP and Createspace couldn't have been better - they're just processes that are broken down into steps and the result is a rewarding journey!

To learn more why not join me at my book launch party of 2nd March, 6.30pm at Camino in Blackfriars, London....
RSVP via Facebook Events or take a look at my blog for further info: Stevescribble.com

Thank you!

 

[sillydoll]

When I first posted about writing your Camino story I was suffering from 'Camino-Frances-pilgrim-stories-indigestion'!
If I picked up a book that started with Day 1: St Jean to Orisson (or Roncesvalles) I had to put it down!!

But, I love reading Camino stories and in the hopes of finding gems, I started reading a few again. Of the last 5 I've read (of course all on the Camino Frances) one was so beautifully written that I wished I could write like her! If I could, I would also write my Camino story. I'm not advertising for the author (whom I don't know personally) but I'm sure you will all want to know the title of the book so I'll share it with you.

The Way Is a River of Stars A Buddhist’s Journey Through Northern Spain on the Camino Pilgrim Route, by Helen Burns. (Kindle only)

Raised a Catholic, the author adopted the Buddhist way of life as an adult and her beautiful, lyrical story shows an almost Merton-like assimilation of Buddhism and Christian religion with no conflict in her beliefs and philosophies.

The others? Well, one has had a few hundred reviews which is amazing, but I think sometimes you can share too much information with your readers and when the author described a problem with constipation and the subsequent affects ....... I stopped reading!

 

[Robo]

What a great thread you started sillydoll. With some very sound advice....

I hope I don't end up adding to the pile of 'sameness'.

Actually I wasn't really thinking of a book, but now you've got me thinking about it. Oh No

I've written 5 books so far (published) but they are all business books. Though I wrote two of them as Novels having enjoyed 'The Goal' by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Not exactly Best Sellers, but I wrote them to add credibility to my business activities more than anything else. They mainly sell online now as eBooks.

I'm also an avid Videographer. Again, with mainly a business focus. I make informational videos, that I publish on my blogs. I enjoy videoing so much I tend to make videos as a bit of a diary process. Although on one occasion in Vietnam on Holiday I remarked to our tour guide that the video on his website was awful and would he like a new one? He was such a nice guy we wanted to help him out. (Of course I had my video gear with me) So we shot a promotional 'interview' from the top of the ex CIA building made famous in the News at the time. The one where the Helicopter landed on the roof. He was delighted with it! And it was fun to make. Took all of 10 minutes....

Sorry I'm getting off topic a bit.

But my intention was to create, (as I normally do on interesting trips) a bit of a video record of my Camino. You've made me realise of course, that if anyone other than family/friends are to find it interesting, I'll need to take a different tack....

When we shoot professional videos at work (training videos for sale etc), we hire in a professional. A great guy. I mentioned to him recently that I would probably make a video of my Camino....... He asked me some simple questions......

1. Who will be the expected audience.
2. What 'angle' will you take, to make it different to all the other Camino videos?

Obvious questions of course! That I really hadn't thought about very much up till then

I have a few ideas forming. In fact I might spin off a number of short videos from the materials I gather along the way, depending on what happens and what I experience. One might be for family, another version for 'life lessons' gained. But more thought required still.

Sorry about the ramble.....

But lastly, I'll share some of the 'secrets' of getting books produced quickly and at a high quality level. At least that I have been taught over the years. I notice there were a few writers and budding writers contributing to this thread. This might help.

1. You don't have to write it yourself! Shock/horror! Many books you see in the book stores are Ghost Written. For one of mine I gave a ghost writer all of the background material and we discussed the content, flow, etc. And then he wrote it. It was all my materials, my ideas, he just did the actual writing.
2. The most important part of any book is ..... The Title. It engages the potential reader / buyer. Cover design goes along with this.
3. The second most important part is the back cover. Summary of contents, key messages etc. Write this before you even start on the content.
4. In planning the book, start with rough chapter outlines and the main thrust of each chapter, before you get into detail.
5. Enlist professional help. I always use A Proof Reader, An Editor, A Cover Designer, A Typesetter (they lay out the file ready for printing) The Typesetter can generally also provide different file formats for you. For printing, ipad, kindle etc.
6. Where do you find all this professional help, at a fairly low cost? Simple. eLance.com Total cost probably under $1,000.

So if you have some great material to share, it doesn't need to take 10 years to produce your book. I did one in 6 weeks. That process was faster because I dictated it, sent it to be transcribed and edited.......never hit a PC keyboard key.

Hopefully some of these tips (trade secrets) might be of benefit to someone.

Again, apologies for rambling and straying off topic but I thought the background context for the tips might help.

 

[sillydoll]

Thank you for sharing Robo - wonderful tips - especially to get a proof reader and a copy editor!
My tips for pilgrims who want to turn their Camino journal or diary into a reasonably acceptable book are:
Create a STYLE sheet first:
A Style sheet helps you to be consistent throughout the book with consistent use of km or miles, kg or pounds, centuries and decades, numbers or numerals, fonts and sizes of fonts, capitalising compass points, names of rivers and mountains etc)
Grammar, adjectives (one manuscript I read had the word 'very' 1079 times) geography, spelling, historical fact and so forth.

 

[Davidum]

As much as I love reading camino stories, and am passionate about the camino, some of the books I've read are becoming exceedingly boring!
After reviewing 4 new camino books in 8 months, I'd like to appeal to potential writers to find a new approach or a different focus to their story to avoid the formulaic, almost write-by-numbers style of camino story.

You know the kind I mean - "I felt called to walk the camino; I climbed over a mountain and got blisters/shin splints/tendonitis; slept in a room with 100 snoring strangers; got up early; packed, walked, arrived, washed, ate, slept - ditto, ditto, ditto, blah,blah, blah - met amazing people; arrived in Santiago, cried in the mass and now I am a changed person - Amen. The End."

Remember, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims walk the same landscape, through the same towns, face similar challenges, learn similar lessons and experience the same highs and lows, and many, like you, now have an urge to hit the keyboard and turn their journal into a book.

Find an original theme. Not everyone can walk with a donkey, or lead a blind person, or walk in the dead of winter, but there has to be new, fresh slant to a camino story for the book to have any appeal.

And please, get your spelling right and be consistent (you can't have hosteleria, hospitaleria, hospitalero etc) And, check your geography. You can't meet up with old friends you first met in Triacastela when you arrive in el Acebo!

Last year we visited a book shop in Pamplona. The owner told us that over 400 new camino stories had been published between June 2008 and June 2009. The market is becoming saturated and unless you self-publish, you will need to have something original to say to persuade a publisher to add your book to the many hundreds out there.

As much as I love reading camino stories, and am passionate about the camino, some of the books I've read are becoming exceedingly boring!
After reviewing 4 new camino books in 8 months, I'd like to appeal to potential writers to find a new approach or a different focus to their story to avoid the formulaic, almost write-by-numbers style of camino story.

You know the kind I mean - "I felt called to walk the camino; I climbed over a mountain and got blisters/shin splints/tendonitis; slept in a room with 100 snoring strangers; got up early; packed, walked, arrived, washed, ate, slept - ditto, ditto, ditto, blah,blah, blah - met amazing people; arrived in Santiago, cried in the mass and now I am a changed person - Amen. The End."

Remember, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims walk the same landscape, through the same towns, face similar challenges, learn similar lessons and experience the same highs and lows, and many, like you, now have an urge to hit the keyboard and turn their journal into a book.

Find an original theme. Not everyone can walk with a donkey, or lead a blind person, or walk in the dead of winter, but there has to be new, fresh slant to a camino story for the book to have any appeal.

And please, get your spelling right and be consistent (you can't have hosteleria, hospitaleria, hospitalero etc) And, check your geography. You can't meet up with old friends you first met in Triacastela when you arrive in el Acebo!

Last year we visited a book shop in Pamplona. The owner told us that over 400 new camino stories had been published between June 2008 and June 2009. The market is becoming saturated and unless you self-publish, you will need to have something original to say to persuade a publisher to add your book to the many hundreds out there.

 

[carol ann]

I hope davidum if you read mine you won't find it boring.....
Yes a camino is a walk for hundreds of thousands but each step we take is a private journey.
My journey was a tribute for my dad my words a memory of a great man.
I was lucky... A publisher approached me & now it's selling in 34 shops .... I've had fantastic comments from as far as Russia to cork about my book ....But even if no one read it I have a book that my new grandchild will someday read about his 'great-papa'
Buen camino

 

[rometimed]

I am by no means a writer but what I am finding is that there's very few audio-books about tales on the Camino, only the most famous authors seem to have books available on Audible (Shirley Maclaine, Paulo Coelho, etc).

I was thinking I might just make a long podcast on my journeys this summer as I am doing a number of hikes, the Camino being the start. Might start with with my busted ankle last October, training, then stumbling into a big vacation. Mix in a bunch of millennial angst and run with it.

 

[p3nny]

"The road to Santiago is paved with pages." ~Thomas Swick quoted in a 2010 PhD thesis by Andrea Hesp titled Writing the Camino: First-Person Narratives of the Camino de Santiago, 1985-2009.
An appropriate quotation for this thread, don't you think?
Love it!

~Penny

 

[BobM]

Well, I am up to four books on Amazon now. Here a few tips I have picked up on the journey.

Don't just focus on writing an eBook for Kindle. You can publish a print version on Amazon's CreateSpace (CS) as well. It forces you to pay more attention to formatting and layout, which helps with the eBook version. Once you have your print version done on CreateSpace, you can easily export it to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for the eBook, BUT you must update the content layout (mainly re pictures) so it will display well as an eBook. It is very easy to do. The other thing is that if you offer your book in both eBook and print versions it makes you look a bit more professional.

The other thing is to get noticed amid the millions of books on Amazon. I enrol my books in Kindle Select, which generates quite a few extra readers. I don't get paid for those reads directly, but I share in the total pool of Kindle Select money put up by Amazon. I also find that KDP price promotions are quite good at generating extra buys. But, never offer your book for free, as some advise as a way to generate readers. If your book is not worth asking 99 cents for, it is not worth reading.

KDP and CS offer free cover design. It is adequate for beginner writers, but the available designs are not that great. The cover is a very important sales generator, but unless I start to sell over 50 books a month, It is not worth the expense of paying for a custom cover design.

I would urge anyone to give book writing a try! The hardest thing is to make a start and travel the steep learning curve. But both CS and KDP have excellent user forums (fora?) that were incredibly helpful when I had a problem.

BobM

 

[NJ McKay]

Hey! Great discussion. I'm still in the planning stages of my camino and had original thought of writing my experiences down as a book. But it was mentioned multiple times and what I realized is that there are a lot of books already depicting other personal experiences along the Way. I may still write my experiences on my blog, but I've decided to go down the fictional road.

I've already have an ongoing character who is a psychic and it'll be interesting to place her along the Way. Interact with past spirits or even see visions of past pilgrims/events along the way. Actually… as i'm thinking about it - a story is coming to mind. Blending the past with the present may be more of a challenge but it'll be something different I hope.

 

[CarolLin]

What a great thread of discussions. I just finished my first Camino. I walked from Salamanca to Santiago.

A major publisher in Taiwan has published two of my books so far. I would like to write and publish a book which highlight as many Camino experiences as possible. So, the style would be like "Chicken Soup for the Soul" .

I am sure together, we can reach more hearts and souls who yarn for something more fulfilling in their life. May I invite you to share your most memorable experience with me and the lucky readers ?

Why did you do it ?
What are the major gifts and/or revelations you received from your Camino experience?
What is your advice to the lucky readers of this book ? ;-)

Thank you.
Carol
You can email me your thoughts if you prefer.

 

[sharon w]

Have just read 3 woeful Camino books. Will not be spending money on any more- only guide books in the future.

 

[susanawee]

Have just read 3 woeful Camino books. Will not be spending money on any more- only guide books in the future.

Can you please share the titles of these books ....I, for one, would be interested in learning whether or not I have read them as well or, if I think that they may be worth a look....

I hope davidum if you read mine you won't find it boring.....
Yes a camino is a walk for hundreds of thousands but each step we take is a private journey.
My journey was a tribute for my dad my words a memory of a great man.
I was lucky... A publisher approached me & now it's selling in 34 shops .... I've had fantastic comments from as far as Russia to cork about my book ....But even if no one read it I have a book that my new grandchild will someday read about his 'great-papa'
Buen camino

Can you please tell me the title and where can I buy it....

 

[Margaret Butterworth]

Would any of the writers care to reveal how much money they had received as a result of their labours?

 

[sharon w]

Well, one of the writers is on this forum so won't disclose the name of the book. The other two were: "Two Steps Forward" - supposedly a comedy about two people walking from Cluny. It is fictional and woeful.
"Boots to Bliss" - about walking from Vezelay. It is supposed to be non fiction, but in my opinion is more like fiction!
All three were by Australian authors.

 

[HedaP]

Well, one of the writers is on this forum so won't disclose the name of the book. The other two were: "Two Steps Forward" - supposedly a comedy about two people walking from Cluny. It is fictional and woeful.
"Boots to Bliss" - about walking from Vezelay. It is supposed to be non fiction, but in my opinion is more like fiction!
All three were by Australian authors.

I’ve just finished reading ‘Two Steps Forward’. I read the whole lot mostly because it reminded me of my teenage years when I read everything I could lay my hands on. It is just like an old school Mills and Boon or maybe a Georgette Heyer. I had to read to the end to get to the happy ending! Contrived is the word that comes to mind but it was about two routes that I would like to walk, the Le Puy and the Norte.

 

[sharon w]

Well I have walked both the Le Puy and Norte routes and I feel that the book could have been set anywhere as none of the places are really represented in the book. Even though it is fictional, the fact that the man had to pay an enormous amount for his credential and the woman nothing, annoyed me. As if this would happen.

 

[Deleted member 397]

Why do people think yet another camino book is necessary or even wanted?...I got up early,I walked,I got blisters,I queued up for a bed..etc etc etc etc

 

[sharon w]

Agree omar504. Better to sit and read your diary if you write one. Just read a book about the Camino. Won't mention the name. However, it took me 5 minutes to read. My friend bought it and we were both disgusted by the fact this person even thought the book was worth selling. It even has a lie in it where it says the mist cleared and the person was standing on the edge of a steep cliff on the way over the Pyrenees. I never walked on the edge of a steep cliff whilst crossing the Pyrenees!

 

[WldWil]

Interesting thread. I am almost finished with my Camino story. I love to tell stores and have a big benefit of building a website for an editor and publisher. Thus it will hopefully be that much better presented.

The why is a bit like the walk. It certainly isn't for the money or to just talk, but to share a story hopefully well told.

 

[David Tallan]

Much as I hate to disagree with my fellow peregrinos, I tend to like reading people's books about their pilgrimages. I've also enjoyed reading people's pilgrimage blogs and watching their video blogs. Of course, there is the nostalgia and memories of my own experiences in the same palces that they evoke. But often there is a real narrative arc to them, where people meet interesting people, overcome challenges and learn things - just what one looks for in a good story. YMMV, I guess.

 

[C clearly]

Some books I enjoy. Others I don't. There's nothing wrong with people writing or reading books about the Camino, as long as they don't have unrealistic expectations. It seems like a better way to pass some time than many of the endeavours we take up in life!

@WldWil said it well with

The why is a bit like the walk. It certainly isn't for the money or to just talk, but to share a story hopefully well told.

 

[sharon w]

I also love reading books about the Camino. However, I like them to be well written and factual. The last three that I read all had fanciful writing by the authors. One had large print and few pages. My friend bought this book online and didn't realise what a waste of money it was.
A very good book that I recently read is, "The Attachment", by Ailsa Piper. Not a true Camino book but came about because of the Camino. She also wrote the book,"Sinning across Spain".

 

[David Tallan]

I also love reading books about the Camino. However, I like them to be well written and factual. The last three that I read all had fanciful writing by the authors. One had large print and few pages. My friend bought this book online and didn't realise what a waste of money it was.
A very good book that I recently read is, "The Attachment", by Ailsa Piper. Not a true Camino book but came about because of the Camino. She also wrote the book,"Sinning across Spain".

I'm in the middle of reading Sinning Across Spain. The Attachment sounded interesting. I wish it were available as an e-book (or in a local shop so I wouldn't have to pay to have it shipped halfway around the world).

 

[sharon w]

We have the same problem, unfortunately, buying books from overseas. Makes them very expensive.
Hope you are enjoying"Sinning Across Spain".

 

[JFidelL]

Thank you all for this thread! I have been writing about my experience for some time and wondering if I should be putting it out there for everyone (or anyone) to see.

To summarize, a Young Man hiked the Camino San Salvador and the Camino Primitivo in February/March of 2014 during a 3 week vacation. Along the way he found himself:

• Alone. Not until Melide on the Frances did he even see another pilgrim on the road
• In the mountains without food or water (not quite prepared - typical young man thing)
• Told to get into a car with a strange old man who raced down a mountain in a blizzard while engaging in small talk, which the Young Man surprisingly understood
• Given free food by a local operating an American-themed food joint
• Woken up by the main door opening in the middle of the night by a storm while sleeping in an abandoned monastery all alone (that was an intensely scary event)
• Guided through a blizzard by a small herd of horses (probably the most mystical/spiritual/otherworldly event of my life so far)
• And many other situations. To top it all off, it was the Young Man's 1st (and only Camino to date), plus he didn't know any Spanish. Actually he still doesn't!

I don't have the imagination to make this stuff up!

About a year after the journey I summarized my experience on 85 pages of scrap paper with my very poor cursive handwriting. In 2018, a few years late, I found the papers and decided to digitize them. That's when an idea for a story started.

I hope no one will feel too offended about part of my rationale for writing. There were so many books about the Camino Frances, from older folks who have more resources to not only do the full Camino but to write about it. These stories were from atheists or lapsed Catholics or other "non-believers" who discovered "true spirituality" on the Way. I'm just a young Catholic man who really wanted to go on a walk, a vacation with a purpose (because I don't like trips without a strong purpose - sightseeing alone doesn't cut it). I ended up having more of an adventure than I expected and now feel like sharing that with people, which is the other half of my motivation.

I don't know about you, but I find it very hard to tell people (even my own family) about the Camino. People usually are ready to listen to an event, not a whole story that took place over many days. To be able to convey what I wish I feel that it needs to be in a book. I especially wanted to demonstrate my line of thinking, how awkward some of my actions were.

I was a bit dismayed as well when I learned from this thread just how many books about the Camino there were out there and how many people had done it (both the Camino and write about it). Still, I feel there's some merit to writing. I currently trying to get past the mundane without omitting it completely - you know, the bocadillos de jamon con queso, the blisters, all that stuff (except for full albergues).

Thank you again for all the info about books on the Camino, about writing and about self-publishing. Congratulations to those who have written with any measure of success, and good luck to those of you also writing. And if you need motivation, perhaps I have a good example. My goal is to have a physical book in the hands of a young lady, who is currently reading my draft, by her 16th birthday. I don't think I'll make it but I can try, right?

Thank you all! And sorry for the long post!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Thank you for posting this Sil.
I'm sooooo weary of books about the Camino that all say the same thing . . .
I feel almost guilty because when someone tells me they're writing a book, my first thought is, "Oh NO! Not ANOTHER one!"


Maybe I should write a book too.

 

[William Garza]

Excited sitting around a collective campfire to add,exclaim and share with each other about a collectively shared experience is a human condition I hope never dies
Late at nite and into the cups
Truth is told..and heard in the most miniscule of ways..empathy

 

[johnmeyerbooks]

Okay... read the comments, some of you are tired of all the personal Camino books.... Understood....

But how about this?

I have recently written a travel book based on my own Camino journey called "Shadows, Shells, and Spain," although I call it a fictional travel memoir—a unique adventure story that combines the fun facts of history with present-day drama and humor.

Here's the premise:
Lost and listless on the island of Mallorca, Jamie Draper searches for his estranged wife, Pam, who has left him without any explanation or warning. Exploring her last known location, Jamie stumbles upon an urgent letter from his missing wife promising full disclosure as to her sudden departure and her current whereabouts. There’s just one catch: her mysterious adventure is disclosed in a series of letters she’s left hidden along the ancient Camino trail across northern Spain. Now armed with a list of clues to track the letters down, Jamie retraces Pam’s footsteps, while being both entertained and challenged by the many colorful Camino characters he meets along the way—including the enchanting Brie, who harbors her own secrets that just might compromise Jamie’s intended reunion with his wife.

Better?

It's getting great reviews....!

I won't clutter this thread with tons of information, but here's my website address where you can easily click onto Amazon and all the other sites to pick up your copy.
https://www.johnmeyerbooks.com/

Buen Camino!

 

[KenStrange]

As much as I love reading camino stories, and am passionate about the camino, some of the books I've read are becoming exceedingly boring!
After reviewing 4 new camino books in 8 months, I'd like to appeal to potential writers to find a new approach or a different focus to their story to avoid the formulaic, almost write-by-numbers style of camino story.

You know the kind I mean - "I felt called to walk the camino; I climbed over a mountain and got blisters/shin splints/tendonitis; slept in a room with 100 snoring strangers; got up early; packed, walked, arrived, washed, ate, slept - ditto, ditto, ditto, blah,blah, blah - met amazing people; arrived in Santiago, cried in the mass and now I am a changed person - Amen. The End."

Remember, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims walk the same landscape, through the same towns, face similar challenges, learn similar lessons and experience the same highs and lows, and many, like you, now have an urge to hit the keyboard and turn their journal into a book.

Find an original theme. Not everyone can walk with a donkey, or lead a blind person, or walk in the dead of winter, but there has to be new, fresh slant to a camino story for the book to have any appeal.

And please, get your spelling right and be consistent (you can't have hosteleria, hospitaleria, hospitalero etc) And, check your geography. You can't meet up with old friends you first met in Triacastela when you arrive in el Acebo!

Last year we visited a book shop in Pamplona. The owner told us that over 400 new camino stories had been published between June 2008 and June 2009. The market is becoming saturated and unless you self-publish, you will need to have something original to say to persuade a publisher to add your book to the many hundreds out there.

I may have something for you! I just finished my first book called "It's Your Camino." Now comes the fun part in publishing it. However, this is a book that combines a love of Spain and its enigmatic history with a humbling insight into the pilgrimage and the pilgrims who told their story. I think you will be touched.

 

[Deleted member 397]

We have the same problem, unfortunately, buying books from overseas. Makes them very expensive.
Hope you are enjoying"Sinning Across Spain".

I buy from Wordery or Book Depository..postage is "free" but buggers now add GST...prices are usually very good..better than Amazon.au (Amazon.uk won't send to Oz anymore)

 

[KenStrange]

My wife, Rory, and I hiked the Camino last May from the Basque Village of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela (Spain) in 31 days. I just finished my first book called "It's Your Camino." Now comes the fun part in publishing it. However, this is a book that combines a love of Spain and its enigmatic history with a humbling insight into the pilgrimage and the pilgrims who told us their stories. Not to mention a pep talk from Martin Sheen before we left. I think the reader will be deeply touched by what (and who) is waiting for them on this road. Buen Camino.

Ken

 

[Deleted member 397]

My wife, Rory, and I hiked the Camino last May from the Basque Village of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela (Spain) in 31 days. I just finished my first book called "It's Your Camino." Now comes the fun part in publishing it. However, this is a book that combines a love of Spain and its enigmatic history with a humbling insight into the pilgrimage and the pilgrims who told us their stories. Not to mention a pep talk from Martin Sheen before we left. I think the reader will be deeply touched by what (and who) is waiting for them on this road. Buen Camino.

Ken

The hackneyed phrase "it's your camino" has alsway perplexed me as it it gives the impression that you can do want you want without regard to those around you...a sentiment heartily embraced by those setting of alarms at ungodly hours,the plastic bag rustler etc..I'm sure they
would justify such selfish actions by "it's my camino".

 

[KenStrange]

The hackneyed phrase "it's your camino" has alsway perplexed me as it it gives the impression that you can do want you want without regard to those around you...a sentiment heartily embraced by those setting of alarms at ungodly hours,the plastic bag rustler etc..I'm sure they
would justify such selfish actions by "it's my camino".

Good point and yes, I can relate to the examples. However, I was thinking along the lines of "there's no one way to do the Camino...that it's personal....if you're there to lose weight or forget a relationship, and if you want to do it in 30 days or 300 days, by foot or taxi or a combination thereof...stop and visit a museum or break a land speed record....well...and there I go again, it's your camino.

 

[bib]

I don’t know if I’m happy or devasted to discover this thread. A year after doing my Camino Frances, you guessed it...I have a simple poetic book and looking at publishing! As I discovered and read through this blog, Paul McCartney’s Wings song kept flowing through my mind, so I’ve played with the lyrics...

You'd think that people would have had enough of silly Camino books

I look around me and I see it isn't so

Some people want to fill the world with another Camino book

And what's wrong with that?

I'd like to know

'Cause here I go, again

I love you, ca- mi- no

I love you....

And here I go...again...

 

[bib]

I meant ‘devastated’ above...ha ha good start to a new writing career! Can we edit these threads after pressing ‘post’?

 

[Deleted member 397]

I've read quite a few camino books but they're a bit like looking at someone's holiday snaps. I think if you havent been it's best to have everything new and surprising and if you have been why read someone elses camino?

 

[Stivandrer]

My family constantly taunts me when I post a glorious cup of Café Cortado home to them, when doing the /a Camino, ...coffee in front of a glorious sunset, coffee in a beautiful street with croissant, coffee with my hat and sticks etc...
They say that I probably one day will write a book on "Glorious coffees I met along the Way " !

Now I will never write that book !!

 

[bib]

My family constantly taunts me when I post a glorious cup of Café Cortado home to them, when doing the /a Camino, ...coffee in front of a glorious sunset, coffee in a beautiful street with croissant, coffee with my hat and sticks etc...
They say that I probably one day will write a book on "Glorious coffees I met along the Way " !

Now I will never write that book !!

hmmm...Camino Cafes - that's a book I'd buy

 

[Deleted member 73526]

Peter Cook shares some tips on how to liven up a story - even the most boring story that has ever been written in the whole history of the universe ...

 

[sillydoll]

I've read quite a few camino books but they're a bit like looking at someone's holiday snaps. I think if you havent been it's best to have everything new and surprising and if you have been why read someone elses camino?

The only books I could find in 2000 when I was researching the Camino were Paulo Coelho's 'Pilgrimage' and Shirley MacLaine's newly published "The Camino". They nearly put me off walking the Camino altogether!
I was not planning on going in search of some metaphorical sword and I didn't relish the idea of a mystical- master putting me through my yoga paces at night (Coelho), nor did I cherish the idea of giving birth to a non-androgynous being in a place called Lemuria (Maclaine).
I blame these books for the subsequent frequent walks I did on the Camino. Because of these books, in an effort to avoid the rats and other creatures they encountered, I avoided every place that was described as 'basic, no beds, no running water and no electricity' and went in search of more up-market places to stay. This meant that I sometimes had to walk 40km a day (but at least I escaped the rats!)
A year after my return from the Camino I was asked by the newly established Confraternity of St James of South Africa to hold a workshop for wanna-be pilgrims at our home. Of the 12 people who came, 4 had done the Camino Frances and were there to share their experiences. When they started waxing lyrical about the atmospheric, traditional refugios (that's what they were called in then) that offered blessings by candlelight and communal meals, I thought I must've walked on a different continent. Nobody cooked me a meal in 27 nights.
By avoiding all the perceived rat-infested shelters, I had missed out on what was described by Conrad Rudolph in his book "Pilgrimage to the End of the World" as the 'soul of the Camino'. So two years later I packed the backpack and headed off to find the elusive 'soul' of the Camino. It didn't happen. I chose to walk from Paris to Spain - a rather sterile, no auberges, no pilgrims, lots of road walking experience. At every subsequent workshop ex-peregrinos oohed and aahed nostalgically over the 'soul' albergues on the Camino.
In 2007 two friends and I walked the Camino Frances again. I posted a request on this forum for a top ten albergue list - not the most modern but the most atmospheric and traditional with 'soul'. Armed with this list we trekked across the Camino staying at places like Eunate (with a candlelight blessing in the church), Granon (hand-clapping communal meal), Tosantos (serenaded by the wonderful Jose Luis), San Bol (with the wonderful Rastafarian hippies) San Nicolas (no foot washing there that night), Bercianos (watching the sunset before dinner), Manjarin (best communal meal by candlelight ever!) Ave Fenix (reiki healing by dear Jesus Jato), La Faba (with the vegetarian hippie Marcel) and San Xulian (woken up by classic music).
That was my year of ensoulment! I was a born-again pilgrim!

 

[KenStrange]

The only books I could find in 2000 when I was researching the Camino were Paulo Coelho's 'Pilgrimage' and Shirley MacLaine's newly published "The Camino". They nearly put me off walking the Camino altogether!
I was not planning on going in search of some metaphorical sword and I didn't relish the idea of a mystical- master putting me through my yoga paces at night (Coelho), nor did I cherish the idea of giving birth to a non-androgynous being in a place called Lemuria (Maclaine).
I blame these books for the subsequent frequent walks I did on the Camino. Because of these books, in an effort to avoid the rats and other creatures they encountered, I avoided every place that was described as 'basic, no beds, no running water and no electricity' and went in search of more up-market places to stay. This meant that I sometimes had to walk 40km a day (but at least I escaped the rats!)
A year after my return from the Camino I was asked by the newly established Confraternity of St James of South Africa to hold a workshop for wanna-be pilgrims at our home. Of the 12 people who came, 4 had done the Camino Frances and were there to share their experiences. When they started waxing lyrical about the atmospheric, traditional refugios (that's what they were called in then) that offered blessings by candlelight and communal meals, I thought I must've walked on a different continent. Nobody cooked me a meal in 27 nights.
By avoiding all the perceived rat-infested shelters, I had missed out on what was described by Conrad Rudolph in his book "Pilgrimage to the End of the World" as the 'soul of the Camino'. So two years later I packed the backpack and headed off to find the elusive 'soul' of the Camino. It didn't happen. I chose to walk from Paris to Spain - a rather sterile, no auberges, no pilgrims, lots of road walking experience. At every subsequent workshop ex-peregrinos oohed and aahed nostalgically over the 'soul' albergues on the Camino.
In 2007 two friends and I walked the Camino Frances again. I posted a request on this forum for a top ten albergue list - not the most modern but the most atmospheric and traditional with 'soul'. Armed with this list we trekked across the Camino staying at places like Eunate (with a candlelight blessing in the church), Granon (hand-clapping communal meal), Tosantos (serenaded by the wonderful Jose Luis), San Bol (with the wonderful Rastafarian hippies) San Nicolas (no foot washing there that night), Bercianos (watching the sunset before dinner), Manjarin (best communal meal by candlelight ever!) Ave Fenix (reiki healing by dear Jesus Jato), La Faba (with the vegetarian hippie Marcel) and San Xulian (woken up by classic music).
That was my year of ensoulment! I was a born-again pilgrim!

 

[VNwalking]

As much as I love reading camino stories, and am passionate about the camino, some of the books I've read are becoming exceedingly boring!
After reviewing 4 new camino books in 8 months, I'd like to appeal to potential writers to find a new approach or a different focus to their story to avoid the formulaic, almost write-by-numbers style of camino story.

You know the kind I mean - "I felt called to walk the camino; I climbed over a mountain and got blisters/shin splints/tendonitis; slept in a room with 100 snoring strangers; got up early; packed, walked, arrived, washed, ate, slept - ditto, ditto, ditto, blah,blah, blah - met amazing people; arrived in Santiago, cried in the mass and now I am a changed person - Amen. The End."

Remember, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims walk the same landscape, through the same towns, face similar challenges, learn similar lessons and experience the same highs and lows, and many, like you, now have an urge to hit the keyboard and turn their journal into a book.

This post.
It's definitely worth reading.
Bumping it, because a lot of people may not take the trouble to go back to look at it.

 

[sillydoll]

This post.
It's definitely worth reading.
Bumping it, because a lot of people may not take the trouble to go back to look at it.

I would like to add that I think everyone has a story and that they should write it, especially for their children and grandchildren but even there they must be consistent in their spellings, how they write numbers, the geography, the tense, and so on.
I was asked to read a new Camino book a few months ago. I was assured that it wasn't like all the others even though it was about the Camino Frances. As I looked at the chapters I knew that it was going to be the same, just with a different protagonist.
Start at St Jean, follow the usual stages, meet a Camino family, walk, arrive, wash, shop, eat, sleep ditto ditto.
This book included a lot of historical information but the writing was in a completely different 'voice' as though the writer had cut and pasted the info from a website. As soon as the Camino narrative resumed, the real voice returned. (Be careful about plagiarizing other people's work. It could get you into trouble!)

 

[carryoncouple]

As much as I love reading camino stories, and am passionate about the camino, some of the books I've read are becoming exceedingly boring!
After reviewing 4 new camino books in 8 months, I'd like to appeal to potential writers to find a new approach or a different focus to their story to avoid the formulaic, almost write-by-numbers style of camino story.

You know the kind I mean - "I felt called to walk the camino; I climbed over a mountain and got blisters/shin splints/tendonitis; slept in a room with 100 snoring strangers; got up early; packed, walked, arrived, washed, ate, slept - ditto, ditto, ditto, blah,blah, blah - met amazing people; arrived in Santiago, cried in the mass and now I am a changed person - Amen. The End."

Remember, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims walk the same landscape, through the same towns, face similar challenges, learn similar lessons and experience the same highs and lows, and many, like you, now have an urge to hit the keyboard and turn their journal into a book.

Find an original theme. Not everyone can walk with a donkey, or lead a blind person, or walk in the dead of winter, but there has to be new, fresh slant to a camino story for the book to have any appeal.

And please, get your spelling right and be consistent (you can't have hosteleria, hospitaleria, hospitalero etc) And, check your geography. You can't meet up with old friends you first met in Triacastela when you arrive in el Acebo!

Last year we visited a book shop in Pamplona. The owner told us that over 400 new camino stories had been published between June 2008 and June 2009. The market is becoming saturated and unless you self-publish, you will need to have something original to say to persuade a publisher to add your book to the many hundreds out there.

If you can stand to read one more, I invite you to try Camino Sunrise...I have enjoyed several books about the Camino and made every effort to make my theme sincere and yet different than most. Regardless, I appreciate your post. It is a good reminder.

 

[freeflyer123]

That throws my experience of the Camino out of the window
. I wrote a blog and I suspect it's simply too boring to plough through for the average reader because nobody seems to actually reach the end. We were two oldies on bikes and, yes, did feel a calling to do the route. We only used bikes because that's what we've done since the day we married - celebrating 53 year's this year - and couldn't envisage doing it any other way.

But I didn't write the blog for vanity's sake, simply to give an overview of each stage and our personal experiences tackling stretched muscles, sore knees, aching shoulders and so much more. No blisters for us of course, but the challenges on the body were just as demanding as if we had walked, instead of ridden. Yes, I write about the hills, the snoring in the albergues, the wonderful people we met, and so much more which turns my blog into a general run of the mill assortment. Suffice to say, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could. For those wanting to fall asleep in front of the laptops, computers or other reading devices, check it out at https://cyclingsofties.blog.