I've been wondering about travel journals. When I travel, I like to journal and sketch. How can I turn this into a book to sell on my website? Thoughts and ideas welcomed 
Organize your travel journal into a book.
(5 posts) (4 voices)
-
That's a very tough question to answer, since it really depends on how complete your journal is, and whether you're thinking of writing some sort of fictional travel literature, or an account of a trip, or a guide.......
You'll first need some idea and direction for a book, then figure out what of the information in your journal can be used in your book.
It's rare that a journal - by itself - can be used as a book, unless it's a very good accounting of some epic journey, complete with factual observations, tales and anecdotes (complete with conversations) of people you met along the way, and can paint a vivid enough picture of your trip that others can imagine themselves in the story. I've seen a few like that, but it's rare.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Angela
MemberThanks for the advice. My journals are very detailed -- that's how my mind works
Some pages have sketches on them which could be used as illustrations for the book. I'll probably write an account of my trip. It will not be a very long book, maybe between 100-200 pages. I'll think about it some more...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi Angela,
I think a journal is a good starting point for finding material, but I have found that most journal entries I have read do not create enough pull to sustain a reader through a couple hundred pages unless something wild begins to emerge in the travel experience or the writer.
However, I always keep a journal when traveling and many heavily edited entries have become published articles.
Good luck and happy travels.
devinPosted 2 years ago # -
Hey Angela,
I have written a travel book myself about a journey that I made. I kept a detailed daily journal throughout the trip, although I didn’t sketch in it.
Instead of using the text of my journal verbatim for my book, I rewrote it, plotting the story. I used a combination of descriptions and dialog for the travel book. The rewriting took me 6 months. The word count of the book ended up at 80,000 words.
I would personally only ever let my family read my unedited journal and as Trish said, unless it is well plotted and has dialog, I wouldn’t publish it like that.
I hope this helps.Maria
Posted 2 years ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.