[at-l] Not Meaning to Start Something---

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C)]

Well. I'm not jealous. Anyone who can make a living putting words together deserves all they can get. Bryson may have written about the Appalachian Trail. But if so, he wrote about a trail that I've somehow missed over the past 50 years of so of exploration. He?certainly didn't write about any part of the trail, or?any people on the trail, that I recognized.
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Weary
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------------Original Message------------
From: Bror8588@aol.com
To: ellen@clinic.net, rhymworm@gmail.com, janl2@mindspring.com
Cc: at-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Date: Wed, Feb-16-2005 3:15 PM
Subject: Re: [at-l] Not Meaning to Start Something---
In a message dated 2/16/2005 2:55:34 PM Eastern Standard Time, ellen@clinic.net writes:
I toyed with the idea of writing a book. I was discouraged by an editor for a major publishing outfit I met on the trail. He assured me that the trail book market was way over filled. 
Writing a book that will appeal to the general public is a worthy ambition.? Editors should stick to editing not forecasting. Publishers have some feel for the market (or should have) but even they have been wrong a whole lot of the time.? Editors know how to make a book come alive or at a minimum know how to insert punctuation and rearrange grammar.? They check for consistency in a book and check (some do) on research.? If you have a book within you then write it.? The quest for the perfect book about the trail is like searching for the holy grail.
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BTW Bill Bryson did write about the Trail -- The Appalachian Trail -- and he inspired hundreds of people to take a chance on a dream.? He did not hike the whole trail but he hiked more of it than I did.? He described it pretty well and allowed many non-hikers to get a glimpse of the concept of hiking the AT.? Too many are jealous of his success (financially) and hate the idea that he made money on something he did not reverence.? I read his book twice and it gets better the second time.? Perhaps I will read it again now that I have had the experience of a week on the trail under my belt.? Who knows?? I may get inspired to return to Springer and start all over again!
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Skylander