Wow. Any way you look at it, moving sucks. Particularly when you’re not sure if you can even afford the place that you’re moving in to.
Thank goodness for the short-term lease.
I’m not sure what it says, exactly, that late last night I went in an actually re-wrote a post from last year. (It’s this one, for those interested, and if you think it’s any good or have suggestions for improvement, feel free to comment on the post your reading now. Or maybe just email me the suggestions for improvement; I’m not sure if my self-esteem can handle a public flogging at the moment.) I’m not even sure what motivated me to do it. Maybe I’m just trying to get back into the groove of things. Or maybe I’m just being lazy, since editing an old post is a darn sight easier than writing a new one.
And, just on a whim as well, I spent 26 bucks and bought myself a little something. If you look up in your address bar, you might notice it.
And, I keep pondering the comment made by David on this post. Just pondering, pondering, pondering…
Is any of this a sign of things to come? I have no bloody idea.
The GeekHiker 
David’s comment on monetizing your blog — I wondered, a long time ago about that for your blog. I’ve employed Google adsense and there are other sources too, I can try to compile some sources for you to investigate if you want. The other thing is — have you ever considered turning your blog into a book? Maybe you’d have to turn it into several, based on subject, but you have a lot of good material here. One way to start is to maybe visit your local bookstore and look up books that are similar to what you would do and see who the publisher is. Or find an agent who can help.
By: spleeness on October 23, 2012
at 5:21 am
Having a lot of material, I think, is the problem! There’s over 600 posts now, which I’d have to go back through, edit, add tags too… a lot of work w/o pay…
By: geekhiker on October 31, 2012
at 9:48 pm
Hey! Expanding on spleeness’s quote, Ryan Somma made three e-books out of some of his old blog posts this past year. He had fun with it and said it was pretty easy to do. And like spleeness mentioned, Ryan broke them up into multiple books.
Enchanting Existence (Essays on Astronomy, Evolution, General Science)
http://www.amazon.com/Enchanting-Existence-ebook/dp/B008302FWA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1351006217
Mediaphilism (Films, Books, Games, etc)
http://www.amazon.com/Mediaphilism-ebook/dp/B008306TZY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1351006217
Enlightenment Living – Essays on Living a Virtuous Scientific Life (Natural Wonders, Science Culture, Ethics, etc)
http://www.amazon.com/Enlightenment-Living-Virtuous-Scientific-ebook/dp/B007XN220S/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1351006217
If that is a path you want to go down, I’m sure he could help with any formatting tips, advice on ISBN numbers, setting up GoodReads author pages and posting to Amazon and Barnes and Noble and such.
I actually aspire to publish a short ebook of short stories next fall. I have my work cut out for me though, but I’ll see what I can do. : )
P.S. If you do publish anything, I am going to have to request a signed hardcopy to keep in my library!!!! : )
By: tgaw on October 23, 2012
at 8:39 am
Oy, where did he find the time???
But… okay, I’m intrigued… does he have a Cliff Notes version?
By: geekhiker on October 31, 2012
at 9:50 pm
Hmm… I told you years ago (*making a smug face*) that you should self-publish your hiking posts into a Guide to LA Trails sort of ebook (or print too). With Amazon now, it’s easier than ever to sell a book without any middle man (or woman). There are loads of garbage being published every day — yours is not garbage and there is gotta be a market somewhere. I’ve downloaded quite a few $0.99 or $4.99 ebooks from Amazon (some great, others not so much, but hey, they are cheap!), and that price may seem low, but things add up, esp. after you have built a reputation (aka, having some positive reviews). Sometimes I have the urge to do something like that, but I am too lazy, and I don’t write as well as you do. Go for it!
Oh yeah, a belated welcome back!
By: skybluestateofmind on October 25, 2012
at 5:10 pm
LOL – I know you did. The problem is, especially in the L.A. market, there’s already a lot of competition out there, most of which have 50-100 hikes in them, which is more than I have on the blog.
Besides, I think I’m way lazier than you! And your writing is awesome!
By: geekhiker on October 31, 2012
at 9:53 pm
Then find a unique angle, say “25 Best Trails for Solo Hikers” (will they attract the attention of serial killers? Haha), or “Most Photogenic/Romantic/[Whatever] Hikes in LA”, you get the idea.
If you are financially okay at this point, you should absolutely take some time to turn your travel into a “Do Something Over a Year” sort of book (think “Eat Pray Love” or “A Year Living Biblically.” Like, “How Losing My Job Is the Best Thing that Happened to Me” or “Late Bloomer’s Manifesto — Globe Trotting in Your 30’s for First Timers”… Talking to an agent could be useful…
If you really want to get a regular job right now but don’t know where to start, here is something that might offer some inspiration: http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/2012/11/how-to-get-the-right-job.html
Damn, I should have been an online advisor (if there is any money in it!) 😉 Anyway, good luck! I know we all want to see pictures at least!
By: skybluestateofmind on November 2, 2012
at 1:27 pm
Well, it IS a lot of work, yes. Maybe this could be your writing project this month (since so many people are doing NaNoWriMo). But how rewarding would it be? Maybe form an outline. If you were making yourself a class, how would you break it into chunks? I have thought from the minute I saw your blog all those years ago that you should be a writer. To the point that, even before I started commenting on your blog, I thought of you while perusing the book section in a local REI, thinking “THAT guy’s blog should be here.” Of course I root for you to write books but I do recognize that the amount of work involved is overwhelming. Selfishly though, I want you to try anyway, even if you only get started in tiny increments. I’ll be your first customer. 🙂
By: spleeness on November 1, 2012
at 8:27 am