4 States in 1 Day

Like so many things, COVID-19 has delayed the release of our book. I've been wanting to build some excitement leading up to the October release, but wasn't sure what to post. I started thinking about how the book went in alphabetical order instead of sequential order. It seemed like there might be stories to be shared that didn't make it to print if I just changed how I looked at our adventures. While looking at a map of the trails included in the book, I realized our record for most states pushiked in a day was 4.

 

Kellisa and I were way behind schedule and needed to do some crazy trips with everything working out perfect or at least very close to perfect. We were in danger of leaving some of the New England states without finishing a trail due to rain in Connecticut and two rocky trails in New York. We needed to successfully pushike in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island on our last day in the region before returning home to California with less than 3 weeks before the completed manuscript was due.

If everything went as planned, I would give us excellent chances to finish the task. But, there was a powerful nor'easter just off the coast with winds between 50 and 60MPH pounding the mainland. At least one of our planned trails was along the coastline. In addition, I didn't have an alternative trail selected for Connecticut and didn't have a solid plan for Massachusetts or Rhode Island. 

After a long day, actually after a week of long days, we woke up early in a beautiful seaside motel. We had already pushiked in Oklahoma, Texas, Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire on this whirlwind trip. We only had four states to go east of the Mississippi and a very early flight home to catch in less than 24 hours.

Our first trail started out along the rocky Maine coast before going through a deep forest in full autumn display of vivid colors. The trail popped out of the trees for a short loop near the water again before returning on the same path back to our rental SUV. The wind and waves reminded me of bringing the girls to the beach to experience tropical storms passing by the Jacksonville, Florida coast.

I had an idea along the Massachusetts coast for a trail, but then I saw a sign for Walden Pond, "THE" Walden Pond. I took a chance and pulled off the highway knowing we couldn't afford to waste even a minute of time. We were relieved to find a suitable trail around one of the most famous ponds in the world. 

Rugged Access for All - Overview

Rugged Access for All is the working title for our book project under contract with Rowman & Littlefield. 90,000 words are due to the publisher on November 1, 2019. One question we've been asked is about the book's content.

There are thousands of hiking books on the market (and we own hundreds) that cover just about every topic: guides, reference, how-to, memoirs, best sellers, books made into movies, narrative non-fiction, hiking with families, hiking with babies, and even a few are written about accessible trails.

The only thing missing is a book written for families who have a member that uses an all-terrain jog stroller for toddlers and families with a child or adult in a wheelchair who use special mobility chairs designed for trails that don't meet ADA requirements.

With Rugged Access for All, we intend to fill this gap considering there are millions of families in the United States that fall within this all-terrain jog stroller and mobility chair category. Pushiking (One person pushing another in an all-terrain jog stroller or mobility chair while hiking) is the word we like to call our hobby. 

Rugged Access for All will be a mixture of trail guidebook w/pictures and maps, how-to for those just starting out, and a little narrative non-fiction mixed in to make the book a little more personal.

Even though Kellisa has traveled and hiked in all 50 United States, we didn't hike those trails with the intention of writing a guidebook. Therefore, we will be heading back out across the United States to find the best rugged trails for wheels to include in the book. From mountains to oceans to deserts to swamps to forests to canyons...the United States offers just about every kind of wilderness experience you can imagine. The trails will range from easy to extreme and everything in between. Some trails will be short, while others will be long. We might even backpack a few. We'll hike in all four seasons and in all weather conditions. At the end, we hope to include a little bit of everything our beautiful country has to offer those who want to get out and pushike!

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When does the fun start?

Since I'm new to this whole writing with a publishing agreement thing, I thought it would be all fun, planning, pushiking, traveling, researching, writing, and clear sailing to my deadline.

I was wrong. It's still new and exciting (I'm still on cloud 10), but also scary and intimidating. I have to have 90,000 words (others will want to pay to read) completed by November 1, 2019. That's a lot of words since I currently have exactly zero written.

In addition, I thought it would be easy after signing the 6 page publishing agreement, but I have a lot of homework to complete for Rowman & Littlefield before I can focus on my writing. I have to complete a 4 page Author Questionnaire, study and follow a very detailed 11 page Manuscript Guide, learn about permissions and artwork specifications, and create an Art Log. Nothing too hard, but I need to balance this with family, my career, and sleep. If I have to give up one for my new endeavor, guess which one it will be?

I'm not complaining, just sharing the next step of this whole process since it's all so new to me and maybe it will inspire others to pursue or continue their dream to write professionally.  

The Pushiking Contract

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The Pushiking Contract

It's been 7 1/2 years since I started down the path of seeking a publishing contract to write a book about Kellisa and I finally realized the dream by signing with Rowman & Littlefield. The journey has been long and filled with a lot of hard work with few results. I considered self-publishing in this modern era of dwindling book sales and therefore fewer deals for authors, but I was driven to go big or not publish at all.

I'd say I received hundreds of rejections, but most of the time you don't even get a reply from the literary agent or editor on the other end of your email book idea pitch. I've spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours over the years on pitches, queries, and proposals. I'd like to say I never gave up, but I did several times, but always came back with a new determination because I felt strongly in Kellisa's story of survival and breaking stereotypes. 

My book idea grew to include Laurel over the years and I would change a few slants to the story each time I tried to find a publisher. I always imagined a non-narrative book weaving between the medical history and outdoor adventures. I would question myself every time I was ignored. Was I crazy? Was I the only one who thought we had a story worth sharing?

Lisa pitched the idea of writing a guidebook for pushiking many years ago and while I loved the idea, I always saw that as a follow-up book after laying the foundation with more of a memoir style book. I had given up or at least blocked the idea of publishing a book out of my head for close to a year when it started creeping back into my head earlier this year. 

But, something was different this time. I started to embrace the idea of writing a guidebook. I have dozens of files from my previous efforts, but pitching a guidebook was almost like starting over. I convinced myself that this would be my last attempt and if I couldn't find a publisher, I would either put this book madness out of my head once and for all or maybe I would self-publish something. 

As I was bouncing ideas through my head, I did a little research and sent off one quick query email to Rowman & Littlefield. Because I wasn't expecting a response, I broke the number one rule- sending a query without having a completed book proposal.

While this query was hanging out there, I came across a post on Facebook from a friend back in Chicago who was making a major change in her life and was looking to start a business that included editing. Up until this point, I was doing all the writing and most of the editing and proofreading myself. I knew that if this really was my last effort, that I needed to give it my all and that would include seeking outside help. 

I reached out to Gin and pitched my book idea and what I might need as far as help. Gin immediately liked the idea and we discussed a plan. To my total surprise, within a couple of weeks, I received a response back regarding my query and it was my worst nightmare- they wanted a full book proposal.

I was embarrassed when I had to admit I didn't have a finished proposal (this rookie mistake is often a deal breaker in the publishing world), but I was given some time to complete it. With Gin on board, we were on an incredibly tight timeline. I had just a few weeks to create the perfect book proposal. Sleep would have to wait. Gin was huge in keeping me on track by seeing the big picture of the entire proposal and helping guide me with the perspective of someone removed from our story. In the end, we had a completed proposal of over 8,000 words and submitted the book proposal on June 4, 2018. 

It was a long summer of not knowing if this would finally be my big break. Then, in mid-August, I heard back that it was looking like the book might have a chance, but a little more time was needed. It was hard to sleep or function knowing I was close and this would be it, one way or another.

September 5th rolled around and I received an email from Rowman & Littlefield with an attachment...a contract offer. It was six pages long and I read every word on my tiny cell phone screen (I was traveling for work and eating lunch in a Chinese restaurant). I was so excited, I was ready to sign right there before the offer could get away. But, I thought I should print it out and really read every word when I could see them clearly and also have Lisa look it over. 

I would have signed just about anything at this point, but I had a few questions. We went back and forth and I was able to sign my first publishing contract on September 15, 2018. 

I could go on and on, but I have a book to write!

Don't worry, I'll be sharing more details about the book in future posts.

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