Fast Running Blog

I am toying with the idea of writing up a little book for runners on injury prevention, injury care, and stretching.  With pitchures and explainations.  I just want to get a feel to see who would be intrested to see if it is worth putting in the time and effort.

People sure seem to use your knowledge on this, don't they?

Ok so honest feedback, generally people who write books, especially ones like that, have a PhD behind their name, so you would have an uphill battle getting a publisher interested unless you found a co-author with the credentials, then you write the book, with his/her feedback, and then split the proceeds. 

Being a pragmatist, I have to ask if you are doing it because you want to help people, or because you want to have a profitable book, or both.  I think your time would be better spent on other business ventures from a financial standpoint.  If you want to help people, they tend to go to the internet instead of books for this kind of thing.  There is immediacy and specificity when people are researching an injury, so a website is probably a better outlet than a book if your goal is to help people.  Perhaps a website could even be profitable (my guess is the chances of either are about the same).

As your non-solicited financial adviser, I would say spend the time you would on the book doing massages, and charge top dollar for them, and you will come out ahead.

Ok that is my five cents. 

I agree that a website may be better than a book.  My father has been trying to get a business novel published for several years now, and is encountering great resistance even when paying for the publishing himself (which runs in the tens-of-thousands of dollars).  Not an easy task.  But if you want to, then go for it.

There are ways to self-publish books, such as lulu.com.

However, I think a website would reach more people. As the website grows, you can make money with advertising. Also, you can use the website to promote your business, and you might get a few new clients that way. But the general idea is to "publish" each book page/chapter as a web page. You could also add interactive features such as a blog or a message board.

Either way (website vs. book), it's a lot of work, so you have to ask yourself if this is how you want to be spending your evenings for the next few months.

As far as interest, I think it's a pretty good idea. I tend to scour the web a lot for injury advice and support, and can get rather frustrated by the lack of resources written by runners for runners. And I could care less if you don't have M.D. or PhD after your name; LMT is worth as much in my book on stuff like this.

I agree. Just from talking with the people I know and work with who are ATC's and PT's with Ph.Ds, that kind of book tends to get moved aside now for the quick internet searches (webmd.com, and all). It's not a bad idea by any means, but it can be hard to even be considered for publishing if you don't have those kinds of credentials (whether they mean something or not).

Maybe instead of a book, you could create a website/webpage with the same info. It may not bring in big book deal money, but you would probably reach more people, and unlike a book, you could update it more frequently (better info, new research, etc).

I guess everyone else beat me to that...

I like the idea of a website, my reason for doing it is to help runners and athletes take better care of themselves and help them get over injuries faster.  It is hard to explain things in words and I feel bad that I can't share what I know escpically when they are injured. 
And yes I have to decided if I have the time to dedicate to something like this.

One nice thing about having a website is that it would be easier to have not only pictures, but even video clips if you wanted.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a video demonstration can be even better.  For example, I specifically remember taking an athletic training class at BYU where we studied different taping methods for injures.  You had to see the taping method performed to really learn it.  No explanation alone or even pictures would have worked as well.

Agreed on the videos. That would set it apart from any other site.

I'd be interested in a book with good illustrations on stretching and injury prevention. A website would be nice, but for stretches I want something I can plunk down on the floor (not my laptop) and refer to mid-contortion. My preference would be spiral bound so it would stay open. You could cross reference common injuries with specific stretches and maybe even use tabs to keep it all organized. If you do a website, make the book available on it because I want something I can hold in my hands.

You've already decided you have time for this project so get with it! Your chances of success with a book or website (or both) are greater than your chances of winning in Boston and nobody here would think of telling you not to go for that!

I say, "Go for it! What's the worst that could happen?"