I just got back from my annual “vision meeting” with Bill Newlin, my publisher. (He comes to Seattle or I go to San Francisco.) We critique and review the business we share — making sure the 30 books he’s published of mine are well-designed, efficiently updated, cleverly marketed, thoroughly distributed… and selling well.
There are certain natural conflicts between a publisher and a travel writer. For instance, thickness of paper is an issue. If a book has a fat spine, customers see it better on the bookshelf and it sells better. Of course, for a traveler, a thinner book is easier to pack. My fear is that a needlessly fat book will sit on the hotel bed while the traveler who needs it is out and about. Publishers choose the thickness of the paper based in part on these concerns. Thinner paper is a bit more expensive. When it gets too thin, “opaqueness” becomes an issue (you don’t want to see print from the other side). A few times we’ve received needless fat phrasebooks (whose portability is particularly important) and I am on the phone pronto with Bill.
Another natural stress point is price point. I believe that book buyers are “price sensitive” and we’ll actually make more money by keeping our prices down. Bill is pressured by bookstores to keep the price up so everyone on the nibble chain of the book business (which is tough for all involved these days) gets a little more to eat. (A book store hardly wants to deal with an $8.95 book because their cut is so small. But the same percentage mark-up on a $14.95 book earns a profit substantial enough to generate some sales enthusiasm.)
We go back and forth on book covers. I once wanted Michelangelo’s David on the cover of my Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler book — full frontal nudity. My publisher said with his marble penis right there for all to see the book will lay face down (if at all) on coffee tables all over the less-erogenous, conservative zones of our country. He proposed a fig leaf. I cringed. Then I proposed a peel-off fig leaf so each book buyer would have options. My publisher said that, at a dime each, it was too expensive. I proposed we split the cost. He agreed and I wrote a $500 check for my half of 10,000 peel-off fig leafs. That’s my kind of publisher.
Any publisher wants more titles from someone whose books sell well.
Bill reads sales reports for all the travel books in print like others read a steamy romance novel. When it comes to wisdom on what will sell, I trust Bill. (He knew perfectly well, for instance, that when I split my single Spain & Portugalguidebook into two separate books, both the new Spain and the new Portugal books would sell better than the original combo title.)
Each year Bill pushes for more titles. This is when I feel like a hamster in a wheel. Each book is a lot of work. Thankfully, our phrasebooks, art books, maps, and DVDs don’t need regular updates. But the annuals (city and country guidebooks…about twenty of the thirty) need to be researched and redone every year.
Back in the late 1980s, my publisher put his arm around my shoulder as we walked from our hotel to the American Booksellers’ Association convention in San Francisco and said, “Rick, you’ve got four titles. If you want to be noticed and taken seriously in the book business you need more titles.” Twenty years later, with about eight times the titles, he has been proven right.
Bill wants new books for 2009. He proposes expanding our line of phrasebooks (to Dutch, Polish, Greek, and Russian). I remind him that our phrasebooks are more than phrasebooks…they need to mix travel savvy into each edition. I am committed to this element (and tell him we know nothing of travel in Russia and that’s one title I’d rather not do). Bill’s cool. (I think he asks for more than he really expects.)
Bill (and everyone else I work with) pushes each year for a Greece book (which I’ve resisted for a decade). Finally, fresh off my wonderful Greek vacation with Anne and with the assurance of expert research and writing help from my staff, I have (tentatively) agreed to do a more focused Athens with Side-Tripsbook. (I have already written a fine Athens chapter from an aborted earlier stab at a Greece guidebook — which lives on our website — and I’m really excited about Nafplion and the island of Hydra as side-trips.)
We agreed to do a Budapest with Hungarian Side-Tripsbook for 2009. Budapest is challenging Prague as an Eastern European favorite and my ace co-author, Cameron Hewitt, is enthusiastic and ready to make this book a winner.
Bill reminds me that our Germany & Austriabook is now pretty fat (with 650 pages) and needs to be broken apart. I agree but don’t want to write an Austria book because I don’t like much of Austria (or at least don’t want to be an expert on Graz and Klagenfurt). We agree that the new book should be Vienna (which I absolutely love) with Salzburg and Danube side-trips. We also agree that Salzburg should also remain in the Germany book as so many consider it a side-trip from Munich.
I also tell Bill I’ve been enjoying giving travel talks with a political edge all over the country lately and that I’d like to write a book with the working title Travel as a Political Act. We both know that the Gore Vidal’s political essay books (which Avalon also publishes) have topped the New York Times bestseller list. And Bill figures that 2009 (after a new president) will be considered a new beginning — and the market will have a renewed appetite for political books.
Future titles we’re both interested in but will let simmer on the back burner include: an Italy version of our new Europe 101 book; Poland — which is virtually written and hiding within our Eastern Europe guidebook; an update of my Postcards from Europe book (incorporating my blog material from the last two years); a coffee-table book of gorgeous Europe photos with quirky insights and travel skills lessons tied to each; and a book designed for cruise passengers to travel independently from their cruise ships at the various ports of call.
Each year Avalon pushes to up the production values of our guidebooks. While I absolutely love our hand-crafted Dave Hoerlein maps (Dave has been our in-house cartographer — along with much more — for twenty years), they are morphing into computer-generated maps. They will retain their intimate connection (which only Dave can create) with the text and needs of the traveler while becoming more detailed and to scale.
Bill is determined to keep up with the trend in guidebooks to kick each edition off with an introduction of 15 or 20 pages supported by full color photos. That will be a great opportunity to get our readers primed for the best visit.
Bill is a visionary. He’s out there in loony field and then suddenly loony field is the front yard. Lately he’s nagging me to code all our listing for GPS (global positioning) as the digital revolution will soon merge navigation devices and electronic books (and usher in the end of the paper book era).
And speaking of electronic books, we have created an electronic proto-type (a combo-guidebook to London and Paris available only as a digital download over the internet) as an experiment with Amazon. (And just this week Amazon has unveiled its Kindle. I held it at Amazon headquarters six months ago and was sworn to secrecy. Keeping the secret almost gave me a hernia. Now I can blurt out all my thoughts…in my next entry.)
I love my publisher. Since I joined it in 1984 it’s morphed from John Muir (the hippy publisher, one of America’s first small independent publishers famous for the classic How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive and Carl Franz’s People’s Guide to Mexico(Carl and John smoked a lot of weed back in the 60s) to a more serious John Muir. It was ultimately purchased by Avalon (as publishers need a critical mass to survive these days) which essentially merged my guidebooks and the Moon guidebook series. A couple years ago (in keeping with the get-big-or-die trend in American business in general) Avalon was purchased by Perseus Publishing.
The president of Perseus (a good traveler and fan of my guidebooks — whew!!!) is committed to letting Avalon and I stay true to our mission of being the best travel guides in the business, with a passion for our readers needs, even if that means occasionally trumping conventional publishing wisdom.
Since 1984 I’ve never had an agent and never flirted with another publisher. My talented staff and I research and write the guidebooks. Then Bill and his gang at Avalon publish them, promote them to the book business, and get them into the bookstores. (Getting books well-positioned at Barnes & Noble or scoring a special “Rick Steves” store at Amazon.com doesn’t just happen.)
And once the books are researched, written, published, and distributed…well, that’s where you come in. Thanks and happy travels.
Rick,
Here’s a nice idea that we followed for years, and it could help you sell a lot more books.
The traveler will need a lot of information, especially on his first trip, and the place to get it is from one of the famous travel guides, and that means Rick Steves.
This is not the place to save a few dollars – a good guidebook will pay for itself over and over again.
When you arrive at a location described at length in the guidebook, tear out the appropriate pages for the day. Those few pages take a lot less space in pocket or purse, and the publishers will be happy to sell you another copy when you get home, if you want to keep a complete book with your memoirs.
Rick One area I found frustrating in your books was the hand drawn maps. It is a weak area in the books that needs to be improved, as a suggestion. This is not to say Dave has done a poor job. He drew the maps in a certain style you obviously wanted. However, I have wasted many hours on trips, often at night or in the rain, trying to find my hotel in a strange city because the maps were not detailed enough. In some cases they were good enough to get by. You said when people complained that they should get a detailed map at the tourist office. That is not always practical. I arrived in Krakow at 5AM in December and had a lot of trouble finding my hotel. This is a key item for me and I am suggesting you improve this not to criticise but as a constructive change to your books. Thanks again for all your great work and your staff also for their dedication.
Thanks for the interesting look inside the business of travel book publishing..so many intricacies!
Hi Rick, My parents used your (thick!) 2007 edition Germany & Austria like a bible to plan their first ever trip outside of North America. My mom tore out and stapled together the most pertinent pages she needed for each town, which usually included the town map and some museum and hotel information, so she could easily stash them in her bag or pocket and leave the rest of the book back in the hotel room. The pages have now been placed back in their proper places. I’m planning to study in Vienna next semester, so I was looking at that section of the book, and as I was reading through it yesterday, Rothenburg and Innsbruck kept falling out. :) I think I’ll need the newer edition.
Oh my goodness my idea wasn’t unique, someone else thought of it also.
But it’s a good idea.
As books go the price seems fair. I just bought the 2008 Italy book, and compared to my 2002, it is thicker and much more searching and reading to do, to find what you want. But you do give more options for transportation and other things. When we take it in April we will have to see if it is harder to use on the road. I do agree with one of the writers about the hand drawn maps. They are hard for my husband and I to follow. My husband drives for his job and is use to better maps. Judy
Wow Rick! I’m really excited about the new ebook! I think I asked you about this possiblitiy a few years ago, and I just bought my husband an e-reader for Christmas to take along on our trip this spring! How awesome that we can get London and Paris for it! It will be even more awesome when you get the rest of Europe in digital format! We really appreciate all of the hard work you and your team put into the guidebooks! Many Thanks!
Thank you for dumping those terrible hand drawn maps!! Cute and quaint butnot accurate and geared only to those who must be thinking exactly like Dave, I apparently never have been. It is time for real maps. It is the 21st century after all. NOTE TO HUMBERD : Rick has always stated in his books that you should rip out the sections you need with abandon. Please keep your political writings out of the travel books. The last thing we need is more reflux while in foreign lands!
Oooopps. That is, RICK , please keep the politics out of the travel books, Humbred you keep posting them here as it is some of the more interesting thoughts expressed on the blog.
The “Travel as a Political Act” book is a brilliant idea. Looking forward to it. How can tourists help a country, and how do they cause problems?
Hi, Rick! The new books coming sound great. I’ll be looking for them at the bookstore. I missed out on the fig leaf book. :) Happy holidays!
Thanks for the great insight into book publishing. I have to agree with the others regarding maps. When I’m going to a city (like Vienna or Munich) I take a Streetwise Map (pubished in Sarasota, FL and available at bookstores or online). They are the best maps. I have a collection of them. I need more details when I’m on the street. Yours are a good guide but I can’t travel with them. Have to agree about dividing Germany/Austria book. Where is Hallstatt going to be? Keep writing, publishing, and traveling! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family.
My husband and I have always used your guidebooks while traveling in Europe and since we always drive we find your little mileage maps invaluable. They are just the best. Thanks Rick!
I always thinks its funny how many people complain about the maps – Rick has mentioned many times – these are not to scale – and that the first thing he recommends when landing is get the real local maps! The hand drawn ones are part of the “RS” books – and while it would be nice if a bit more accurate – its really just for an overview idea (like a cocktail napkin design I would draw for converstaion!) a quick look. Plus you always have a second book (LP or Rough Guide) and they have the “accurate maps”. Just pick up the latest Micheline map when you buy Ricks book! thats a whole package!
FORGOT TO ADD – thanks RICK for another behind the scenes look at ETBD and the biz. Its amazing how much is involved! And thanks for not giving in to all the whims of marketing/publishers when it can still be done your way! Modernize as needed but keep the traditions!
I cringed when I read “15 or 20 pages supported by full color photos”. That’s the worst possible thing to add to a book that’s supposed to be light and portable. Those are going straight in the trash — not the recycle bin like the other unneeded pages, since you can’t recycle those glossy pages. If you want to save space, get rid of those $$$ hotel listings. The rest of the book is designed for a budget-conscious traveler, so they don’t seem necessary. Other than that, the books are great — keep it up and keep them light!
Apparently I’m in the minority here, but I really like Dave Horlein’s hand-drawn maps. They’re detailed enough to let me generally find my way…while getting pleasantly lost along the way once in a while. If you wnat to add more detailed maps, great, but please keep the hand-drawn maps, too. They’re a big part of my trips.
Rick, I think your political and social opinions are an integral part of the “Rick Steves brand”. Being opinionated is what makes your brand different and preferred by so many. Don’t move away from it! Thanks! A dozen year student and customer of the Rick Steves brand. Marty
Dear Rick,
Thank you for saying you will be writing a book on Athens and environs….The New York Times did a story on the New Acropolis Museum with pictures ( and this museum looks to be one of the best in Europe)–this will certainly bring more people to Athens next year.
Athens is now becoming one of Europes “favorite” long weekend break destinations…
I was in Athens for the Olympics and they were handing out pamphlets with different walks through this city, I think it was called Strolling through Athens, the walks included detailed maps with historical information on the following: Ancient Athens, Byzantine Athens, A strange walk, etc.
What a better way to see an ancient city than by strolling around, I am not sure if you have ever seen these pamplets, however, they would be a great way to see Athens..You have given much credit to Greek culture in your other travel books, I cannot wait to read about 5th century Athens in your new tour book…
I selected a few clippings from our Travel Journal about museums.
Museums house beautiful works of art, a cathedrals is itself is a work of art.
Sweetie loved to visit street markets, flea markets, and antique stores. Beautiful little villages, with shopping centers, and street markets, are truly living museums. An hour is better spent in a supermarket or a furniture store, than in any nightclub or fancy restaurant.
In Madrid we not only loved the Prado Museum with its paintings, but ate donuts at the only Winchell’s Donut Shop, and visited the only Sears Roebuck Store we found in Europe.
We think the building itself is the most interesting part of most museums.
Many of the items on display seem to be there just because they are old. Not because they are beautiful or useful or even particularly decorative, but just old.
Three US Navy men had me take their photograph in front of “Whistler’s Mother,â€. The sailors were whistling, of course.
I think your map works just fine. My family and I do not have a problem with it. Your guidebooks have been essentially a book of our bible, including your political and philosophical views about the world. We can connect globally as well as locally. It seems to me that living in a big city, we don’t tend to make an extra effort of being friendlier…we can easily do that in our neighborhood, make eye contact…. The other day I was shopping at Trader Joe’s ( my favorite store ), an old lady gently asked me to read the package of a extra sharp cheese, after helping her, she kindly gave me a big smile, and minutes later, another lady who also needed help with the small print on the package, and again, I received a warm thank you from her. Little connections can help us make this world a little better to live in…. I have the prilevege to attend your lecture at the Domincan University in San Rafael. Thank you Rick for all you’ve done !
Hi Rick, Please don’t completely ditch the handdrawn maps and diagrams. I really like them. I find them so much easier to get perspective than the maps in other guidebooks like Lonely Planet. When I need a detailed map, I buy one of the Streetwise maps (or similar for the city). But for getting a feel for the layout of a town, Dave’s maps are fantastic. I’ve been using your books for more than 20 years and the maps and drawings are one of my favorite parts of the books.
A couple of comments: 1 – Thanks for the ‘behind the scenes’ look at publishing, and thanks for the great guidebooks. 2 – The current maps do need more detail; carrying a second book or packet for better maps goes against traveling light; if you can improve a feature and prevent having to buy/carry additional maps – go for it; I have also walked (after TI hours) in pouring rain trying to find a hotel. 3 – I would not like to see more photos – keep the guidebooks as light as possible; consider writing books just for photos – I would love that. 4 – GPS idea is intriguing (and I don’t have a GPS). How often does one come up from the subway and wonder which direction that museum is? 5 – Please keep the political stuff out of the guidebooks – put them in other books if you want to share them with readers who want them.
Rick, just to let ya know, their is a small group of us toasting you to champagne at this very moment….we are toasting to you writing a book about Athens etc. We have been waiting a long time and can hardly wait…
p.s. we will certainly be hung over after the continued toasts and hopefully the New England Patriots win another game…..thanks again!!!
Since you insist on mixing travel info and politics I think I will try also. It seems to me that the idea of including maps that are deliberately inaccurate and misleading but on the surface homely and appealing, is exactly liberal politics in a nutshell! While an idealistic liberal in my youth, with increased knowledge and life experiences I grew into a more libertarian conservative. So as a conservative I ask, why would you include such maps when you can just as easily include a map which is entirely accurate, based only on truth and would eliminate the need to obtain other sources? The liberal mind seems to operate on the ideal that feeling good is enough. The conservative mind needs the truth even if it does not feel warm and fuzzy. Just trying to get the blogs kicked up a bit.
We LOVE LOVE LOVE the hand drawn maps!! We use them for every city. We also bring a detailed Michelin map plus use city maps from the TI. However, many times my husband says, “Get out the Rick Book and check his map” because it has the information we need without the information we DON’T need. If people are hurting for maps, maybe you should publish a more detailed map for major cities and sell them separately. This seems to be a travel niche in which you do not have anything at the moment.
I like the hand drawn maps. Its like bullet points. Helps me get orientated to the city and what area the big attractions in. Then we always get the RS fold out maps and those are awesome! It has all the hotels marked and work fabulously. I buy two because one gets beaten up as we carry it everywhere and the other is for keeping at home and reflecting back on the trip. However, I will say that for every trip – we have bought a phrase book and have never used them. Not that there is anything wrong with them…but in the moment when you need something, we just get by without digging out the book and looking thru the indexes to find what we need. We learn the key phrases – yes, no, thanks, where is, etc etc. and then do a lot of pointing. And as for glossy pics – I am all for it. A picture of the cathedral in Koln can do it a lot more justice than words. Plus, I may be a sap, but it is just more for me to look back on and say awwwww when the trip is over.
Oh sorry and one more thing. I disagree with the gentleman who wants to get rid of $$$ hotels. I think all the hotels are reasonable, even the $$$. For the most part we have stayed at the moderately priced suggestions and had really great experiences. For a few cities – we kicked it up a notch as a gift to ourselves. A room in Nice with a view of the sea, a room in Venice with a view of the canal, a room in Luzern with all the modern amenities. A few nights of splurge on an extended trip just feels nice (and romantic).
This is not in any way meant to be a knock at scenic views from a hotel, but the views from the window of our RV are impossible to beat.
From the campsite on the island in the middle of the Rhône River, the night view the Le Pont D’ Avignon, the city wall, and the Pope’s Palace illuminated by floodlights, might just be one of the more spectacular sights of a vacation trip.
From the campsite in Fiesole, high on the hill, we looked over the Arno River Valley with the domes and towers of Florence spread out below, especially the Campanile and the huge dome of Santa Maria del Fiore.
“… a spired rock emerging from the gray-blue sea — the matchless citadel of beauty, Mont-St.-Michel.†The Mont is in sight of the campground located just where the causeway leaves the mainland, and as may well be imagined, the view of the gleaming sunset and sunrise on le Mont-St.-Michel, from the RV’s dining or bedroom window, is magnificent.
If all of the color pics are in one place, and therefore easy to rip out, that’s fine with me. And, in our area, they go into the recycle bin, although I don’t know what they get recycled into. I would probably save them until I got home from the trip, in case i wanted any of the pictures for my scrapbook.
Rick, We are trying to plan a trip to Greece and are so excited about your Athens book! Thanks!
I’m a promoter for Streetwise Maps but I want the Rick maps too. Most are very good and I like to refer to them as I am reading. Some of the maps are way off . . . the Baden-Baden map for the laundry comes to mind. I gave up after lugging a large bag of laundry around for 30 minutes up hill and still didn’t find the place. I have all your large maps along with my Stretwise maps. Maps I use, phrase books I don’t. P.S. I love my Rick Steves reversible vest!
I’m of 2 minds when it comes to the maps. They have been helpful to us for things within walking distance (walking tours and city centers) but have been frustrating for larger areas. Rick recommends getting a local map but I’ve had trouble locating anything on the hand-drawn map on an actual road map. Dave’s maps are great in the planning stages but not very useful in the field. A little more information would be helpful. Overall we’ve had great success with Rick’s books and other products but maps were one area that I wasn’t really satisfied. I bought a few “planning maps” for our last trip and was frustrated to find that they are pretty much a larger version of the maps in the front of the guidebooks. I took them anyway but they stayed in my room because it was so much easier to carry around the maps torn from the front of the book. Dave’s maps and the Planning Maps need more information to be truly useful. Just my opinion. I’d love to hear if anyone disagrees.
Maps were an important part of our travel gear, but we tried not to be disappointed if we couldn’t find a parking place near something we wanted to see, we just enjoyed the area where we found a place to park.Luckily we were able to travel in Europe for 3, or 4, or 5 months at a time, so our need for schedules were different than most travelers.Our Travel concept included:If we don’t care where we are, we aren’t lost.If we have no schedule, we aren’t late.If we have no itinerary we’re exactly where we ought to be.If we can’t see IT this trip, we’ll see IT next timeTurn here, explore there, relax and enjoy.It ain’t what you got, it’s what you do with it that counts.Our vacation is not a destination, it’s the Journey.We don’t say our way is the only, the best, or even an acceptable way to travel, for anyone but us. The RVs were our hotel, restaurant, and rental car as we traveled.
Rick, I hope you are still reading the comments to this blog entry because I think your idea to write a book that gives cruise passengers alternatives to the cruise line port excursions is fantastic! My husband and I were on a Mediterranean cruise this year and the only thing we didn’t like was being herded around in tour groups. But the ship stopped at ports outside of big cities and we were unsure of how to get to Rome or how to get to Naples from the port. To have a book that would give the information for independent excursions would be fantastic. Thanks for all your great advice for people who live to travel. Kitty Faria
I know this is rude and I am sorry but.. I think the hand drawn maps often well… sucked. I have more frustrating memories of travel in Europe because of those maps than anything. I would guess there are more than a few people in Europe who wondered who the lunatic was walking in circles swearing under his breath because they saw me relying on those maps. Rick, thank you for getting rid of these. Don’t know much about that Amazon thing but at least now these pages won’t be wasted paper.
Glad to hear there may finally be an Athens, if not a Greece, guide! And count me on the side of those wanting better maps – I remember lots of extra steps in Vienna looking for my hotel! And on the subject of Austria…. I’m sorry to hear you’re not fond of most of Austria, but not surprised. I think it appeals to lovers of scenery rather than art and architecture. But I just got back from a trip that included Graz, and loved the place, and Zell-am-See last year was also a winner. I guess I’ll just have to keep taking LP for most of Austria.
Having used Rick’s books since, as he says, he only had four titles, I consider the maps as much a part of the books as the drawings in the Sendik books! Yes, we have been lost trying to use them, but what better place to be lost than Venice? And what other guidebook will direct you to the public WC in Orvieto (to the left of the Cathedral and down the steps)? Goodnight, Moon.
I’m disappointed Dave’s maps will go away in the next edition. I love the hand drawn maps! They add so much character to the book, as if Rick (or Dave) was sitting across from us at a coffee shop, sketching out how to get to the next great sight. They make the books feel fun and friendly, like that line about “a tour guide in your pocket.” Where else do you get maps with splashing dolphins and cheerful little boats chugging along? Here’s my vote for Dave and his great maps.
I guess I don’t see why anyone would try to use the hand-drawn maps to navigate streets to begin with. I don’t think that was ever their intended purpose. I referred to them quite a bit actually. Like Paris, I would refer to those maps to see what major attractions were in what general areas – decide my priorities based on what was bunched together in that area and then use a street map to navigate. It was never meant to be a navigation map….just planning and general orientation. As someone who had never been to Paris – those maps were very helpful in the pre-planning stages. I don’t know if I would have noticed, but now that it has been discussed on this blog, I think I will be disappointed to see them go away.
Anyone who has a problem with a marble penis should stay at home. No, really. I don’t want those people representing me in Europe.
Michelangelo got his hammer, made a few changes, then said, “It’s finished.â€
But what did he know? Emmy thinks the right hand, and certain other unmentionable parts of Michelangelo’s Statue of David, are still out of proportion to the rest of the body — picky, picky.
When I said, “How do you know,†she quickly changed the subject. (1988)
Dear Rick: With regard to a separate Austria guide book, I think that your readers would really enjoy Graz. It is a beautiful, medieval city with many attractions, including perhaps the best collection of armor in Europe (enough to fill a three-story armory!), the famous Uhrturm [clock tower] and fortress once conquered by Napoleon, Schloss Eggenberg, a nearby (and very well done) Open Air museum, the nearby Piber Stud Farm (Lipizzaner breeding farm — the dancing white horses are born grey/black), a beautiful Domkirche (cathedral) along with the masoleum of Ferdinand (?), the only Austrian Emperor buried outside of Vienna, the Styrische Weinstrasse (Styrian wine road), and the Styrian Alps. In addition, it is a spectacular (e.g., Simmering) and relaxing 3-hr train ride from Vienna. Having lived in Vienna for over a year, we found Graz to be a jewel — slower paced and well worth the trip, which we made several times. You really should reconsider when you write the Austria book.
I predict that if you combine your political views with travel in your business, then you will sell to that part of the public that agrees with you, politically. I do not think that limiting your market is a very good marketing strategy. Good luck with your future plans!
I love the idea of getting info to cruise travelers for trips in the various ports. I have taken many cruise and always do the research and have had no problems in this area but I have found the majority of people have not and end up on overprices trips that don’t allow them to see the sights and meet the people. I always seem to end up leading a group of my own and they love it. Also please do not mix politics with your travel books. For those of us who are not interested in politics, stick with travel since you are the best!
Dear Rick, I seem to be the only (or one of few) who prefer the 2 to 22 days guidebooks including Dave’s maps. Is it so bad to get a little lost occasionally? No one seems mention these classics. The old books were thin, light, and lean and carried a big punch. Like a street fighter, they might not have been perfect or the prettiest but there was not an ounce of fat on them. The new books are HUGE! Like an aging boxer or middle age traveler, they have become bloated with success. I have enjoyed you and grown older with you. You taught me the philosophy of traveling light. I wish the less is more philosophy extended back once again to your guidebooks.
I love Dave’s maps. (Dave, too – guide of our first ETBD triop in 1984!) They are part of the RS guidebooks in a way that an ordinary map could never be. They show the ETBD points of interest in their own unique way. Obviously you need a detailed map for other purposes and they are easy to find in many places. If you are going to an out of the way places (your ancestral town, for instance), printing one from the internet is almost always an option. Plan ahead where possible, and if not possible, wing it. Much travel fun is found by getting lost or strayed.
I have a big stack of RS guidebooks and it is fun to go do lookups for general planning and reread for pleasure, but DON’T bring along anything but the latest version for actual travel guidance. Things change way too fast and the B&B or nice little restaurant recommended in the old guidebook may be under new and poorer management this year.
I’m excited to hear about the cruise ports book – my husband and I did a Mediterranean cruise for our honeymoon, and it was difficult to find books that covered port cities from all over the Continent. But beyond that, it would be great to have travel skills advice targeted towards the unusual situation of having only a few hours in each city plus having to get from port to sights. It would be so helpful.
Hi Rick. I hope you read this. My suggestions for your books : (1)Please do publish a coffee table size book of big gorgeous color photographs from Europe. But I think putting travel skills lessons in that book is not necessary. (2) In your travel guide books I like the small maps drawn by Dave Hoerlein. When I was in Copenhagen, this year :the very big detailed map of Copenhagen for tourists, that I acquired there, has too much information on it, it was confusing. I pulled the book “Rick Steve’s SCANDINAVIA 2006” out of my jacket pocket, to look at Dave’s maps of Copenhagen. His maps prevented me from getting lost. And in your book on GERMANY the picture (diagram) of Neuschvonstein and other places near it is helpful for getting oriented there. And in your book on SWITZERLAND the pictures (diagrams) of the places in the Berner Oberland are helpful for planning a trip to there. (3) In future editions of your travel guide books, I think adding many color photographs is not necessary.
I think your original concept of making a travel guide book (for a country in Europe) that is small, easy to carry, concisely written, including simple small maps drawn by Dave Hoerlein, was a very good idea. My first trip to Europe was to Germany and Austria. For planning that trip the only book I read was “Rick Steve’s GERMANY & AUSTRIA & SWITZERLAND, 1998”. (My trip was in 2001). I went to the places in Germany that you said, in that book, are of highest priority for sightseeing. The book did not describe other places, and I am glad. I did not have time for other places in Germany. Your travel guide books do not need to be big encyclopedias. A Frommers book is an encyclopedia. Your travel guide books do not need more color photographs. As you said, a long time ago : your video travelogues (made for PBS television) are made for the purpose of supplementing, or augmenting, your travel guide books. You do not need to imitate the Lonely Planet or ROUGH GUIDE books.
I’ll add my support for more detailed maps. We took a long time to find our hotel (RS recommended) in Rothenburg, and experienced the wrath of a local for driving on a pedestrian only street- we missed the graphic sign. When we found the hotel, and looked at the map, we still couldn’t figure out how to get there from the ramparts. I do not wish to repeat that experience. But, we are headed to Freiburg over Xmas, and my husband was delighted to find it in your book. Also we appreciate the rational (political) commentary!
Rick, I have to agree about Dave’s maps. We were just in Spain and Portugal in September and October and I can’t tell you how frustrating the directions and maps were on some of your walks. I think there needs to be a supplement map to these hand drawn ones. You don’t have to get rid of them complaetely but putting in more detailed maps for each city would be great. Like others, I don’t want those glossy detailed maps because that is not a RS guidebook. getting lost in a city should be a choice, not a result of doing a Rick Steves’ walk using hand drawn maps.
Rick, one more thing I wanted to comment on. I don’t think your guidebooks themselves should be openly political. I understand that you do that a little to illuminate the views of the countries we are in. However, if this becomes part of your regular guidebooks, then you will probably end up catering your business to a particular audience. Sometimes I agree with your political views and sometimes I don’t. However, I love your approach, outlook, and humor in your guidebooks and use them regardless of whether I agree with you or not politically. And I think others on here feel the same way. So if you create a political guidebook, make it separate from your regular guidebooks. I just think it would be best for the 25 years of loyalty that has been established with your readers and customers. Another idea would be creating tour groups for those politically minded to try different approaches to travel.
Your guidebooks are great, but I agree some have gotten too “fat” and hard to pack and tote around during the day. I just wish you were writing guidebooks for U.S. travel, as well. Keep on playing the hamster in the wheel —- we Americans just couldn’t get on in Europe without those guidebooks!
Rick stopped by my desk last week and said I should check out the map comments on his blog. I just did and want to say first of all to those of you who like the hand-drawn maps your checks are in the mail! Pro or con I enjoyed all the opinions. From the beginning it’s been a challenge and a pleasure for me and the rest of the map team to design maps that are a complement to the text. Rick’s writing is lively, opinionated and focused upon what a traveler really needs to know. We try to have our maps reflect that. Less is more – the most detailed travel map in the world is useless if the essentials don’t pop. As I draw maps in the interest of clarity and keeping the size limitation of the page in mind I find that I often pare away more info than I add.
After talking about it for a few years, now we’re making the inevitable shift to digitized maps. As Rick mentioned they are being done by our publisher with our guidance. Our goal is to blend the increased detail and accuracy that digitizing offers with a look that is as user-friendly as possible. So far we have done just a few books and our collective opinion of the map team, book editors and co-authors is cautious optimism. Many but not all are improvements over hand-drawn maps. You’ll be able to judge for yourselves when the first wave of books with digitized maps hits the shelves this spring.
I’m happy to see that you care about our books and the maps in them. Let the lively debate continue!
Don’t count out “getting books well positioned at Barnes & Noble” More then once I have walked in and found an “display” of Rick Steves books in the travel section. WHen I buy them I get great feedback from the staff there. Upper management may not find you as profitable but as other, but my bet is that underpaid book store employees find you a good resouce for thier travel dreams!
To echo Carol’s comment, the last time I went to buy one of Rick’s guidebooks, the staff in the B & N travel section told me that Rick Steves books are the most commonly requested. Customers are loyal to the series. So, when the employees create displays, one reason is to make it eaiser for people to find what they want.
Guide for Cruise passengers: LONG overdue, esp. for Foreign ports. You might want to peruse http://www.cruisecritic.com, primo site for all things cruises. You will find that there is a plethora of port inquiries. Excursions are very expensive & huge profit base. Americans are timid & get herded onto non-AC buses (at times) & whisked around w/o alot in-depth info. Because port time is usually so short due to the ‘more ports mentality’, pax are short-changed. To wit: Rome is 1 hr by train from the port so a Steves guide would be MOST helpful. You have a huge un-tapped profit margin here for do-it-yourselfers & hope this guide comes to fruition soon. As an aside, I have attended your talks @ Javits Center & was most impressed w/your low-key non-sales approach, affability, availabilty for pix & queries. Continued success to you from a perennial nomad.
I’m thrilled to here about the Athens book!! We are in the process of planning a trip to Greece and southern Italy. Your information is invaluable! We sure would support a Greece guidebook. I’m also a big fan of Dave and Dave’s maps! They are great as an overview-if you need a detailed map then get one.