In September of 2008 I began work on a book. It’s about a trip I took in 2006 with 4 of my friends.

We took my car, “Katrina,” around the perimeter of the United States over the course of about three weeks. For a rough map of the route we took, here are Google driving directions (we used Rand McNally most days).

This series chronicles the process of writing, designing, and self-publishing — a process I like to call “building a book.” from the beginning, or by category if you’d rather read only about writing or designing. Or maybe only publishing is of interest to you.

• I’ve Been Thinking… — The Genesis story of my book.
• Why a Journal? — How I decided to write in handwritten journal format.
• Where to Begin? — The first decisions after the first decision.
• How I Decided (Maybe) on the Title — Self-explanatory.
• The Drawing for the Cover — A friend helps paint a picture and give my book some artistic direction.
• My Favorite Memory from the Trip — Some meta-writing, a sort of addendum.
• Remembering [to Write] Things — Is there a right way to remember things? Ethics.
• Imperfections in Journals — A bit about my inter-authoring editing methods.
• Worrying Ahead, or How to Design a Book Before You Have To — Self-explanatory.
• Stuck in Yellowstone National Park, Day 2 (Page 210) — Writer’s block stinks.