Advice for Newbie Guide

[Cajun Girl]

Hi there, I'm new here but I have been reading the forums for a bit. I was hoping someone could give me some advice.

My boyfriend is planning to attend a Chinese university sometime in the next two years. He would like me to accompany him, but I don't know a lick of Chinese, and I'm not interested in a Chinese degree. I considered the proposal but I was concerned that I would have nothing meaningful to do and would lose my mind in the homesickness and culture shock.

I had an idea which would occupy me in a productive manner and possibly generate revenue to fund our stay; I would write a daily journal or blog attesting to my daily learnings, and then after returning home a year later I would compile and write a book from all the experiences. It would effectively be an idiot's guide to surviving in China.

I know that travel guide companies hire field writers, but I know nothing about the process. I'm also unsure if a travel guide company would be appropriate, considering my material would be a mix of information and lighthearted musings. I would focus less on travelling and more on day to day life and survival as a oblivious foreigner.

If anyone has any ideas of where I can start seeking a sponsorship I would love to know. Also if this is a complete flop of a dead end idea please let me know. Thanks!

[abcdefg]

The blogging has been done many, many times. Some are good and some are mediocre. You need to do some searching on the internet. Books later made out of the blogs are another matter. I cannot name a single one, though I would think someone has at least self-published that kind of product. Must admit I didn't do a search.

Perhaps, however, you have some unique talent and bring something to the task that nobody else ever had and we all will later recognize you as a household name and be envious of how you got filthy rich after you sold the movie rights.

[jbradfor]

Regarding books, you might want to look at the one in this thread.

[amandagmu]

Although not travelogues in the manner you describe, my best advice is to read up on some of what everyone tends to read when they come to live in China, which is generally a bit more witty and not so much about "surviving" as it is about daily musings. To start you off: Peter Hessler's River Town (Oracle Bones and Country Driving are a bit more heavy, but he wrote RT more in the style you suggest--he kept a journal/diary as a peace corps volunteer) and Rachel DeWoskin's Foreign Babes in Beijing (she showed up in BJ with a little Chinese, a humanities degree, and a crappy marketing PR job someone set her up with).

They wrote about events 10-15 years ago and I'm sure other stuff has been published since then (check out Amazon lists for recs on more recent stuff to read). I think what you'll find is that, depending on where you end up, it might not quite be as "unique" as you were originally thinking (sorry to burst your bubble). If you'll be in Beijing or Shanghai that's not so interesting... Jilin, Harbin, Chongqing, or a smaller city would be really interesting, however, because I don't know anyone with a popular blog or column who writes about these places over a long periods of time, especially about daily musings and culture shock. In fact, the whole "Surviving China" is kind of too general at this point to sell (imo, since there are already a lot of books on the market). But surviving a non-Shanghai, non-Beijing, non-Hong Kong type of place would definitely be more novel.

Oh, and I think you should learn a little bit of Chinese when you get here anyways... I've lived in several countries and although I may not speak all languages fluently, I have always found taking a few weeks crash course helped get me further than not taking anything at all! :-)

Good luck!

[abcdefg]

Yes of course, Peter Hessler's "River Town." Excellent example. I haven't read "Foreign Babes in Beijing," but would like to.

I was hoping someone could give me some advice.

I guess the best advice to the Original Poster remains to read what's "out there" to see what has already been done. It will also give her a useful introduction to what it's like to live in China.

"Cajun Girl in China" has a good ring.

[Lu]

Yah, I think the biggest hurdle is that it has been done before, and sometimes very well (another recent book that come to mind is Big in China (guy follows wife to Beijing, raises family and plays in band)). Especially the blog thing.

So you need to find your niche. Either living in a different city in China than others; or a different kind of life than others (with children, with handicap, with uncommon religion); or write for a publication that hasn't done anything with China yet (your local newspaper, if you're from a sufficiently small place; a magazine that hasn't done anything with China yet); or something else.

Or you could do something else than write. What's your profession now, any chance you can find a job in China or work from there?

[Glenn]

If she's from where her forum name indicates she's from, I'd be surprised to hear that anywhere around her has published anything related to China.