Murray has spent 20 years competing in Coast to Coast, and triathalon and duathalon championship events on the world stage. Now he has come out with a book about the best day walks in the Wellington region and is currently working on a book of national walks.
NZ representative sportsman writes book featuring 20 great Wellington day walks
Checking out the proof copy
Murray wanted to see his book 20 Great Wellington Day Walks published sooner rather than later, so chose the self-publishing option using a Nelson printer offering a digital bookstore and distribution package.
He initially wanted only a kindle e-book rather than a printed book because he was aiming at trampers with smartphones who didn't want to carry a book with them.
In the end he printed locally as well as going with kindle e-book and other digital formats.
He approached Wellington book stores with 20 Great Wellington Day Walks and was gratified later to find it displayed in the travel and sports section
Murray believes the day walks in the Wellington region are under-rated. He has walked all the tracks featured in his book, which provides all the information any hiker would want to know: photos, maps, descriptions, walking times, preparation and fitness schedules, how to get there, what to take etc.
On display at a local bookstore
Murray ran into the usual problem first-time authors face who are wanting to use photos. Photos can look great on the computer screen at 72 pixels per inch but look bad in print. Upscaling, noise removal, and sharpening rescued them but they should have been taken at much higher original resolutions.
He's bought a new camera and is taking his photos at high resolution for the next book !