We, writers, also use maps!
- Mohammed Adelaziz
- Mar 7, 2016
- 2 min read
What is the story behind books? … Simply, there are writers who think & translate their ideas into written books. Then, publishing houses take the responsibility of publishing these books and availing them to readers at the different bookstores.
Does that process need maps? … Actually, Yes… I discovered this recently when I unexpectedly found myself wearing both hats.
Working in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for many years, I am dealing with maps every day. My job is to answer questions about how maps can help organizations working in different sectors (i.e. telecommunication, transportation, education …, etc).
Then, it happened this year that my first book came to life. Suddenly, I found myself becoming a book author for the first time. One day, the publisher called me to arrange for the first book sign event. To invite people, I found it useful to use ArcGIS online for preparing an online map showing the exact event location; instead of just writing the address and let attendees suffer while asking about the directions to reach the place. Therefore, I (the writer) requested some assistance from the other me (GIS consultant) in order to prepare such map. It was a simple and friendly web map with a pin marking the exact location. By clicking on it, people get detailed info about location & schedule in additional to a thumbnail showing book cover.
Just after the nice event is over, I started to receive calls & messages asking about the location where they can get my book. By asking the publisher, he provided me with a list of libraries where the book exist. Again, I found that a list of addresses is not much helpful. Therefore, once again I created an online map. This time I made it a little more rich. I used ArcGIS online to create what is called a “Story-map”. It includes an introduction about the book to readers, book cover image, a promotional video and the map that shows the distribution locations of the book. I received positive Feedback that visualizing locations on map was much helpful than a list of text addresses.
I found out that publishing a book is a process where location is obviously involved.
Apparently, maps are playing a role in everyone’s life … and writers are not an exception.
Link to the story-map:
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