Have you read The Salt Path?

Or perhaps seen the recent movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs?

It’s the ‘true’ story of Raynor Winn and her husband Moth, who were forced out of their rural home in Wales.

That very same week, Moth was told he had a terminal illness.

Suddenly, the couple had no place to go, no place to stay and almost no money.

So they embarked on a 630-mile journey along the South West Coast Path, camping wild or relying on the kindness of strangers to give them a room.

But despite their hardships, the journey nourished their souls and Moth’s symptoms went into remission – all thanks to the healing power of a walk.

The Salt Path went straight to the top of the bestseller charts in 2028, selling more than two million copies.

Winn followed it with two sequels and bagged a lucrative deal with Penguin to publish at least one more.

But then things went wrong…

The Big Controversy

This year, an investigation by The Observer accused the book of being based on mistruths.

Turns out that Raynor and Moth’s real names were Sally and Tim Walker.

According to the Observer, Sally was arrested after stealing tens of thousands of pounds from her employer when she worked as a bookkeeper.

She then borrowed £100,000 from a relative of Tim’s to repay the money so that her boss would not pursue criminal charges.

This loan was secured against their home in Wales. But when repayment was asked for, they lost that home.

So this was the REAL reason they were in financial trouble.

Even worse, doubts were cast on Moth’s terminal illness.

He was said to have corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a neurological condition that’s a bit like Parkinson’s disease.

Life expectancy is usually six to eight years.

But Walker has had it for 18 years with no visibly acute symptoms.

Medical experts also questioned Winn’s claim that the arduous walk on the South West Coast Path could possibly reverse the symptoms of this condition.

Okay, so far so bad. And I don’t condone this at all.

Something being marketed as a ‘true story’, with such drastic omissions and contortions is pretty damaging…

Certainly for the people who suffer from CBD who were led to believe a walk might cure them…

Or the family of the embezzled man (who died in 2012) who felt like the crime against him had been turned into a massive profit for his embezzlers.

But I want to look at this from another perspective.

Why Story Formulas Work

Imagine this was a story about a business opportunity…

Two middle aged people are down on their luck…

They’re skint and looking for a financial lifeline.

So what can they do?

Well, one option is to find a way to turn what they know into an income.

Now, you wouldn’t think a traditional non-fiction book would be the answer to anyone’s financial woes…

Yet Sally Walker effectively managed to hack the non-fiction publishing model by using the PERFECT formula for a bestselling book (and the follow-ups) that have made them £9 MILLION in sales so far.

All the key ingredients were there…

The unlucky heroes hitting rock bottom… the life-threatening illness… the arduous journey with its ups and downs… the inspiring people they met…. and then the final redemption as the illness healed.

It’s the sort of thing the public love.

People crave narratives that take them through one place to another in a line that makes sense. And the story of going from disaster-to-salvation is a classic!

No wonder Penguin published it!

And, actually, I’d argue that ALL non-fiction is really a form of fiction.

When you write your own story, you need to select some elements and dismiss others…. otherwise it would be 1000s of pages long and massively boring.

Furthermore…

• You need to arrange events in an order that makes the narrative comprehensible, readable and enjoyable.
• You need to find a deeper meaning that connects the events so that there’s a message to the book and it’s not just a collection of anecdotes.
• You need to use descriptive language to evoke thoughts, emotions and experiences – a lot of which requires the reader’s imagination to manifest.

There are countless of non-fiction books out there – particularly in the genres of nature and travel writing – that compress multiple journeys into one timeline.

Most of them edit out details of how the author got there, where they stayed, who they interviewed and what research they did outside of the journey.

And they all connect thoughts and experiences into a grander narrative that’s largely an invention of the author and the editor of the book.

In a way, The Salt Path controversy is an expose of how the non-fiction publishing industry thrives on formulas and emotional manipulation.

And this is what I want to get across to you today…

How to Profit From Your Life Experiences

The Salt Path was inspired by real experiences.

Regardless of whether all the details were 100% true, readers flocked to buy it because it was a story of struggle they could relate to…

…Told by an everyday married couple rather than professional hikers, nature experts or authors.

…In a formula that they could easily understand, and which had emotional power.

This is what WORKS.

You could use these principles to do the same – ethically – to make money from home in a number of ways.

For example….

• Create a digital course, sharing what you know – that could be overcoming trauma, learning a skill, achieving a life goal or pursuing a hobby.
• Write a non-fiction ‘how to’ eBook that’s heavy on practical advice and tips – share biographical details to make it more convincing and relatable.
• Set up an email newsletter, blog or Substack account – find a niche subject that is related to your passions, interests, career or life experiences…. then give the reader tips, stories, insights and recommendations every week in a voice that’s personal and relatable.
• Add an ‘About Me’ to your online business – if you have your own website or an eCommerce business on Shopify, Etsy or Amazon, make sure there’s a compelling backstory that explains how you got to this point, why you’ve created your products and what you hope to achieve.

In all cases, try to pick the elements of your life story that will mean the most to your target reader or customer (and you can dismiss the rest).

Also try to match your story to classic formats that make sense to people, for example…

Classic Story Formats

• The Quest – A character sets out on a journey to achieve a goal, facing challenges and setbacks along the way, but eventually triumphing. (Ie, The Salt Path! But also Lord of the Rings). This could be YOUR quest to learn a skill or make money, shared with your subscribers.
• Overcoming the Monster – An individual confronts a great evil, danger or threat and wins. (ie. David and Goliath or Jaws!) This could be you up against a common enemy, like racial prejudice, bureaucratic red tape, big pharma or biased media.
• Rags to Riches – The protagonist starts in poverty, obscurity, or failure, and rises to success, wealth, or recognition. (ie Cinderella or Trading Places.) This could be how you went from having a life of hardship to enjoying success through your business endeavours.
• The Voyage and Return – A hero goes to a strange place, faces trials, then returns home transformed. (ie. Alice in Wonderland or The Odyssey). This could be how you went through trial and error to achieve a personal or business goal.
• The Tragedy – A tale of downfall, often through a fatal flaw, mistake, or external forces (ie. Macbeth or Titanic.) This could be a mistake you made in the past that you are determined never to repeat.
• Rebirth – The protagonist falls under a spell (or psychological manipulation) then is transformed into a better self. (ie. A Christmas Carol or Groundhog Day) This could be you overcoming a mindset or negative influences to become a better person.

One of these could help frame your life story in a way that’s easy for a new customer or subscriber to grasp.

Give it a go – you can use AI by feeding one of these story formats into it, then following it with details of your life…

“Use this story format as a frame to create a short autobiography, including the following details: [ADD YOUR SELECTED EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES].”

If you do try it, I’d love to see what you come up with!