It’s time for another blog tour, and what more appropriate theme for a “tour” than “Travel”. Today I’d like to introduce you to an eBook for those who have dreamed of publishing articles for magazines, or writing books, about travel.

In my typically over-active imagination, I’ve always thought, wow, travel writers are as lucky as can be because they can eat at the best places, stay at the best hotels, and visit all those historic or fun destinations that most of us just dream of visiting.  Then after a long day of having all kinds of fun, they can sit back in their lounge chair on the beach or beside a pool, or in their luxurious hotel room, pull out their laptop and whip up an article about their experiences.  Then when they are finished, put everything away, and go out for an evening of more fun-fun-fun!

My bubble was burst, well maybe not entirely burst….let’s just say it was a “reality check”… to read and review “Travel Writing as a Freelancer”, a 64 page eBook for those who are interested in writing about travel as a profession.  It still sounds like it would be great fun, and very interesting, but like most things, it does require some expertise and work.

The Author, Wendy VanHatten, provides point-by-point information on the does and and don’ts of writing about travel.  Along with MANY helpful points in her book, you will be guided through the step-by-step process of writing your first article, how to find places that might publish it, how to communicate with publishers, and so very much more.  You will want to have the publication close at hand as you work through the steps necessary. It’s actually written in the form of a course on writing, with assignments.

Here are the chapter titles for the book to give you just a tiny taste:

• What You Need
• Course Overview
• Class Outline and Assignments
•  Topic #1 - Specializing & Specifics
• Topic #2 - Bright Ideas
• Topic #2 - Selling Your Article
• Topic #4 - Building Blocks
• Topic #5 - Story Structure & Headlines
• Topic#6 - Writing Finesse
• Topic #7 - Travel Photography
• Topic #8 - Toning Up
• Topic #9 - Ethics & Etiquette to Nuts & Bolts
• Habits
• FAQ
• Back to the Beginning

Have those headings, and the idea of writing about travel and how to do it, got you curious?  Then please head over to Travels and Escapes for more information about this instructional eBook and how to purchase it…I believe you receive 3 free reports with the eBook.

To read other impressions and thoughts about this book, follow the tour…the next stop will be at “Blogging Roads” by Julie Roads either later today, or tomorrow, November 18th.

Here is something that may interest those of you who are authors, or have a book “inside” of you that is waiting to be written.  I received this information from an author friend who is listed in my Blogroll, Kathie Thomas. It sounds like a lot of fun for those of you who can afford it and fit it into your February schedule.

Next February, the Captains of Independent Publishing are rolling out   a Publishing at Sea Cruise. Judith Briles (The Book Shepherd), Brian Jud (Beyond the Bookstore), Eric Kampmann (Midpoint Trade), Dan Janal (PR Leads) and Katherine Carol (Coach) will help you create the book, the marketing strategy, the PR savvy and much, much more on this fabulous week at sea. The dates are February 15-21. The cruise line is Royal Caribbean.

Publishing Panache, Marketing Moxie, PR Power, Distribution Do-ability and Speaking Savvy will be your guaranteed take-aways and how-tos from this glorious week at Sea. All woven with visits and play in Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel plus two relaxing days cruising at sea. Bring your spouse, significant other or kids—make it a holiday for all.

After a strenuous day of tanning, swimming, touring and a workshop or two you can return to your room, kick off your sandals, pour a refreshing drink and put your feet up on your balcony railing as you watch the Caribbean float by you. Paradise? You bet. You can cruise the Caribbean, visit and play in top Mexican resorts and learn how to publish and market your books—for about $275 a day including meals, the seminar fee, your cabin, all the food you could possibly eat, all taxes and tips. Only Balcony and Oceanview cabins available on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas.

Only 50 cabins area available. The dates are February 15-21, 2009.

For information and details of the workshops, go to www.PublishingAtSea.com.  You can call Judith directly at 303-885-2207.  Reserve your spot NOW!

Video conferencing is something that may be helpful in promoting your book or other services you may provide. Like many, I have virtually attended conferences that I view on my computer screen, and I have been on teleconference phone calls. Attending a video conference is popular, but only on futuristic movies have I seen meetings where the attendees who can’t be physically present can be viewed life-size on screens in the conference room.  Telepresence makes this a reality, stop by and see if this HD Video Teleconference technology might be helpful to you in promoting your book, business or service.

A number of years ago, I started looking into our family history because I know that there are relatives of note in my ancestry, and I wanted to place them in their rightful position on my family tree.  There was a Genealogy Club in our town, and a number of us were involved.

At that time, access to the internet through home computers was not what it is today at all, and we had to drive to a larger library that was over an hour away because it was known for having better resources for those who wanted to build their family tree. Now there are sites on the web so that any family tree maker can do the research they need to collect information and write their own family history.  These sites are a helpful tool to those who are thinking of writing a book based upon their family history.

I am not sure whether one can truly publish a book entirely at no cost, but this article provided by “Selling With Articles” will give you some tips that may set you in the right direction. I hope you enjoy!

How to Self Publish a Book For Free

By: Ruth Barringham

The internet and modern technology have made it very easy for anyone to self publish a book. But like everything else, to do something well and to do it profitably, it takes money. However, you can now self publish as many books as you want to – for free!

It’s every writer’s dream to be a published author; to sit and write books and have them published and selling all over the world.

How great would it be to be able to write as many books as you want to and know that they will all be published?

Can you imagine that?

If you could write and publish books for a living you could work from anywhere in the world. You could sit by a swimming pool and write, or sit on a warm tropical beach or hide away in a snowy log cabin while you churn out one great book after another, knowing that every single one of them will be published.

How fantastic would that life be?

Well you can now stop dreaming and make your life as a successful author a reality. And if you think you can’t afford to publish all your own books, you’re wrong. Because it’s now possible to write and publish all your books for free.

So if you’ve written a book, edited and proof read your manuscript, then it’s time to turn it into a published book. And there are several different ways that you can go about it.

The easiest way is to sell your book electronically (an eBook) as an instant download over the internet.

If you already have a web site you can sell your book from there by creating a sales page and a ‘thank you’ page that includes the download instructions. You can then set up the payment process using an online payment company such as PayPal.

PayPal allows you to set up an account with them for free. Through this account you can set up a ‘buy now’ payment link that you can simply copy and paste onto your sales page.

Once a customer has made a purchase they are then directed to your ‘thank you’ page where they can download your book.

If you don’t have a web site, you can sign up for a free blog and sell your book from there the same way.

Or if you’re really not that savvy at creating web pages, you don’t have to have a web site or blog at all to sell your book.

You can use an online eBook company called MobiPocket who will supply you with free software so that you can upload your book file to their web site.

You can then set your own price and book description, etc, and MobiPocket will sell your eBook for you and take a percentage of each sale.

MobiPocket is owned by Amazon.com and so if you sign a publisher’s agreement with MobiPocket, your book will also be available as an instant download through the Amazon stores too, as well as through over 100 other online eBook stores.

And if you want your book to be available in print form too, you can use LuLu.com.

LuLu.com is a free online POD publisher who will sell a printed copy of your book On Demand from their web site, as well as help you design a free book cover. All they ask in return is a percentage of every book sale.

So if you want to publish your book for free, try these simple ways and you can publish your book easily in only one afternoon and have it available as an eBook and printed book.

And then it’s time to begin writing your next book, and the next, and the next…
Author Resource:-> Learn how to publish as many books as you want for as long as you want and from anywhere in the world. Become a successful self published author. http://selfpublishworldwide.com

Article From Selling With Articles -

A month or so ago, I was made aware of a eZine called “Book Marketing Matters” by a Brian Jud. It contains regular columns with tips from Dan Poynter, John Kremer, Marcella Smith, Penny Sansevieri, Rick Frishman, Eric Kampmann, Pam Lontos, Paulette Ensign, Robin Bartlett, Roger C. Parker, as well as guest columnists.

The newsletter is sent by subscription only.  If you would like to have it sent to you as a pdf, please click here to open your email service, and put “pdf” in the subject line or body of the message.

I reviewed an issue of the newsletter, and visited the associated website, and was quite impressed. I haven’t been compensated for this post, just sharing because I like what I saw!

I was going through some past emails recently, and came across an issue of “Book Marketing Expert“, a newsletter that I receive on a regular basis, and while looking through it, found the following tips on how authors can make video trailers about their books. If you have never done this before, I think you’ll find it helpful.

Be sure to come back tomorrow, I have a special book to introduce you to, my day to post on a very special “book tour”.

Here’s the article:

How to Make Your Book Trailer Shine

1. Keep it short - 30 seconds is about perfect. Most people do not have the attention span to sit through anything longer. You want to make sure that the viewer lasts to the credits - the place where you should tell them how to buy your book!!

2. Flash is the program I recommend to stream your video - a short video should load immediately. Other videos or players will take much longer to load and will usually be pretty big files. Example, a Flash video we created for the book Accidentally Engaged is 225k - as a Windows Media video it would have been much bigger, and therefore taken much longer to load and view. Plus, the market penetration is much larger with Flash. You want to reach as many people as possible.

3. Avoid using poorly produced video and bad acting. Still shots can be just as engaging and paint a vivid picture - leave something to the imagination of your viewer! For me, there is nothing worse than having the characters on the cover of the book, because frankly the characters in my head never look like the ones on the cover; you could be deterring interest in your book if you’re not careful.

4. Make sure that your music is Rights Free, or that you own the rights. You can always try to buy the rights too, the choice is yours.

5. Make sure to include the cover of your book and a website where your viewers can buy it.

Tip offered by Jeniffer Thompson, author of Web Site WOW, Turn Your Web Site Into Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool, www.websitewow.com. Jeniffer is the president of Monkey C Media, a full-service design house specializing in author web sites and book cover designs. Visit her at www.monkeycmedia.com

I just found out about an event that is taking place THIS Friday that those of you who are considering self-publishing a book may want to be a part of.  Even if you’re reading this too late, you’ll find a link to “Logical Expressions, Inc.” to learn more about what the presenter, Susan Daffron, has to offer.

I’ll make the link above “live” later, but for now would like you to click here to review the information about this event, taking place at 11 a.m. CT (12 noon EST, etc.) on Friday, and other virtual events taking place over the next few days.

I have been introduced to a rather technical site that may have applications that will be helpful to you in business, and pleasure, called “Blaze Media Pro”. To put it in simple terms, the site offers one software download that does all of the following:

• Audio Converter
• Video converter
• CD/DVD burner
• Editor
• DVD Ripper (you techies will know better than I what that is)
• and much more.

The software is easy to use in spite of it’s intricacies.  It is capable of burning VCD, SVCD, and DVD applications.  Here is a list of a few if it’s other features:

• Video Converter
• Video creation, combining, and extraction, editing,
• Copying of music CDs, audio and video merge.
• MusicID audio recognition, lyrics search, audio tag editing,
• FreeDB support, and more.

Actually the list of things this software can do is so extensive, that I would suggest you visit the site, and see for yourself what they offer.  You will be able to determine whether it is useful to you, whether for business, or pleasure.

Here’s another great resource for writers, and for those who love to read to gather and share their favorite titles. I receive no compensation to promote this, as a reader, and wanna-be writer, I enjoyed the site and plan to join.

You can get book recommendations from those that share your interests, and if you are an author, you may want to join to share the books you like to read as well as your own titles.

Stop by and visit http://www.goodreads.com, happy reading, writing and networking!