Hey Travel Writers: Let’s Rock it This Year!
Started working on those new year’s resolutions yet? Well if one of them is to up your income level on the freelance side or on your blog(s), I’m proud to announce that the second edition of Travel Writing 2.0 is on the home stretch now. It’s going into the proofers’ hands next week then into Kindle conversion mode after that.
Meanwhile, we have a cover for the paperback!
It has gotten so inexpensive to hire good designers around the world to work out ideas that I ended up soliciting three illustrations of that woman on the front and having my book launch group and this blog’s e-mail subscribers vote on which one they liked best. That wasn’t my first pick by the way, which shows the wisdom of crowds beats the gut sometimes.
Then I hired two different designers to mock up complete cover designs and went back to my launch group again to pick between the two covers. This one came out on top by a wide margin and this time it was the one I liked best, so we have a winner.
I’m telling you all this because it illustrates the power in an author’s hands now, power that would have been unthinkable or prohibitively expensive in the days before print on demand and Amazon. I can do everything a big publisher can do except get the book into big box bookstores. But my potential customers are almost all shopping on Amazon, Kobo, or Apple anyway, so I can just go directly to them without a middleman. Before a big publisher wanted to see a real platform that would mitigate their investment risk. Now an author with a platform can just say, “Here’s my new book. Click here to buy it.” No returned copies filling a landfill and no starving authors only getting 10% of the earnings.
Depending on how everything plays out with the holidays, this should be out in Kindle form first in mid-January, on the other e-book platforms and as a paperback by the end of that month. Just in time for you to act on those promises to yourself to make this the year you start fattening your bank account.
Get on the travel writing success newsletter list for updates. There will be a flash sale the first 48 hours of release.
Of course great writing matters too, so meanwhile you can go pick up Don George’s travel writing book for that. But first read this great essay that distills what he went over in his TBEX Asia talk: The Art and Heart of Storytelling.
About Author
Tim
Tim Leffel is the author of Travel Writing 2.0 as well as several other successful books. His work has been recognized by SATW, NATJA, and the Solas Awards. He has contributed to more than 50 publications as a freelancer and is the editor of four websites and blogs, including the "Best online travel magazine" and the popular Cheapest Destinations Blog, established in 2003. He served six years as Conference Director for TBEX and five years as co-chair of the NATJA Advisory board.
Congrats and good luck Tim.
I love how its coming along. I know the feeling; in the middle of a similar project, well at the end now…
I love the writing though “I ended up soliciting three illustrations of that woman on the front ” :-).
Good luck with the project.
Kerwin.
It’s great to read about people embracing opportunities made possible by technology. I get so tired of writers mourning the passing of ‘ the good old days before the internet’. Good luck with the launch of your book.
I love the cover! Congrats!
Congrats Tim! I’ve spent most of the last month revamping my books as well. Would be happy to review or become an affiliate – is there more information about those somewhere?
Chris, I’ll add you to the launch group list. Just Amazon/Kobo/etc affiliate for the book, but I’ll be doing a more robust one when I launch a course and mastermind group option to accompany it about a month later for those who want more coaching and interaction. Thanks!