How Travel Writers Self-Publish: Recent Episodes
Jay Artale
Are you ready to establish your subject matter expertise and earn passive income by transitioning from travel blogger to author of your own travel book, but don’t know where to start?
In this 10-minute show, travel writer Jay Artale talks about using the book promotion site Bargain Booksy to promote your book when it's at a promotional price under $5. Here's some of the topics covered in the show:
- Bargain Booksy Nonfiction Genres
- The Emotional Resistance to Reducing your Book Price
- Bargain Booksy Pricing Strategy
- Amazon Countdown Deals
- Amazon Regional Pricing
- Amazon Reviews
Bargain Booksy has lots of benefits. It's low cost, and it's one of the best book promotion sites for nonfiction authors with only a few (or no) reviews or star ratings for their books. If you're looking for an entry-level book marketing activity, this is one to cut your teeth on.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show, travel writer Jay Artale talks about the different decisions needed to narrow done the content scope of a Travel Guide. Even though she's published multiple guides, she still use the concepts and strategies she shared in Book 1 of "How To Write and Self-Publish a Travel Guide" series.
- Are you writing a traditional Travel Guide or Travel Narrative?
- Would a Hybrid guide work for your content?
- How to use Theme and Angle to define your content scope.
In order to stand out in the travel guide market place, your book has to appeal to a specific audience niche in order to get noticed. As Jay walks you through the evaluation of her Cambodia Travel Guide, it'll help you assess the decisions you need to make about your own travel guide.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show, travel writer Jay Artale talks about the benefits to taking part in blog commenting threads, and which Facebook Groups host quality reciprocation events.
- Using Comments to Grow your Blogger Community.
- Run a Mile from Spam Comments.
- SEO Benefits - Referral Traffic.
- SEO Benefits - Reducing Bounce Rate.
- Getting Social Proof from Blog Comments.
- Prompts for generating blog commenting ideas.
- 4 Facebook groups that host weekly blog commenting events.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show, travel writer Jay Artale talks about how she improves the readability of her books by using just one of the self-editing reports in ProWriting Aid.
- Explore Professional Editing Options.
- Overview of Structural, Line and Copy Edits.
- Self-Editing by Listening to your Content.
- Self-Editing in ProWriting Aid to eliminate Complex Sentences.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show, travel writer Jay Artale continues the discussion about fast drafting. This technique helps you streamline your note taking activities when you're traveling, so that you can spend more time exploring and less time writing. In this episode we look at what to fast draft.
- Capturing a sense of place.
- Moving from thinking too feeling.
- Focusing on the right details.
- Choosing the right words.
- Using your five senses. (you should also listen to episode #25 where we went into more detail about using your sense of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste to improve your travel writing).
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale continues her travel writing tips series. Each episode provides a concise list of prompts from A to Z to give your travel writing the TLC it needs. Today's episode looks at the prompts beginning with C:
- Cliches
- Conversational
- Cadence
- Cycle Back to the Beginning at the End
We’ll cycle through all letters in the alphabet in turn from A-Z. Jay also invites you to become part of her beta reading team to review her new book for writers, Fast Drafting for Travel Bloggers, and let's you know how to claim your free copy of her Introduction to 5 Senses Travel Journaling PDF.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show, travel writer Jay Artale introduces you to a fast drafting technique that'll help to streamline your note taking tasks while you're traveling, so that you can spend more time traveling and exploring and less time writing.
- What other travel bloggers do.
- Why we need to fast draft.
- How fast drafting can help you.
- Two planning elements to set up you for success.
Make sure to listen to Episode #40 which provides ideas and prompts about what details to include in your fast drafting notes.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale chats with blogger and freelance writer, Carol Duval, who house sat around the globe with her husband. She started off by blogging about her travels and adventures, and then wrote and published her first memoir, Trying Lives. We'll look at where Carol's travel bug came from and how she started house sitting, and then dive into the intricacies of writing and publishing a memoir. Here's some of the topics we discussed:
- The impact of blogging before you start writing your book.
- How to use your blog to create the first draft of your book.
- The challenges and solutions of the blog to book approach.
If you've been thinking about writing your own travel memoir, this conversation should inspire you to put pen to paper.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 8-minute show travel writer Jay Artale continues her travel writing tips series. Each episode provides a concise list of prompts from A to Z to give your travel writing the TLC it needs. Today's episode looks at the prompts beginning with B.
- Beginning.
- Bounce.
- Books.
- Blog.
We’ll cycle through all letters in the alphabet in turn from A-Z.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 9-minute show, travel writer Jay Artale reviews the different Front Matter sections you can include in your nonfiction book, who writes them, and what they should include:
- Foreword, including how to increase your chances of success in finding a contributor.
- Preface.
- Introduction.
- Copyright, where to get example copyright pages to cut and paste.
- Dedication.
- Epigraph.
- Table of Contents.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale launches her new travel writing tips series. Each episode will provide a concise list of prompts from A to Z to give your travel writing the TLC it needs. We're kicking this off with letter A.
- Audience.
- Action.
- Anecdotes.
- Angles.
- Adjectives and Adverbs.
We’ll cycle through all letters in the alphabet in turn from A-Z.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale explores the different ways you can use Facebook to reach readers within your niche and building your mailing list.
- Using Facebook Communities.
- Integrate your mailing list client with your Facebook Page.
- Adding a Call to Action Button on Facebook.
- Using Facebook live to showcase your book and build your mailing list.
All of these Facebook features are available to use on your business page at at no charge, so isn't it about time you started using this social media platform to work for you?
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale explains why she took a podcasting break, and how she's going to fill her free time with blog maintenance tasks, blogging, and memoir writing during the Covid-19 travel restrictions.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale chats with blogger and freelance writer, Mariana McDougall, who traveled around the U.S. and Canada for 12 months in an RV with her husband and 3 kids. She blogged about the adventure, and is in the process of turning it into a travel memoir to show other parents that just because you have children, doesn't mean the travel adventures have to stop. Here's some of the topics we discussed:
- Blogging a Book.
- Creative nonfiction resources.
- What differentiates a travel journal from a travel memoir.
- The importance of a story arc in your travel memoir.
- Mariana's writing and editing process
If you've been thinking about writing your own travel memoir, this conversation should inspire you to put pen to paper.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers tips and techniques for becoming a confident interviewer.
- Informal Interview Scenarios.
- Formal Interview Techniques.
- How to get the best from your interview subjects.
- How to eliminate formal interview nerves.
- How to capture your interview notes.
- Learn the key to becoming a good interviewer.
- How to open up the conversation to broader topics.
This episode shows you how to make the most of an interview opportunity in order to bring your travel writing to life. Practice makes perfect.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers the individual elements you need to incorporate into your book description in order to grab your reader's attention and get them to click the buy button.
- Use the ideal length for your Book Description.
- Use Clear Language That’s Easy To Read.
- Write An Engaging Opening Paragraph.
- Weave In Keywords.
- Establish Your Expertise.
- Write In Third Person Objective.
Authors, you need to view your book description as a promotional opportunity, and spend time crafting a description that puts your book's best foot forward. Don't make the mistake of rushing this self-publishing step, and wasting a free marketing tool that can differentiate you from other authors in your niche. In this episode you'll also learn which free tool will help you format your book description.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks to Rachel Malek (a millennial) about the type of travel research she did when she visited, and then later moved to Italy. The goal of this show is to give us an insight into what's important to our audience.
- What research did Rachel rely on prior to her vacation and her move?
- The challenges of local of area travel resources.
- How information needs vary based on the purpose of your trip.
- An overview of travel resource sites, publications, and social media.
When you're writing a travel guide you have to consider your audience. The more we understand how our target audience looks for information, the better we can craft our content.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale looks at the two different ebook distribution options if you don't want to go exclusive with Amazon:
- Going direct and non-exclusive with Amazon, and signing up with an aggregator (Draft2Digital, PublishDrive and Smashwords) to reach retailers other than Amazon.
- Going direct and non-exclusive with Amazon, and going direct with Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, or Google Play, and also using an aggregator to reach other retailers.
- The pros, cons, and challenges of going direct with all of the different retailers.
- How to simplify your distribution network.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale introduces the three different strategies you should be considering to publish your ebook, and goes into detail about the benefits and drawbacks of Amazon KDP exclusivity:
- What are the three different ebooks strategies?
- What are the royalty, marketing, and promotional benefits of Amazon exclusivity?
- How to use Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Lending Library to increase your royalties.
- What are the drawbacks of Amazon exclusivity?
- What marketshare does Amazon have in English speaking markets?
Jay also shares the results of a three-month test she did for the latest edition of her Bodrum Travel Guide. She enrolled it in KDP Select for a 90-day period—and the impact to book royalties came as a surprise.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale delves into the five senses and how to use them to bring your travel writing to life by looking at your environment and capturing:
- What you see.
- What you hear.
- What you smell.
- What you taste.
- What you touch or what touches you.
Jay has also published a series of five senses travel journals to capture your senses during your trip.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com. There is also a free PDF version of this show available on my website.
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale chats with editor and writing coach Gillian Culff. This episode is packed full of actionable advice. Discover how to establish a productive working relationship with a writing coach and use Gillian's tips to improve your travel guide, travel memoir, or travel narrative. Here's what we covered in this show:
- Working with a writing coach
- The difference between writing a blog installment and a book
- Are you including too much detail in your memoir?
- How to avoid using a chronological approach to your travel memoir
- The importance of authenticity in your memoir
- Using disclaimers to preserve the narrative flow of your travel memoir
- Establishing a working relationship with a writing coach
- The value of creative writing classes and workshops
- What content falls under the category of creative nonfiction and how to use it in your nonfiction book or travel guide
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Are you ready to try Facebook Ads? In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale chats with author David Penny about the basics of Facebook Advertising for travel writers with books to sell.
- Why you should consider simple video ads instead of image ads.
- Why you need a business mindset to build your brand.
- Two reasons people fail at FB Marketing.
- Keeping your FB ads simple with a single message.
- Audience targeting tips for Travel Writers.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Should you pay to advertise your book?
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale chats with author David Penny about whether beginning authors should invest in book advertising using Amazon Ads or Facebook Ads, or focus on other priorities.
- What's more important than paid advertising?
- Can you afford the minimum Facebook Advertising weekly investment of $35?
- Do you know why you're writing?
- Why you should learn to market your books yourself.
- The basics for using Amazon Ads to market your book.
- The complexity of Facebook Ads.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Techniques to improve your travel writing style
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks about the foundational elements to master that will improve your travel writing and engage your readers.
- The difference between informational and narrative content.
- Choosing and using the right point of view.
- Creating Author Avatars to maintain a consistent writing tone.
- Choosing diction and cadence with your reader in mind.
- How to spot and avoid cliches.
- Plus, travel writing exercises to develop your writing style.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Resources and Writing Tips for your Travel Guide Research Trip
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks about research trip resources, and how to use your senses to capture notes for show don't tell travel narratives and anecdotes:
- A list of local sources to use during your research trip
- How to use your five senses to capture experiences for narratives
- Questions to ask yourself to get a deeper appreciation of your destination
- Tips for getting the most out of your research trip
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks with Travel Memoirist Jack Scott about how to use blog content as a promotional tool for your book:
- How to get more mileage out of your blog posts
- How to use your blog content as a lead generator
- The value of guest blogging, promoting lightly, and blogging for SEO
- Importance of having an angle for your book
- Making it easy for readers to find your book
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks about how to choose your ebook and paperback release strategy, and the benefits and drawbacks of each approach:
- The simple approach: just release an ebook
- The intermediate approach: release an ebook, followed by a paperback release
- The advanced approach: release and ebook and paperback at the same time
- A case study of the approach I use for my travel guides and nonfiction books
- Where you can download a PDF version of this podcast content
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks about how focusing on a few crucial book marketing basics will help you create a solid author platform:
- The three critical elements you need on your author website
- How even introverts can be successful on social media
- How to leverage a free author page to help your discoverability
- 6 ingredients needed to establish your online presence
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 10 minute show travel writer Jay Artale shares inspiring ideas and anecdotes to motivate you to achieve your indie author goals:
Don't let the fear of venturing into the unknown stop you from writing and self-publishing your travel guide. Jay tells you about the design mistake she made on her first book, and how she has grown and developed from a newbie author to an accomplished one with 12 books (so far) under her belt.
If you're unsure of whether the indie author life is for you, hear how Jay was able to abandon her corporate career to become a digital nomad, and support her lifestyle choice by creating a passive income stream from her content.
If you love writing and want to become an author, but want a motivating self-publishing coach to help you along the path, look no further. Jay's here to help you with your publishing goals, and you can contact her via her website with any questions you have.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 10 minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks about how her travel writing niche went belly-up:
In this first-hand experience, Jay talks about how a coup in Turkey and the Syrian refugee crisis was the perfect storm that saw the slow demise of a travel writing niche she'd spent years developing. She quit her corporate career to become a travel guide writer and subject matter expert for the Bodrum Peninsula, so when her niche started to go belly-up, she needed to develop a Plan B.
- How to find a related nonfiction niche to develop
- The extra work involved when developing that new niche
- Where to research a complimentary niche
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 10 minute show travel writer Jay Artale talks about how to create an effective nonfiction title:
- The difference between a working title and your final title
- The structure of a nonfiction title
- How to use the title and subtitle combination to attract your reader
- The most important element of your book title
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com
Jay has designed a free worksheet to be used with this podcast. Worksheet #9 provides examples of different nonfiction title structures, and a template to brainstorm your own book title. You can download it from her website at:
https://www.birdsofafeatherpress.com/write-travel-guide-free-downloads/
In this 10 minute show travel writer Jay Artale introduces beginners to the four key elements of content marketing:
This show provides a generic overview of the four elements you need to plan for in order to develop an effective content marketing plan. This approach works no matter whether you're an author selling a book or product, or a freelancer selling a service. In all cases you can use your Point of View and Audience definition to craft targeted content on platforms that support your brand' authenticity.
- Overview of the four different elements in a content marketing plan
- How each of these elements contributes to your plan
- An effective approach for writing a Point of View you can articulate clearly
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 20 minute show travel writer Jay Artale chats with travel writer John Meyer about writing and publishing a fictional travel memoir:
- How to get noticed in a non-traditional niche
- Finding a niche within a niche
- The need for story arcs in travel memoirs
- How to approach your story writing process
- The value and benefit of pre-trip research
- Overview of book marketing activities that work
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
John Meyer also appeared in my Author Interview series, and you can read about his writing and self-publishing insights here: https://www.birdsofafeatherpress.com/author-interview-with-fictional-travel-memoirist-john-meyer/
In this 10-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- How defining your content scope with speed up your travel writing process
- How to use your descriptive statement and target audience profile to define your content scope
- An example of using a descriptive statement to define what's in and out of scope
- A case study of how I defined my travel guide's content scope
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Jay has designed a free worksheet to be used with this podcast. Worksheet #8 provides an example of a Content Scope example and a template to write your own Content Scope. You can download it from her website at:
https://www.birdsofafeatherpress.com/write-travel-guide-free-downloads/
In this 10 minute show travel writer Jay Artale is joined by fiction author David Penny for a chat about how each of them uses writing tools differently. Listen to how Scrivener is versatile for fiction and non-fiction authors alike:
- What's the difference between a Plotter or a Pantser?
- How both authors use Scrivener's Index Cards for plotting, and the potential for using Scrivener's sister, Scapple.
- Writing in small chunks in Scrivener rather than a huge manuscript in Word.
- Using Scrivener on your IOS device and synching your version with Dropbox.
- Scrivener as a "Rock Solid" way to ensure you don't lose your work.
- Scrivener's alignment with Vellum (for self-publishing ebooks and print)
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 20 minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- How defining your audience and objective will streamline your writing
- A Step by Step approach for identifying your Target Audience
- A Target Audience case study as an example
- How and why to establish an objective for your nonfiction book
- A case study of how I defined my book's objective
- What is a descriptive statement and how to write one
- How and why a descriptive statement will help you
- How using today's topics will keep your writing on track
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Jay has designed a set of free worksheets to be used in conjunction with this podcast. Her Worksheet #6: walks you through the process of defining your Target Audience; Worksheet #7 will help you create Your Descriptive Statement, and Worksheet #8 helps you to define your Content Scope. You can download it for free on her website at:
https://www.birdsofafeatherpress.com/write-travel-guide-free-downloads/
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- How to use Amazon to find travel books you're competing against.
- How to use the prompts provided to help you with your research.
- An easy Step-by-Step approach for researching your competition.
- Discover what research elements you should really focus on.
- Find out how competitive research can help you when you're self-publishing a book.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Jay has designed a set of free worksheets to be used in conjunction with this podcast. Her Worksheet #3 is a reference sheet for defining your Angle and Theme, and Worksheet #5 is Research your Competition using Amazon. You can download it for free on her website at:
https://www.birdsofafeatherpress.com/write-travel-guide-free-downloads/
In this 10 minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- The different ways savvy travel bloggers make the most of their travel expertise.
- Examples of travel bloggers who use podcasts, vlogs, magazines, apps, ecourses and coaching to broadcast their subject matter expertise.
- The most efficient and effective way to leverage your travel blog articles to reach a broader audience.
- The benefits of creating and distributing PDF downloads.
- Using travel guides to build your audience and showcase your travel knowledge and expertise.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- How to turn a generic book idea into a viable travel guide by defining a theme and angle.
- The definition of a theme.
- The definition of an angle.
- What 7 questions you need to answer to define the scope of your travel guide.
- How to assess your passion for a topic.
- What Brainstorming techniques you can use to generate your ideas.
- Evaluation techniques you can use to assess your ideas.
- Brainstorming prompts to get your creative juices flowing.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
Jay has designed a set of free worksheets to be used in conjunction with this podcast. Her Worksheet #3 is a reference sheet for defining your Angle and Theme, and Worksheet #4 is a Brainstorming Toolkit. You can download these for free on her website at:
https://www.birdsofafeatherpress.com/write-travel-guide-free-downloads/
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- An overview of traditional travel guide publishers and how they approach their travel guide topics.
- An introduction to the major travel guide categories: Destination, Side Trip, Special Interest, Event-Specific, Journey, Culinary, and Advice Travel Guides.
- A look at the key considerations for writing each type of travel guide.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
I've also written a collection of articles that delves into more detail about each travel guide categories, which provides examples of published books.
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
Just because you don’t have the budget to travel far-afield, doesn’t mean you can’t become a travel guide author. No matter where you live, you have a destination on your doorstep that you can write about.
- The local travel guide landscape.
- Inspiration and resources for becoming a local travel guide author.
- How to do competitive research in your niche using Amazon.
- How to use your blog/website to promote your travel guide progress.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 20-minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- What is Freewriting.
- Why travel writers should leverage Freewriting to write non-fiction.
- How using Freewriting to write your travel book helps you connect with your audience.
- How to use Freewriting to overcome seven common writing challenges and hurdles.
- Resource videos, which introduce you to short meditation techniques for writers and authors.
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 20-minute show Jay interviews Travel Memoir Author Joe Cawley to discuss:
- The benefit of collaboration with other authors
- Cross-promoting with other authors
- Multi-author box sets
- Promoting other authors in your niche
- Discounted bundled promotions
- Building a brand
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.
In this 20 minute show travel writer Jay Artale covers:
- How to become a real author by publishing a professional book
- 5 reasons why you should self-publish
- An introduction her Travel Guides and Non-Fiction books
- The value of optimizing your blog content to create free downloads and ebooks
- Why this travel writing podcast is for you and how it'll help you connect with your readers
Visit the show page for this episode at www.birdsofafeatherpress.com.