Writings
The Best Laid Plans is my first published work. It recounts our travels around British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies. The book is designed to provide useful travel advice, though primarily it aims to offer an entertaining account of our journey. If you wish to find out more about the book or feel adventurous enough to purchase a copy (or perhaps download the free sample) then click on the image and it will take you to the Smashwords website.
The eBook can also be downloaded directly from iTunes, Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
The eBook can also be downloaded directly from iTunes, Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
Stuff I Found Useful
I found that for travel information it was hard to go past Trip Advisor. This is rich with useful information on sites, accommodation, restaurants, the whole shebang.
I must also confess that Wikipedia was remarkably useful. Many may argue the veracity of the content of Wikipedia, and certainly there can be moments when it has some amusing additions made before moderators fix up the alterations, but I always found it useful for both planning and researching.
And, of course, a trip to your local library is a must, even if you plan to buy, or download a travel book. The library gives you a chance to try before you buy. Generally, all travel guides give good information. I tend to favour Lonely Planet, but you couldn't go wrong with any of them.
When it came to publishing an eBook I really did try and do a bit of research. One article influenced me to take the approach I did. I have been very happy with using Smashwords, though I would strongly urge you to download and read their manual thoroughly. Even better, read it before you start writing as this will save a heckofalot of reformatting.
If you do go down the Smashwords path make sure you take the time to read your work in the various e-formats. You'll almost certainly be surprised at how basic Word features get contorted into something quite unexpected. I anguished for some time over the title page of book. Every time I uploaded it came through in a different font to the rest of the book, despite being identical in the Word document. It was only when I changed the size of the font, dropping it down a couple of points, that the e-readers suddenly changed the heading to the correct font. Be patient.
I must also confess that Wikipedia was remarkably useful. Many may argue the veracity of the content of Wikipedia, and certainly there can be moments when it has some amusing additions made before moderators fix up the alterations, but I always found it useful for both planning and researching.
And, of course, a trip to your local library is a must, even if you plan to buy, or download a travel book. The library gives you a chance to try before you buy. Generally, all travel guides give good information. I tend to favour Lonely Planet, but you couldn't go wrong with any of them.
When it came to publishing an eBook I really did try and do a bit of research. One article influenced me to take the approach I did. I have been very happy with using Smashwords, though I would strongly urge you to download and read their manual thoroughly. Even better, read it before you start writing as this will save a heckofalot of reformatting.
If you do go down the Smashwords path make sure you take the time to read your work in the various e-formats. You'll almost certainly be surprised at how basic Word features get contorted into something quite unexpected. I anguished for some time over the title page of book. Every time I uploaded it came through in a different font to the rest of the book, despite being identical in the Word document. It was only when I changed the size of the font, dropping it down a couple of points, that the e-readers suddenly changed the heading to the correct font. Be patient.
