The Travel Writer's Handbook. How to Write - and Sell - Your Own Travel Experiences. Revised 7th Edition, 2012
By Jacqueline Harmon Butler & Louise Purwin Zobel
280 pages
Publisher: Agate Publishing Inc.
ISBN 978-1-57284-131-4
Cover price US$ 18.95

I am an unabashed accumulator of "how-to" books which often find their way onto my bookshelf after I have skimmed a couple of chapters.  I guess I must have some sub-conscious belief that their mere presence on my bedroom bookshelf will enable me to internalize their content while i sleep and I will magically become a better writer, photographer, cook or whatever my focus is at the time.

However when I sat down to look through this new edition of the Travel Writer's Handbook, there was so much valuable information that I wanted to read in depth that the book has not yet made it onto my bookshelf. Instead it sits on my desk waiting for every moment that I can spare to read and annotate points I want to remember. One of the most appealing features to me as a writer who writes on theatre, food  and Wine  in my Travelblogues, as much as about dance cruising or travel destinations, is that so much of the advice is relevant to most other areas of writing.

There are informative chapters on all aspects from formulating your story concept, doing your research and organizing your data, to marketing your work. In fact just about the only thing that you won't read in this book is how to get 48 hours out of every 24 hour day. But if you follow the tips on organizing and keeping track of your files and records, you won't waste countless hours trying to remember that marvelous source of information that you found - somewhere.

In summary this is an easy-to-read, highly informative handbook that I will definitely keep at hand as I plan my writing for my upcoming dance cruises and family travel in the next few months.