While this occasional update is really to showcase some of the writing featured on In The Know Traveler, I also try to add a couple other features that catch my eye in the world of travel blogging — so it is not just ITKT appearing here.

The Land That Offers All, Tanzania by Rita Cook

Unlike Anything, Myanmar by Sandra Scott

The Titanic’s Story is Cobh, Ireland by Bob Kelley

Waiting to Dance in Costa Rica by me (Devin Galaudet) linking to Costa Rica vacations

Who is the World’s Worst Salsa Dancer by Ayngelina of Bacon is Magic

Weekly Snapshot: Auschwitz-Birkenau by Norbert of Globotreks — a photo I was too uncomfortable to take during my visit many years a go.

Photo by Rita Cook

Also, as I mentioned in my last check in, I had broken out the Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America Level 1, version 3.0) for my upcoming trips south of the border. So far I have practiced every day for at least an hour. While I will reserve a final judgment and review until after my last trip in late October, Rosetta Stone is a smart program with a comfortable intuitive sense that makes learning straight forward. On the down side, the software uses a system that requires the user to speak (in some sections) and the computer evaluates the user’s ability to talk. The idea is great, but the technology is clearly not there yet. I have thought maybe my accent is throwing off the machine and I just need to work harder on my pronunciation. However, when I am screaming “hola” into the microphone and the machine repeatedly fails me in the most basic and common of Spanish words, there is a larger problem.

Still celebrating Mexico’s bicentennial, and learning Español, with some new shots from the Pueblos Magicos, the city of Parras.

Overall, a productive week, and now for the coming week of the business side of owning travel publishing.

Travel Writing

I have a new updated “Submission Guidelines” due for ITKT that will hopefully allow new writers easier access to getting their travel stories online faster. I am hopeful that I can create an online form for travel writers to add articles they want to post directly to ITKT. I also want to have new articles prepared for TWL, the Huffington Post, Technorati and Travel Writing Rock Star.

Delegating

I am slowly removing myself from reading articles. And truthfully, this is a good idea. I think I slow down the process and take too much time deliberating over good, or not so good, writing.

Traveling

While still a ways off, China has crept into the picture for a possible November visit. As it would be a first for me and a place drenched in culture and history, China is one of the few places I can get particularly excited about.

Sadly, the Internet has changed the world of writing. Print publishing is crumbling and print money advertising that at one time paid writers well, is quickly disappearing — making magazines thinner and needing fewer writers. Advertisers are still learning what value advertising on the Internet means. Articles are getting shorter. Tons of new online magazines are popping up daily. Writers are looking for new ways to break into a once solid field. Plus the world economy sucks.

By the time I found myself at the bottom of the comments section, I found myself defending writing on the cheap against a writer who finds the practice of writing for little pay “laughable.” He made some good points about starting your own blog and that the money exchange is simply not worth the time and effort.

Truthfully, I totally agree. The money compensation is not worth the effort. However, money and the ability to do your own blog should not be the only deciding factors in whether you write for peanuts, or even free.

Here is my short list of questions to ask yourself before offering your considerable talents for less money than you are worth.

Will I get something out of the experience?

I have written for free or cheap numerous times. The money is never worth it. However, the relationships are always worth it. So are new experiences? Getting edited by someone else is important. So is being on assignment. So is having to hit deadlines.

Can the publication open doors?

Does the publication have enough experience, connections, industry respect, exposure or something else that will move you further along in your writing career. As an example most writers with the Huffington Post get paid zilch, but the prestige is worth it to most writers. If you are on the fence with a publication, ask questions.

Can I get something instead of money?

I have frequently sent my writers on press trips and media events as a thank you whenever possible. I have also worked with people interested in doing product reviews in exchange for, well, products. Special note: I would never ask an editor for a free trip as compensation. For more on How to Get on a Press Trip.

Can I get link backs to help promote myself?

If you own your own site and want more exposure, getting link backs in your stories bio is always a good idea. Having link backs coming from a Google respected is site is even better. Look for sites with PR2 and higher.

Does the site have lots of other writers?

Exposure is exposure. A site that feature a lot of writers usually has a more developed fan base and more eyeballs seeing your writing.

Do you really want to be a blogger?

Being a blogger can be great. However, most blogs simply fizzle out because most people do not realize the effort it takes to get one off the ground. Bloggers must have something consistent to say about a particular subject and enough people who want to read it, must spend time marketing (because there will be competition), must develop a focus (what makes the writer unique), must deal with social networking to find readers, maintaining readership with newsletters, contest and other reasons to return to the writer’s blog, and then do about a million other things.

In the end, it is a good idea to find out what you are comfortable doing for little or no money and make personal guidelines that you can live with for your writing future.

I did not shoot for the stars, but I wanted to say thank you to the people who have been reading, commenting and, in general, showing an interest in travel and writing. So, thank you! Welcome to my 100th blog post. Here are the latest headlines in honor of 100.

In The Know Traveler Gets a Face Lift

Beyond the long overdue cosmetic upheaval and navigation redesign, I have added some functionality to those leaving comments and visitors looking for linkbacks to their own blogs by adding ComLuv, or CommentLuv. ComLuv is a system that allows visitors to leave a link to their personal blog posts within the comment section of any ITKT post. There is also an increasing community of sites using this service. I recommend using ComLuv any time you leave a comment. I have also added TwitterLink (also from ComLuv, which offers optional twitter contact information on all comments. I have found them both to be useful in developing an online community. It is my small way of giving back to In The know Traveler readers.

Honesty Till it Hurts

Because it is important that readers have an honest understanding about whose words they are reading, I wanted to offer a little more of myself on the Meet the Editor page. I have taken a small handful of thoughts that have started some compelling conversations and an occasional “frank exchange of ideas” (a quote from my friend Peter). I offer these ideas not as a reason to argue, but as a reason to be more honest about myself in a very public forum — these damn Internets. I want it all to just hang out. Yes, it is a gamble. I hope you won’t hold it against me and even consider challenging some of my ideas. There will be more “outrageous statements” on the way.

My New eBook

Because writers have been asking me about breaking in to the travel industry (and other industries) for years, I have decided to boil my successes down and mistakes to create a practical guide for getting the most from the travel world from the inside-out. I have reached out to my travel friends who are experts in their fields and who have agreed to help me give readers a step forward in the right direction at getting what you want from a travel writing hobby or career. Learn exactly what the travel industry is looking for from writers and know the rules of the system to help put your best foot forward. This information will come directly from decision makers for national tourism offices, media contacts specialists and public relations firms who work directly with the media. What are the mistakes writers make, and how can you avoid them.

While I have yet to come up with a name, I have been putting together interviews with some of the most experienced and important experts in the travel industry to offer you advice and give you a leg up on the travel writing competition.

And now to march forward into the next 100 posts with more travel philosophy, travel writing tips, and living the writers life. Thank you so much for being part of this trip with me.

Happy travels,
devin

To be honest, the thought of change scares me. While In The Know Traveler has experienced it’s fair share of upgrades over the last five years, this redesign is far more than what I planned. However, it is time to make a change. I now realize how much I have learned about techy content management and web sites, so this transition has been moving faster and more easily than I expected. Still I could use some help from the discriminating eyes of enthusiastic travelers.

I need to know what you like. What you don’t. What you would like to see. And how ITKT can help you travel more, and better.

If you are interested in a sneak peek at the new ITKT and want to offer your two cents (I hope you do), I am a grateful audience.

The reliable In The Know Traveler, comfy old-school design

A friend recently described ITKT as “Web 0.0″ and “a sincere effort to turn back time.” Okay, I can take a hint. It has been a great five years with this design, but it is time for a change.

And the new vision — so far, ITKT’s new paint job

Of course, there are still a million small things that need to be added and changed, but I am looking for an official launch in the next week or two. Of course, I would love to hear any thoughts feedback and even blunt criticism.

On a side note, I am still deciding what my 100th blog post should be about. It is a difficult process to boil down an intense time of passionate blogging into a single post, but I will try. It has been a fun time.

Keep traveling. Keep writing.
devin

I am fairly comfortable public speaking, but there are always a few butterflies. Public speaking can be nerve-wracking no matter how prepared I might be. There are always so many things that are simply out of my control including the following: I might not feel well, no one will show up and I will be standing there alone, unresponsive crowd, crying babies, brain freeze, stuttering, unexpected questions and unexpected gas bubbles.

While there is an endless list of potential problems, There are something I do have control over no matter what the circumstance. Here is my mini list that I try to keep in mind — the three “H”s.

1. Be helpful
Public speaking is a job and a service for me. People will show up, even when I assume I will stand there alone. When they do, I have to make it worth their while and give them something of value. I will hold nothing back and try to give every member of the audience something useful about travel, writing, or travel writing (whatever the topic may be) that they have never heard before, whether they pursue the field or not.

2. Be honest
I want to have all the answers, even when I do not. I never want to pass off a maybe for a definitely. Or simply make something up because I am afraid of not having the answer for everything.

3. Be humble
While I have accomplished a lot in the world of travel, there is much to do. More importantly, I feel like I have just started promoting travel as a cultural and learning experience. I also want to be approachable and be available for future relationships.

If this mini-list is not enough, I also rely upon Read Better Now Damn It! 5 Tips to a Better Literary Reading. If you have your own pearls for public speaking, please leave them in the comments section. Public speaking has long been one of the big fears for most people. We can use all the help we can get. Hope to see you there.

1. Not Planning

I knew I wanted to inspire people to travel and I wanted to have a million readers. I knew I wanted to make a difference and have some integrity while doing it. However, what I made up for with enthusiasm, I completely lacked in organized execution. It made working on my web site unnecessarily complicated.

How to fix it
I eventually wrote down a plan that included everything I could think of that I needed to do and what readers would need to know. I included a mission statement, topics I planned to cover, what days articles would be released, a collection of emergency articles for when life happened, and what I hoped to accomplish over the next year. The planning stage saved a huge amount of time because I didn’t have to spend time guessing at what I needed to do next as I continued to work on the site.

2. You Can’t Please Everyone, So Don’t Bother

Every time I write an article, part of me is back in high school. I want all my readers to love me and think I am cool. It’s embarrassing, but true. There have been times when I have changed my site in the hopes of making it something it was not to try to please everyone, at least a little. I discovered this confused readers and took me away from being real with people.

How to fix it
I now only write for an audience of one, me. If I am not being authentic, then I might be spewing garbage. This is why I never really trust large corporations and politicians, because they are always trying to offer what people want to hear rather than being honest about what they can really do. This kind of inauthentic communication may be one way to run a business, but it is not a way to build a real relationship with real people for a global community, which is exactly what I hope to do at Travel. Write. Live. and In The Know Traveler. It may not please everyone, but I can live with that.

3. Focus

My mission on ITKT is to inspire travel and promote cultural exchange.
However, I also like a good political debate, playing guitar, and books about conspiracy. There are so many thoughts to have about so many topics. Once in a while it seems appropriate to drop one of these topics into my travel site. While it made sense at the time, I now think it was a ridiculous idea. It would be like going to the store to buy a box of Ding Dongs, but all the store has is steamed brussel sprouts. It might be good for me, but it wouldn’t make sense for the reader.

How to fix it
Once I had defined my sites in 25 words or less, I had specific guidelines for the topics I could cover. Here are my definitions for In The Know Traveler: “dedicated to promoting international travel and cultural exchange,” and for Travel. Write. Live.: “The No B.S. Blog about Travel and Writing to support the creation of a better Life.” Anything outside of these margins becomes a story for another site.

4. Stagnation from Overwhelm

Let’s face it, blogging can be overwhelming. I had to teach myself Photoshop, WordPress, html, a little php, social networking, marketing, stat interpretation, how to check out the competition and model the success of others — not to mention still having family, friends, work and time to do my personal writing. It is easy to look at this huge pile of stuff and say, I am going to eat a giant sack of Ding Dongs and take a nap on the sofa.

How to fix it
I have learned to cope with the pile by doing a little everyday and making lists of small things I can easily finish and check off. Seeing what I have accomplished takes away from all that I think I have not.

5. Checking Numbers and Checking Everything Else

For brief periods (I am in one right now), I have spent too much time seeing if anyone is visiting my site , who they are, how they are doing it. Then I check my email, maybe someone wrote me something in the last thirty seconds. Maybe a Prince from Bahrain who wants to send me $75,000,000 for no reason, and writes in ALL CAPS so it must be important, is trying to reach me. This has been the single greatest time-waster, ever.

How to fix it
This is a tough nut to crack because it is easy to justify constantly checking my stats and email all the damn time, especially when I have a new site just launching. Truth is, numbers fluctuate, sometimes wildly, from day to day based upon a bunch of tech things I have no control over. I receive 150 emails a day. 149 of these emails are not really important and can wait until later in the day. Still I want to look.

I have learned to schedule Facebook, Twitter and email for twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Ideally, I look at the numbers once at the beginning of the month. I include an hour (timed if necessary) of Facebook, Twitter and emails that require a little more attention per day. I include an hour of numbers, which is more than I need. Again, the last month has been a trying time.

Overall, these five simple rules give me more time and increase my production five-fold, which allows for more time to work on better articles and writing. It has also given me something I didn’t expect, a little piece of mind. Piece of mind that I have got myself organized to be efficient and get it all done.