November 22, 2008

Travel Writing by Wendy VanHatten- A Book Review

Dominique Book Review Book promotion, travel writing

: Image by photog63 via Flickr

Looking at this picture of prestine white sand along the coastline is really relaxing. How I wish I could be one of the holiday makers lying under the big umbrellas sipping on a cocktail and enjoy hearing the sound of waves lapping against the beach.

Such a dream can become a reality. Yes, it is possible if you are aiming to be a freelance travel writer.

Wendy VanHatten has just released a book entittled Travel Writing as a Freelancer and my site is fortunate to be one of the be part of her virtual (blog) book tour.

In her 64 page e-book she gives really handy tips on how to get started as a freelance travel writer.

She describes in detail the steps in how to write your articles. There are many easy to relate to examples and even milestone checkers in the mini assignments that she gives at the end of each topic.

Topics covered in her book include, specializing and specifics,story structure & headlines and using photography to sell your story.

The tips and tricks shared by Wendy are very useful for me as it taught me more about how to market travel destinations.

For those who do not know besides focusing my energies on this parenting blog I have two travel websites- Best Budget Travel Cebu & Best Budget Travel Cagayan. With the added knowledge gained from Wendy’s book I will be able to come up with some articles to promote these two websites during the current festive season.

Do hop over to Wendy’s site to check out her book if your interested to be a freelance travel writer.

Yesterday the blog tour was at Virtual Blog Tours
and tomorrow it will continue with Casey Wohl at Girls Getaway Guide.

Understanding other Cultures

Living in a multiracial country the boys are lucky to be exposed to many different cultures. For those who do not know much about Singapore let me give you a brief introduction to our demographics.

Our small island has a population of 4.8Million(based on Yr 2008 statistics) The main 3 races are Chinese, Malay and Indians. Every day we interact with many different people of different races and religion.

I feel that it is very important that my boys get an introduction to the various different races/ cultures. It is important to know the differences and sensitivities of the different cultures so one does not unintentionally offend someone from a different culture. By knowing more about others culture one will be more tolerant and understanding of others and grasp a deeper understanding of ones own culture.

To expose the boys to the various cultures we send them to an ” international” pre-school. The students in their pre-school are a mixture of Chinese, Malay, Indian, Russian, French, Japanese, African and German. It is a real melting pot of different cultures. Ryan’s best friend is a South African french speaking boy.

How are you exposing your children to other cultures?

[Twittermoms, in collaboration with Global Wonders are conducting a Cultural Kaleidoscope Blogging Contest. Do head over to the site to find out more information.]