The Long-Term Traveler's Guide is Almost Here!

By Livingthedreamrtw @livingdreamrtw
It is with great excitement that we are unveiling to the world the first product in the Living the Dream brand.   With over a year of effort and countless late nights, we are just a few weeks away from launching our first self-published book, The Long-Term Traveler's Guide!
The Long-Term Traveler's Guide is the definitive planning resource for all those looking to cut loose from the standard path and head out to see the world for weeks, months, or years on end. If you are planning to set off to explore the world in 2012, 2013, or beyond, the guide is for you!
All long-term planning topics are covered in the guide including making the decision to go, picking a route, preparing a budget, getting vaccinated, packing to go, finding your style on the road, returning home, and everything in between.
In fact, there are so many topics in the guide that we had force them all into a tiny screen cap just to list them below!

To correspond with the launch of the printed book, we are also launching a special digital package that includes several extra features to help make planning your long-term adventure a breeze!  Some of the special features that will be available in the digital package of The Long-Term Traveler's Guide include:
*A complete PDF copy of the guide.
*Comprehensive planning spreadsheets to aid in estimating your budget, keeping track of your savings goals, and monitor spending while on the road.
*Random city generator linking to planning resources and images for 475 of the world's best cities to help you find new and exciting destinations to add to your route.
*Historical weather charts for 250 cities around the world, developed to aid in route planning and avoid horrible weather.
*Blogging directory with several hundred country specific posts on every continent and one of the world's largest directories of travel bloggers available.
*Personal communications with the author (that is me!) for free planning advice, route critiques, and to talk about all things travel.
*Free access and downloads to all future updates and chapter expansions that are being developed.
Want a glimpse into the digital package?  This collage covers just a small fraction of the included features!

Read a Chapter
While the final details of the guide's launch are coming together, we have nearly finalized the website for the book.  To see more of what The Long-Term Traveler's Guide is about and get excited for the launch, we are hosting two chapters on the guide's website and would love it if you checked it out!  The chapters available are:
*Visa Acquisition
*RTW Plane Tickets vs Independent
These two topics of some the most difficult that all long-term travelers must face while planning, and only begin to scratch the surface on the planning process.
Writing a Travel Book - 10 Part Feature
Short of planning for a long-term trip itself, writing this book has been one of the largest undertakings we have ever done.  As you can imagine, writing and self-publishing a travel book has a steep learning curve for someone new to the scene.  To help out all you future authors out there, we are launching a special ten-part series that will break down all the details of writing a book that often goes unpublished or is only offered through paid e-books.  Of course, our take on the series will be entirely free!
Part 1 -  Finding a Niche and Writing
Part 2 -  Editing and Formatting
Part 3 -  Evolution of a Cover Design
Part 4 -  Digital Packages and Special Features
Part 5 -  Developing a Website for Sales
Part 6 -  Distribution Companies
Part 7 -  Pricing Development and Launch
Part 8 -  Affiliate Sales Programs and Tips
Part 9 -  The Cost of Writing and Sales Summary
Part 10 - Final Thoughts (Book Deal?)
As of now, these topics for the ten-part series are tentative.  As the guide progresses we may stumble upon a topic that is more pressing than those listed above, so final topics and titles may change in the future.  Part 1 will go live shortly after launch, and we hope to continue this series on a weekly/bi-weekly basis throughout the first part of 2012.
The Long-Term Traveler's Guide is coming soon, and we are one test print away from launching.  Once we put the seal of approval on the test print we will set a dedicated launch date and finalize all other details for the launch, but those will come in a future post.  For now, let's just say mid-February and hope the first test print turns out great!  
To keep up-to-date with all future developments on The Long-Term Traveler's Guide and the special ten part Writing a Travel Book series, check out the categories sidebar link "Travel Book," subscribe to our news feed, 'Like' us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!  If you are a travel blogger or website owner and would be interested in learning more about the affiliate program for The Long-Term Traveler's Guide, please e-mail us.