Birds of a Feather welcomes Kristin Addis to the nest

Kristin is a Southern California girl who has been adventuring around the globe nonstop since September 2012. Before she sold all her belongings to become a solo female traveller, she was an investment banker in Newport Beach. She’s now a traveller after my own heart, preferring to ditch guides and group tours to take local transportation and immerse herself in local culture.

She’s build an online reputation as a travel muse to fellow travellers, and her website Be My Travel Muse provides inspiration to help them achieve their own version of her nomadic lifestyle. Kristin is also the author of “Conquering Mountains: How to Solo Travel the World Fearlessly” which is available on e-junkie.

Today Kristin is our Author and Self-Publishing Muse … read on. Get inspired.

What motivated you to start writing?

I used to do it as a kid for fun. I’d write imaginative stories, usually about princesses and unicorns since they were my jam back then, and would do the illustrations to go with them. It’s always been fun for me so naturally as I grew older and became more interested in world cultures, the idea of actually doing it for a living came to me and at some point I finally just decided to go for it lest I live a life of regrets for never honoring my dream.

Tell us the journey you went on to get your first book published (e.g. self-published, assisted-publishing, traditional publisher)

Conquering Mountains: How to Solo Travel the World Fearlessly is a self-published ebook that was born out of a solo female travel advice column that I write for nomadicmatt.com.

We released the book together and the response has been excellent. It turns out that this is something a lot of women wanted and needed and I’m so glad that we could release a valuable resource for them.

What publishing elements do you most enjoy and most like to avoid, and why? (e.g. design, marketing, formatting etc.)

I like the conceptualizing and writing. The design is something I leave to the experts in graphic design. Marketing can be fun but it’s also one of the parts I’m not in control of (unlike the writing), so there’s an element of suspense and risk to it. Will it be well-received? Will people want to talk about it?

With the hindsight of being a published author, anything you would have done differently?

I’ve published two books now, one with Matt and one with a traditional publisher. I’ve realized that in order to make money with a traditional publisher, you have to be selling a ridiculously huge amount of books. I like it better being my own boss.

What tips or advice would you give an aspiring indie author who is looking to self-publish?

Test the market first. Make sure that the world wants and needs your book. I did that with the solo travel column. A blog is a great way to do it.

What marketing or promotional tools or techniques do you use to reach your readers?

Traditional media, social media (instagram, pinterest, facebook, twitter), and my blogging peers who might also want to share the news of the book.

What impact do you want your books to have on your readers?

I want them to go have an amazing adventure! I want them to feel empowered by it and to feel supported.

What’s next on your writing journey?

You’ll have to wait and see 🙂

Fearless #selfpub adventures from Kristin @BeMyTravelMuse #DigitalNomad #SoloTravel Click To Tweet

Author Bio for Kristin Addis

Kristin is the travel blogger behind Be My Travel Muse, a travel website that offers practical advice and inspiring stories to encourage others to grab their own life by the horns take the path less travelled.

She is also a regular contributor on Nomadic Matt’s website offering tips and advice on solo female travel.

Connect with Kristin:

• On Facebook at: @BeMyTravelMuse
• On Twitter at: @bemytravelmuse
• On Instagram at: @bemytravelmuse
• On Pinterest at: @kristinaddis
• On YouTube at: @BeMyTravelMuse