Just back from a memorable trip to Vienna and Lower Austria (see my series of live public travel journals over on Five Suitcases), my to-do list is longer than ever.
After a visit to Dublin's brand-new Teeling Whiskey Distillery, I wrote a review but hadn't yet included it in The Frugal Guide: Dublin. I've since rectified that situation, and the review is in the most recent edition, if you care to check it out. Brainstorming and research continues for the 2016 edition, there are some new eBook features I'd like to include if I can figure out how to do them myself.
I've recently been in contact with the expat community site Expat Focus. This blog was included in a top Irish expat blogs list, and I completed an interview about my experience for other expat hopefuls. I was grateful for the opportunity, and hope my interview proves to be entertaining, informative, or inspiring for someone.
Also this week, I've been working to improve my social media presence, curating my Twitter and Facebook pages to become a more responsive member of both the travel writing and eBook publishing communities. If I'm to be pushing to publish this other book thing later this year, I'll need a bit more robust social presence.
I am also looking at alternate website platforms – particularly Wordpress – to host a better Five Suitcases site. I plan to be experimenting with the options over the next month before I decide what to do with my other site. Moving the site might be labor-intensive, and the longer I wait, the more painful it will be. I'd like to have my web presence looking hale and healthy when I go into book-promoting mode. Learning this stuff will be good for me anyway, right?
Speaking of the book, work continues, but slowly. I've been reading, editing, cutting, and writing the last few tidbits – even doing some work in Vienna's sunny parks. I am feeling very good about its potential, especially when its comedy rhythm is sharpened a bit.
With so many irons in the fire, my progress will be slower on each project, but things are moving along smoothly. Wherever you are, enjoy the rest of the summer, and stay in touch!
Showing posts with label Travel eBook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel eBook. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
The Frugal Guide Podcast is a Go!
As if I didn't need anything else to work on...
I've been busy working on the first (hopefully of many... or at least several!) audio supplement pieces for The Frugal Guide: Dublin. Why all the extra work? Well, I want to do this thing for real, with all the usual twenty-first-century additions.
First Frugal Guide audio tour is published and available for free from PodOmatic! http://t.co/i7TlsLcMSO pic.twitter.com/fEMUk41iq1
— Cory Hanson (@HansonCory1) January 27, 2015
Hopefully, these additional audio tours and podcasts will help boost the popularity of the book and help more people have more fun in this great city. If not, it'll just be another huge time sink that I can look at with pride even though it was enjoyed by few.
I am working to get this podcast feed available on iTunes, but for now it's only available for direct download from PodOmatic -- the service I chose to host the podcast -- as they have the best free account package.
Below is the full text from my Five Suitcases article with an embedded podcast player at the bottom if you care to listen. Please help boost the signal by continuing to like and share the book and podcast on the usual social channels!
---
I've been warming up my voice and flexing my very limited audio editing muscle recently. After many hours of recording, deleting, recording again, and testing, I've finally finished and published my first piece of supplementary audio content!
One of my original goals with this project was to produce some guided audio tours in podcast form. Unable or unwilling to hire professional help, I would have to be writer, producer, narrator, editor, and publisher of everything, of course. For the first audio tour, I chose Dublin's Urban Park Scramble, because it was my first and my favorite.
Much of the time needed to produce this first piece of audio content was spent learning the ins and outs of podcast publishing in general. Sadly, free podcast hosting is difficult to find, and with limited choices when you find it. For now, I'm using PodOmatic as they offer the most free storage space and the most monthly bandwidth with their free account. Other services' free accounts are much more limited, and the always-free-unlimited-storage-and-bandwidth use of archive.org seemed a bit too clunky, even for me.
Now that I'm an experienced podcast publisher, producing more short audio pieces should be much easier. Look for more audio tours, interviews with inexpensive attraction curators, and other soundy content coming soon.
If and when you download this walking tour, notice that the attached image is the map of the walk. It is a bit ugly when seen at super-zoomed thumbnail size, but becomes a handy map of the whole walk when displayed on an iPod screen while playing. Practical over pretty every single day!
This series of walks and podcasts will hopefully be available on iTunes soon, but for now, they will all be available for direct download from PodOmatic at the following address: frugalguidedublin.podomatic.com
Don't feel like downloading? Take a listen right from your computer with this handy embedded audio player!
Please continue to help me promote the book and the podcast with reviews, likes, and shares on all of the usual channels. Oh, and here are those usual channels again!
Thursday, December 18, 2014
A Visit to the GPO Museum
The General Post Office museum, normally two euros, is open for free from now until Christmas 2014. I paid a visit to the museum for an article for Five Suitcases and to update my museum entry in the book.
See the article over on Five Suitcases or read on below.
This post is a little late in coming, but I wanted to pay a visit to the General Post Office museum, called Letters, Lives, and Liberty, before reporting the happy news. Normally, this small collection of exhibits charges a small entrance fee, but they occasionally open the museum for free.
This year, the museum is free (during GPO opening hours) until Christmas. I paid a visit to the museum this week to see what I could see.
In The Frugal Guide: Dublin I only include information I could find about the museum on their website because I was avoiding the admittedly small admission and because the museum does occasionally open their doors for free.
The museum is interesting, but quite small. Without the admission fee, I would highly recommend a visit in the book. The first collection is dedicated to the art of the postage stamp. Pull-out collections and blown-up art highlight various stamp designs used throughout the history of the Irish postal service.
A few text, video, and physical displays show the evolution of services offered by the postal service and its role in the history and development of the city and Ireland.
During what I assume were the "Wild West" days of Ireland, mail was carried by horse-drawn carriage and protected by armed guards packing short-barreled blunderbusses -- small musket rifles.
The post office used to run more than hard-copy communications in Ireland. Telegraph wireless services operated from radio rooms on the upper floors of the O'Connell Street Post Office. A switchboard with all of the accessories used by teams of operators is on display.
The O'Connell Street location of the Post Office was, of course, the headquarters of the 1916 Easter Rising. On Easter Monday of that year, armed revolutionaries (or terrorists, depending on who is telling the story) stormed the GPO and took it by force. The Irish Proclamation -- their Declaration of Independence -- was read aloud by Patrick Pearse (of Pearse Street fame) from the front steps before the rebels holed up for a siege.
One corner of the GPO museum is dedicated to the building's role in this rebellion. A hologram projection plays out a scenario re-enactment told by some possible witnesses to the events of the day.
I smiled as an armed rebel burst into the radio room on the screen, shooting the guard on his way in. The heroic ladies operating the switchboards jump in to help the injured man, begging the rebels to allow the wounded British soldier to go to a nearby hospital.
The always honorable (?) rebels graciously and respectfully allow the British soldier (who they had just shot in the gut) to go to a hospital to be patched up. I've never seen such honorable armed rebels! I wonder what a video presentation about the events would look like in a museum in London...
See the article over on Five Suitcases or read on below.
This post is a little late in coming, but I wanted to pay a visit to the General Post Office museum, called Letters, Lives, and Liberty, before reporting the happy news. Normally, this small collection of exhibits charges a small entrance fee, but they occasionally open the museum for free.
This year, the museum is free (during GPO opening hours) until Christmas. I paid a visit to the museum this week to see what I could see.
Had a nice visit to the #GPO museum today! Remember folks, it's free 'till Christmas! pic.twitter.com/wRsgVxOQ7Y
— Cory Hanson (@HansonCory1) December 16, 2014
In The Frugal Guide: Dublin I only include information I could find about the museum on their website because I was avoiding the admittedly small admission and because the museum does occasionally open their doors for free.
The museum is interesting, but quite small. Without the admission fee, I would highly recommend a visit in the book. The first collection is dedicated to the art of the postage stamp. Pull-out collections and blown-up art highlight various stamp designs used throughout the history of the Irish postal service.
 |
| Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising 50-Year Anniversary Stamp Design |
A few text, video, and physical displays show the evolution of services offered by the postal service and its role in the history and development of the city and Ireland.
During what I assume were the "Wild West" days of Ireland, mail was carried by horse-drawn carriage and protected by armed guards packing short-barreled blunderbusses -- small musket rifles.
The post office used to run more than hard-copy communications in Ireland. Telegraph wireless services operated from radio rooms on the upper floors of the O'Connell Street Post Office. A switchboard with all of the accessories used by teams of operators is on display.
 |
| GPO Radio Switchboard |
The O'Connell Street location of the Post Office was, of course, the headquarters of the 1916 Easter Rising. On Easter Monday of that year, armed revolutionaries (or terrorists, depending on who is telling the story) stormed the GPO and took it by force. The Irish Proclamation -- their Declaration of Independence -- was read aloud by Patrick Pearse (of Pearse Street fame) from the front steps before the rebels holed up for a siege.
 |
| The 1916 Rising Exhibit |
One corner of the GPO museum is dedicated to the building's role in this rebellion. A hologram projection plays out a scenario re-enactment told by some possible witnesses to the events of the day.
I smiled as an armed rebel burst into the radio room on the screen, shooting the guard on his way in. The heroic ladies operating the switchboards jump in to help the injured man, begging the rebels to allow the wounded British soldier to go to a nearby hospital.
The always honorable (?) rebels graciously and respectfully allow the British soldier (who they had just shot in the gut) to go to a hospital to be patched up. I've never seen such honorable armed rebels! I wonder what a video presentation about the events would look like in a museum in London...
Visiting the Museum
The GPO Museum is open 10:00-17:00 Mon-Sat. Museum admission is 2 euros -- EXCEPT during certain holidays when it is free.
The museum website has a thorough virtual tour and much more information about the exhibits and displays.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
New Five Suitcases Article: War Memorial Gardens
I published a new essay over on Five Suitcases yesterday, covering Ireland's National War Memorial Gardens on the south side of the Liffey near Phoenix Park in West Dublin. It has a different tone than a regular blog post, because it doesn't describe my visit there, but rather highlights and encourages others to visit.
You can read the article on Five Suitcases here, or you can check out the full text of the article below.
The National War Memorial Gardens are dedicated to the Irish-born soldiers who died in World War I from 1914-1918. Ireland had an official stance of neutrality in World War II, but nearly 50,000 Irish soldiers died serving the British crown (and protecting their Catholic brothers and sisters in the Low Countries of Belgium and Holland) in various World War I campaigns. It is a complex and dark time in Ireland's history.
The Gardens have two entrances, the easiest to find is on South Circular Road (R111) -- between Kilmainham Gaol and the River Liffey. This entrance is on the east side of the property and leads to the parking lot and the east pedestrian gate.
There is another (pedestrian-only) entrance on Con Colbert Road on the southern border of the park. This entrance is nearest the Rose Gardens and the other central monuments.
The River Liffey flows between the Gardens and Phoenix Park. Up here, beyond the tidal zone, the Liffey resembles the stream that it is for most of its surprisingly short length. The parking lot and picnic area allow unrestricted access to the shallow, cold waters.
If you look carefully, you might see the native brown trout that live in the upper stretches of the river -- or a swan aggressively begging for food.
Between the river and the Central Lawn, several straight avenues come together at a small Temple; the focal point of the northern edge of the Gardens proper.
Locally, the Gardens might be most famous for the twin circular Sunken Rose Gardens. On either edge of the Central Lawn, large, round rose gardens "sink" down to a central fountain. In summer, the concentric circles burst with the color and aroma of roses; but their tone is quite different -- but not inappropriate -- in winter when the blossoms have fallen.
You can read the article on Five Suitcases here, or you can check out the full text of the article below.
Beautiful Even When the Roses Aren't in Bloom
A somewhat hidden free treasure on Dublin's west side, the National War Memorial Gardens are a quiet, peaceful, and meaningful outdoor retreat from the busy city at any time of year.The National War Memorial Gardens are dedicated to the Irish-born soldiers who died in World War I from 1914-1918. Ireland had an official stance of neutrality in World War II, but nearly 50,000 Irish soldiers died serving the British crown (and protecting their Catholic brothers and sisters in the Low Countries of Belgium and Holland) in various World War I campaigns. It is a complex and dark time in Ireland's history.
The Gardens have two entrances, the easiest to find is on South Circular Road (R111) -- between Kilmainham Gaol and the River Liffey. This entrance is on the east side of the property and leads to the parking lot and the east pedestrian gate.
There is another (pedestrian-only) entrance on Con Colbert Road on the southern border of the park. This entrance is nearest the Rose Gardens and the other central monuments.
The River Liffey flows between the Gardens and Phoenix Park. Up here, beyond the tidal zone, the Liffey resembles the stream that it is for most of its surprisingly short length. The parking lot and picnic area allow unrestricted access to the shallow, cold waters.
If you look carefully, you might see the native brown trout that live in the upper stretches of the river -- or a swan aggressively begging for food.
 |
| The River Liffey from the Gardens |
Between the river and the Central Lawn, several straight avenues come together at a small Temple; the focal point of the northern edge of the Gardens proper.
 |
| War Memorial Gardens Temple |
Locally, the Gardens might be most famous for the twin circular Sunken Rose Gardens. On either edge of the Central Lawn, large, round rose gardens "sink" down to a central fountain. In summer, the concentric circles burst with the color and aroma of roses; but their tone is quite different -- but not inappropriate -- in winter when the blossoms have fallen.
The rose rings are lined with plantings of yew trees -- an ancient symbol of death and rebirth.
Between the two Rose Gardens, the large Central Lawn houses the defining features of the Gardens. The granite War Stone -- representing an altar -- sits at the very center, and is flanked by white stone obelisks and fountains -- representing candles. Massive War Stones like this stand at various World War I memorials around Europe.
The four corners of the Central Lawn are marked with small granite buildings, the Bookrooms. These four shrines contain the Books of Remembrance -- listing the names of all 49,400 Irish soldiers who died throughout Europe in World War I.
Gardens open Mon-Fri 08:00, Sat-Sun 10:00, closes at sunset.
Gardens Website
PDF Map and Guide
 |
| Rose Garden in Winter |
 |
| Rose Garden Looking to Central Lawn |
Between the two Rose Gardens, the large Central Lawn houses the defining features of the Gardens. The granite War Stone -- representing an altar -- sits at the very center, and is flanked by white stone obelisks and fountains -- representing candles. Massive War Stones like this stand at various World War I memorials around Europe.
 |
| The Granite War Stone |
 |
| Flanking Obelisk "Candle" |
Visiting the Gardens
A visit to the War Memorial Gardens can be a quick walkthrough tied to a visit to Kilmainham Gaol and Phoenix Park or a longer, more contemplative look at a dark twentieth-century memory for this small country. The picnic grounds on the bank of the river allow visitors to spread out on the grass or sit on a bench facing the river and the park. Neighborhood locals use this quiet green space for jogging, dog-walking, and afternoon and weekend strolls.Gardens open Mon-Fri 08:00, Sat-Sun 10:00, closes at sunset.
Gardens Website
PDF Map and Guide
Monday, December 8, 2014
First Frugal Guide Dublin Supplement
The first-of-many supplemental posts for The Frugal Guide: Dublin is now available on Five Suitcases. In it, I explore Moore Street, one of Dublin's little seedy (but relatively safe) secrets near the busy shopping district of Henry Street.
Dubliners know Moore Street's reputation well, and I've seen many a "respectable" person buying the smuggled tobacco from the unscrupulous crooks patrolling the cobbled street. In the article, I comment,
But the small-time crooks have always left us alone when we've visited Moore Street during the day. We love visiting the seriously-cheap fruit and veg stands, especially when making applesauce, where bruised, mealy apples really shine. I also recommend a daytime walk through Moore Street in my book as a free (and safer) look at the grittier side of the city without aimlessly poking around Sheriff Street at midnight.
[Shudders]
Just so you know I'm not farming for your clicks, the full text of the Moore Street supplement article is below, but feel free to visit Five Suitcases, share the link, comment, etc.
Dubliners know Moore Street's reputation well, and I've seen many a "respectable" person buying the smuggled tobacco from the unscrupulous crooks patrolling the cobbled street. In the article, I comment,
If you are wondering why the police don't monitor this infamous corner of small-time crooks, you clearly don't live in Ireland.And I mean that sincerely. Clearly there is crime (small-time, of course) happening at all hours of the day and night here, but I've seen Gardai (Irish police officers) actively avoid walking near Moore Street as they patrol Henry Street. Are they more concerned with the heavy rate of shoplifting and crowd control on Henry Street? Maybe.
But the small-time crooks have always left us alone when we've visited Moore Street during the day. We love visiting the seriously-cheap fruit and veg stands, especially when making applesauce, where bruised, mealy apples really shine. I also recommend a daytime walk through Moore Street in my book as a free (and safer) look at the grittier side of the city without aimlessly poking around Sheriff Street at midnight.
[Shudders]
Just so you know I'm not farming for your clicks, the full text of the Moore Street supplement article is below, but feel free to visit Five Suitcases, share the link, comment, etc.
Moore Street: Dublin's Shady-but-Beautiful Market
Dublin's near-the-river north side is known for three things: history, petty crime, and shopping. O'Connell Street and Parnell Square just about corner the market on the history front; the General Post Office and O'Connell Statue are riddled with bullet holes from previous conflicts, including the unsuccessful-but-pivotal 1916 Easter Rising, and the Garden of Remembrance pays tribute to those who fought for Irish freedom.
Henry Street -- the packed, pedestrian-only passage heading west from the Spire of Dublin -- is the beating heart of Dublin's retail economy. Move over, Grafton and the Creative Quarter, Henry has it by a mile. Huge shopping centers and small storefronts battle for business amid costumed characters (like local favorites Super Mario Busker and Spider-Man), and the consumers just can't get enough.
Just off of the busy Henry scene, the shopping and petty crime collide on Moore Street, one of Dublin's most unique (and infamous) little markets.
 |
| Moore Street Fruit and Veg Market |
Every day, local merchants set up carts and stalls selling a range of foods and household goods. I like to check out the almost-suspiciously-cheap fruits and vegetables, but vendors do a good business selling cleaning products, paper towels, and hardware, too.
Occasionally, a fish stall emits a certain pungency into the street (and the hapless indoor Ilac Shopping Centre, which has an entrance nearby). Seen at this stall one hot summer day: A seagull grabbed a particularly nice-looking salmon fillet when the barker was busy. The happy bird dropped the fillet on the street and began to pick away at the soft, delicious meat. Upon discovering this thievery of an expensive cut of fish, the barker shooed away the gull, picked up the fillet, and put it right back on display.
This is just some of the, um, folksy charm of Moore Street. Every day, trench-coated figures call out, "Cigarettes, tobacco! Cigarettes, tobacco!" as they sell illegal tobacco, usually from Eastern Europe or Central Asia, to canny smokers looking to skirt the tobacco tax. Some bold crooks try to unload stolen smartphones, a warning to Dublin visitors and residents alike to hold on to their valuables.
If you are wondering why the police don't monitor this infamous corner of small-time crooks, you clearly don't live in Ireland.
But should you visit Moore Street? Absolutely! Daytime visits are a great way to see some of the "real" city without venturing too far away from City Centre into the rough neighborhoods of Dublin, which I don't recommend doing.
If cheap fruit and vegetables don't tickle your fancy, the brick-and-mortar shops on the street might. A number of international markets representing Asia, Africa, and the Middle East line the street on both sides, right next to the big discount supermarket chain Lidl. The famous butcher F.X. Buckley sells high-quality meats, conventional and unusual, from its brightly-lit shop near the Henry Street intersection.
Tripe, pigeons, and more familiar meats at the butcher on Moore Street! pic.twitter.com/6JOl1f2OXE
— Cory Hanson (@HansonCory1) December 5, 2014
If you are strolling on the north side, take a few minutes to explore this little slice of decidedly-non-touristy Dublin. Enjoy some cheap fruit, but check your fish fillets for beak marks!
ForMoore more on Moore Street, Henry Street, and the rest of the Northside Shopping District, check out City Centre North in my free eBook, The Frugal Guide: Dublin.
For
Friday, December 5, 2014
Book Celebration Fry-up
Two days after the release of The Frugal Guide: Dublin 2015, more than 100 copies have been downloaded, and the hype continues to grow. Thanks to everyone who has downloaded it and helped share it with others. Your help is necessary and greatly appreciated.
To celebrate the book release and rapid success, I decided to make something very special for dinner the next night -- fried chicken.
But not just any fried chicken! I had saved all the duck fat from our Thanksgiving feast, both from the roast duck drippings and the skimmed fat from boiling the carcass for stock the next day.
All in all, I had almost a pound of the stuff in two jars in the fridge. I had looked online for uses of duck fat and found ideas from very tempting to very curious. One such tip:
I was inspired by one of my Grandma's favorites, beer battered chicken. This wet, bubbly batter expands and gets cracker-crisp like tempura when done properly. I had never tried it with chicken, but I had made it work with onion rings, so I was confident that I could make it happen again.
Of course, I used homebrew lager to make my batter.
The chicken and the chips both fried up beautifully in the duck fat/vegetable oil mix. It had been so long since either of us had tasted a real American-style crispy fried chicken, and I have to say, it was pretty amazing.
...I should publish books more often! Thanks for the inspiration, Grandma!
To celebrate the book release and rapid success, I decided to make something very special for dinner the next night -- fried chicken.
But not just any fried chicken! I had saved all the duck fat from our Thanksgiving feast, both from the roast duck drippings and the skimmed fat from boiling the carcass for stock the next day.
Too bad the Bears lost. Now it's just lots of dishes to deal with... and duck fat.
— Cory Hanson (@HansonCory1) November 27, 2014
 |
| Collected Duck Fat |
All in all, I had almost a pound of the stuff in two jars in the fridge. I had looked online for uses of duck fat and found ideas from very tempting to very curious. One such tip:
"If you think popcorn is good with melted butter... wait 'till you've had it with duck fat!"Hmmm. Probably wasn't going to make that happen, but I had heard of the French using duck fat to fry potatoes, and that sounded interesting. I thought, if I'm frying potatoes, why not fry something else while the duck fat is still hot? I couldn't think of a reason not to fry one kind of bird in the fat of another kind of bird, so I got to work.
I was inspired by one of my Grandma's favorites, beer battered chicken. This wet, bubbly batter expands and gets cracker-crisp like tempura when done properly. I had never tried it with chicken, but I had made it work with onion rings, so I was confident that I could make it happen again.
Of course, I used homebrew lager to make my batter.
To celebrate: homebrew beer-battered chicken fried in duck fat. My brain and my heart might literally explode. pic.twitter.com/ODrhihhYVH
— Cory Hanson (@HansonCory1) December 3, 2014
The chicken and the chips both fried up beautifully in the duck fat/vegetable oil mix. It had been so long since either of us had tasted a real American-style crispy fried chicken, and I have to say, it was pretty amazing.
 |
| Beer Battered Chicken and Fries |
...I should publish books more often! Thanks for the inspiration, Grandma!
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
The Frugal Guide: Dublin 2015 Now Available
At long last, the time has come. For the last month, I've been hammering away at my book. Research, writing, editing, self-publishing, and website building have been my life. I'm finally proud to announce the official launch of the book and the supporting website, www.fivesuitcases.com
Five Suitcases will be the home for my more "professional" travel and book writing. For now, it is mostly the supporting site for The Frugal Guide: Dublin but it hopefully will be home for all of my future publishing projects. Personal stories and opinions will still appear over here at Narc Ex HQ, but I'll also be publishing Dublin event news and book updates over at Five Suitcases. Whenever I publish a news update or book supplement over there, I'll make an announcement and cross-post here.
I'm also announcing my next book, Five Suitcases, a non-free humorous memoir about my expat experience so far. After keeping a daily blog for 1.5 years, I've really grown to love sharing stories. I think I can really make them shine with the luxury of extra time, so the book's chapters will really read like longer, more polished blog posts.
Thanks to all of my blog readers and those who've sent me feedback and encouragement. You are all amazing and keep me motivated to be better every day.
Below, I have cross-posted the announcement article from Five Suitcases. If you care to, download a free copy of The Frugal Guide: Dublin 2015 from the links below, leave a review, like it on Facebook, and all the good stuff.
From www.fivesuitcases.com
My first book, The Frugal Guide: Dublin 2015 is now available at Smashwords. After a long process involving countless hours of research, exploration, writing, and editing, the book is finally ready for the eyes of the public.
This has been the main focus of my life for the last month as I learned the ins and outs of the self-publishing world all while finishing this book. My daily blogging routine was completely derailed as I poured everything I had into this book... a book that I am happily giving away for free.
For now, the book is only available as a direct download at Smashwords. The most popular eBook formats are all available, and all free. In the near future, the book should be available from iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and other online eBook retailers.
I must again thank my volunteer editors: Sara Hanson, Carolla B, Karl, Jason L. Baker, Rosebud, Anne Reiva, Jen Reiva, Matt Haxton, Anne Canaveera, Trevor O’Brien, Rita Lupkes, Kent Eiler, and Keri Hanson. With their help and advice, I was able to clarify some of the content and fix mistakes. They were much more valuable than maybe they even know. Their comments inspired more ideas for things to include. From the first crowd-editor edition, I added about 5000 words of brand-new content - all because of you!
Now that this book is published and available, I'd like to announce my future writing plans:
Five Suitcases will be the home for my more "professional" travel and book writing. For now, it is mostly the supporting site for The Frugal Guide: Dublin but it hopefully will be home for all of my future publishing projects. Personal stories and opinions will still appear over here at Narc Ex HQ, but I'll also be publishing Dublin event news and book updates over at Five Suitcases. Whenever I publish a news update or book supplement over there, I'll make an announcement and cross-post here.
I'm also announcing my next book, Five Suitcases, a non-free humorous memoir about my expat experience so far. After keeping a daily blog for 1.5 years, I've really grown to love sharing stories. I think I can really make them shine with the luxury of extra time, so the book's chapters will really read like longer, more polished blog posts.
Thanks to all of my blog readers and those who've sent me feedback and encouragement. You are all amazing and keep me motivated to be better every day.
Below, I have cross-posted the announcement article from Five Suitcases. If you care to, download a free copy of The Frugal Guide: Dublin 2015 from the links below, leave a review, like it on Facebook, and all the good stuff.
From www.fivesuitcases.com
My first book, The Frugal Guide: Dublin 2015 is now available at Smashwords. After a long process involving countless hours of research, exploration, writing, and editing, the book is finally ready for the eyes of the public.
This has been the main focus of my life for the last month as I learned the ins and outs of the self-publishing world all while finishing this book. My daily blogging routine was completely derailed as I poured everything I had into this book... a book that I am happily giving away for free.
For now, the book is only available as a direct download at Smashwords. The most popular eBook formats are all available, and all free. In the near future, the book should be available from iTunes, Barnes and Noble, and other online eBook retailers.
I must again thank my volunteer editors: Sara Hanson, Carolla B, Karl, Jason L. Baker, Rosebud, Anne Reiva, Jen Reiva, Matt Haxton, Anne Canaveera, Trevor O’Brien, Rita Lupkes, Kent Eiler, and Keri Hanson. With their help and advice, I was able to clarify some of the content and fix mistakes. They were much more valuable than maybe they even know. Their comments inspired more ideas for things to include. From the first crowd-editor edition, I added about 5000 words of brand-new content - all because of you!
Now that this book is published and available, I'd like to announce my future writing plans:
- Produce additional Frugal Guide: Dublin content like an audiobook, fully-illustrated walks, additional audio video content to enhance the book, and periodic news updates that will be published as posts here.
- Continue research and updates of the FG:D book for this and future editions. There are tours I have yet to take and attractions that I have yet to visit. In future editions, I hope to include personal reviews of everything that I mention in the book.
BeginContinue work on my next book, a (not free) personal memoir about my expat experience from finding out about our move through our first two years in Dublin. In case you haven't guessed, the working title of this book is Five Suitcases. Thanks to Mary Reiva for suggesting the great title for the book and my website.- Improve the website of both Five Suitcases and my personal blog, The Narcissistic Expat Diaries, possibly even integrate the two. I'm running into the ceiling of my own web design abilities, so I'll have to either learn more or hire someone to do it for me. I think you know which I'll choose.
For now, download and enjoy The Frugal Guide: Dublin 2015 and please let me know what you think. Rate and review the book on Smashwords (and other retailers, when it becomes available), like it on Facebook (www.facebook.com/frugalguidedublin), and feel free to send me a private message through the Contact page above.
Visit my personal blog via the tab above or directly (iowa2ireland.blogspot.com) for a huge backlog of my expat moving experience and for regular personal updates from me.
Thanks again, to EVERYONE for all your support and encouragement. This is a huge achievement for me, and I'll always be proud of it.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Re-branding
It's Thanksgiving week, and I've been blogless for more and a full week. Putting together a book is a lot of work in the final stages.
Right now, the text of the book is very close to being ready to ship. Thanks to the hard work and contributions of my volunteer editors, it's looking great!
Most of my effort this week has been focused on building a website to support the book beyond what I have here. My vision is to one day have a website devoted to my travel writing specifically, including my Dublin book and any future travel-specific writing projects.
Hopefully, the website will be home for additional book content like audio, video, and fully-illustrated walking tours (like my old versions of the Urban Park Scramble). It will be a little bit more... commercial than the site here, with a focus on specific travel tips and articles for serious travel planners.
The lighthearted personal blog material will still be available and coming in one form or another, just not sure where. Rest assured, I'll keep the iowa2ireland URL pointed to wherever my personal blog content ends up, but it may have a different home and different look soon.
We'll be back here on Thanksgiving with another special live Twitter event!
Right now, the text of the book is very close to being ready to ship. Thanks to the hard work and contributions of my volunteer editors, it's looking great!
Most of my effort this week has been focused on building a website to support the book beyond what I have here. My vision is to one day have a website devoted to my travel writing specifically, including my Dublin book and any future travel-specific writing projects.
Hopefully, the website will be home for additional book content like audio, video, and fully-illustrated walking tours (like my old versions of the Urban Park Scramble). It will be a little bit more... commercial than the site here, with a focus on specific travel tips and articles for serious travel planners.
The lighthearted personal blog material will still be available and coming in one form or another, just not sure where. Rest assured, I'll keep the iowa2ireland URL pointed to wherever my personal blog content ends up, but it may have a different home and different look soon.
We'll be back here on Thanksgiving with another special live Twitter event!
Monday, November 17, 2014
Finishing the eBook, Not Too Late to Jump in!
The blog will be dark this week while I finish up my eBook. It's so close yet so far away from final publication, and I haven't been able to really focus on anything else. Blog posts written now would be hurried and forced. Heck, I haven't even picked up a video game controller in more than a week!
For the last 2 weeks, I've been pouring 10+ hours/day into the book, and I still have some labor-intensive finalizing work to do. Making images and maps work on the variety of e-reader screens will be a big challenge, and I have never designed anything like a book cover before, so I have lots of work to do.
I am also making decisions about publishing platforms and styles, all while making final tweaks to the text, thanks to my volunteer editors.
You can still be a part of those text tweaks! I've had 20+ volunteers jump in to read a portion of the book draft, and the feedback has been great so far. People are finding undefined local words (like publican and An Post) and sneaky typos that my eyes would miss. With this extra bit of polish, the book can really shine.
If you haven't volunteered and would like to take a look at a piece of the book, let me know with a comment or Contact form submission. All editors who submit feedback will be credited in the acknowledgements of this and all future editions of the book! More information about the volunteer editing process in the previous post.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement! When the book is finally published and available, look for announcements here.
For the last 2 weeks, I've been pouring 10+ hours/day into the book, and I still have some labor-intensive finalizing work to do. Making images and maps work on the variety of e-reader screens will be a big challenge, and I have never designed anything like a book cover before, so I have lots of work to do.
I am also making decisions about publishing platforms and styles, all while making final tweaks to the text, thanks to my volunteer editors.
You can still be a part of those text tweaks! I've had 20+ volunteers jump in to read a portion of the book draft, and the feedback has been great so far. People are finding undefined local words (like publican and An Post) and sneaky typos that my eyes would miss. With this extra bit of polish, the book can really shine.
If you haven't volunteered and would like to take a look at a piece of the book, let me know with a comment or Contact form submission. All editors who submit feedback will be credited in the acknowledgements of this and all future editions of the book! More information about the volunteer editing process in the previous post.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement! When the book is finally published and available, look for announcements here.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
See Your Name in (e)Print!
Well, my free Dublin eBook is just about finished. The body text is complete, and I've done one round of labor-intensive copy editing for typos, misspellings, and style inconsistencies. The first comb through was an unpleasant five-hour experience that I'd rather not repeat so...
I'm looking for volunteer crowd editors to take one more look through the text of my book before it goes to final formatting and e-publishing. I'm calling it crowd editing because I don't want to throw the whole book at a few people and ask them each to read the whole thing. I'm hoping to get a few dozen (fingers crossed!) volunteers, each to take a look at a manageable little chunk of the text. If all goes according to plan, each editor will have a couple of pages of text to read, and we may be able to have more than one editor look through each section, which would really be great!
Editing or writing experience is NOT required. Heck, I have neither. Anyone who can point out obvous typos, glaring factual hairrors, sentences unclear, (inconsistencies], and bad jokes can help. If you can read this page, you can help me get my work available at the highest-possible quality.
What do volunteer editors receive in return? Besides the warm fuzzies and good Karma of helping someone to help others, each editor will get credit in the acknowledgements of the book. No matter what kind of feedback you provide, you can get your name in this and every future edition of this book- forever!
Interested? Here's how it will work. Contact me (through the Contact page of the blog, email, Facebook, Twitter, a loud yell, any way you know how) as soon as possible and let me know you'd like to help. I'll reply with four things:
I'm looking for volunteer crowd editors to take one more look through the text of my book before it goes to final formatting and e-publishing. I'm calling it crowd editing because I don't want to throw the whole book at a few people and ask them each to read the whole thing. I'm hoping to get a few dozen (fingers crossed!) volunteers, each to take a look at a manageable little chunk of the text. If all goes according to plan, each editor will have a couple of pages of text to read, and we may be able to have more than one editor look through each section, which would really be great!
Editing or writing experience is NOT required. Heck, I have neither. Anyone who can point out obvous typos, glaring factual hairrors, sentences unclear, (inconsistencies], and bad jokes can help. If you can read this page, you can help me get my work available at the highest-possible quality.
What do volunteer editors receive in return? Besides the warm fuzzies and good Karma of helping someone to help others, each editor will get credit in the acknowledgements of the book. No matter what kind of feedback you provide, you can get your name in this and every future edition of this book- forever!
Interested? Here's how it will work. Contact me (through the Contact page of the blog, email, Facebook, Twitter, a loud yell, any way you know how) as soon as possible and let me know you'd like to help. I'll reply with four things:
- An editing request asking you to take a look at a certain chapter or range of paragraphs in the text of the book.
- A link to a Pastebin page containing the ENTIRE text of the book. That's right, every editor will have access to the entire text of the book, stripped of all formatting and images WITH EACH PARAGRAPH NUMBERED. It'll make sense when you see it.
- The second link will be to a Google Form survey. This is to record your comments and corrections.
- A big, grateful digital hug.
When you get your request, open the Pastebin page, find the paragraph lines, and read away! If you have suggestions or corrections, try to make a note of the paragraph number for easy fixing later. Do not try to make corrections or notes on the Pastebin page. If you want to copy and paste it into another kind of document for easier reading, go ahead. Be aware that it will still have no formatting or images.
When you have comments or suggestions (even if it's just, "Looks great!") open the Google Form link and plug in the name under which you'd like to be credited (even if it's a pseudonym or anonymous), the range of the book you read, and your comments. Try to include paragraph numbers in your comments if you have specific suggestions.
When you have comments or suggestions (even if it's just, "Looks great!") open the Google Form link and plug in the name under which you'd like to be credited (even if it's a pseudonym or anonymous), the range of the book you read, and your comments. Try to include paragraph numbers in your comments if you have specific suggestions.
If you want to read and comment on more of the book, then bless you! Please feel free to read as much of the book as you'd like and give me as much feedback as you can. Your comments can only make this book better. If you decide not to edit the book after taking a look, no problem! You're volunteers!
If you know anyone you think might be interested or might be able to help, please let them know! Have them contact me through any of the above channels so we can have as many eyes on this thing as we can.
Let me know through the above channels if you have questions, comments, or want to help get this book out there!
If you're interested, here's a cover shot teaser!
If you're interested, here's a cover shot teaser!
eBook Epilogue
Two eBook posts in one week, I know. I'm very close to finishing the book, and I've been laser-focused on it for the last full week. It's become difficult to pull myself away to put together blog posts. Not that I haven't been writing! I've been piling on 1000-2000 words a day to the book to get it finished, so I thought I would put up some of the last pieces of the book as a teaser.
This epilogue is not only a foreigner's guide to a Dublin pub, but I also feel it sums up the focus of the book with an emphasis on socializing, exploring, relaxing, and sitting back with a drink.
Meanwhile, I'm reworking all the previous content published earlier into full-book format. Upon re-reading, there are a lot of style and tone inconsistencies that need to be fixed and unified to make this feel like a single work.
After cleaning up the text, I then have to learn from scratch how to insert and format images and maps for e-readers. Shuffling images around on documents and PDFs is one thing, eBook formatting quite another.
When it's ready, I'll be putting out open calls for volunteer crowd editors, or book beta testers, if you will. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, read or download the Epilogue from the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog.
As always, any and all feedback is welcome in the comment section or through the Contact page of this blog. Thanks for your support!
This epilogue is not only a foreigner's guide to a Dublin pub, but I also feel it sums up the focus of the book with an emphasis on socializing, exploring, relaxing, and sitting back with a drink.
Meanwhile, I'm reworking all the previous content published earlier into full-book format. Upon re-reading, there are a lot of style and tone inconsistencies that need to be fixed and unified to make this feel like a single work.
After cleaning up the text, I then have to learn from scratch how to insert and format images and maps for e-readers. Shuffling images around on documents and PDFs is one thing, eBook formatting quite another.
When it's ready, I'll be putting out open calls for volunteer crowd editors, or book beta testers, if you will. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, read or download the Epilogue from the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog.
As always, any and all feedback is welcome in the comment section or through the Contact page of this blog. Thanks for your support!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
New eBook Chapter: Beyond City Centre
This is (hopefully!) the last chapter of regular content of this book! I'm approaching my target word count for the main book content, and now I just have the easy task of assembling the introductory material and appendices before the even easier task of final editing, proofing, and publishing.
...So I've a ways to go, but we're getting close! This long chapter covers are few of my favorite spots away from the River Liffey, but not as far out as Dun Laoghaire or Howth. We take a walk along the Royal Canal in the north and the Grand Canal in the south while visiting a few of the best free spots in the extended city- in my humble opinion, of course.
As per usual, check out the chapter (Beyond City Centre) over at the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog, and send your feedback to me through the Contact page above.
Thanks for your support as we reach the home stretch!
...So I've a ways to go, but we're getting close! This long chapter covers are few of my favorite spots away from the River Liffey, but not as far out as Dun Laoghaire or Howth. We take a walk along the Royal Canal in the north and the Grand Canal in the south while visiting a few of the best free spots in the extended city- in my humble opinion, of course.
As per usual, check out the chapter (Beyond City Centre) over at the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog, and send your feedback to me through the Contact page above.
Thanks for your support as we reach the home stretch!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
New eBook Chapter: Outer Coastal Villages
I've been working on the plan for the last few chapters of this short book quite a bit in these last few weeks. I'm almost finished with two more in addition to the one published this week. These chapters usually require some on-the-ground research, and sometimes I have to visit an area more than once to get everything exactly accurate. When giving turn-by-turn directions, I want to make sure I don't make any errors- even in a book that will be given away for free.
That said, this new chapter explores the villages of Dun Laoghaire, Howth, Bray, and Greystones on the coast north and south of Dublin city. These are all an easy (and cheap) DART ride from City Centre and their walking opportunities are great. I recommend visiting one, but not necessarily all, of these villages. The choice will depend on the taste of the traveler in question. Howth has more rugged hiking trails and great fish markets, Dun Laoghaire has a few more village shopping and pleasure boating opportunities, and Bray and Greystones have the fantastic- but less difficult- Cliff Walk and Bray Head hiking trails.
Check out this (and all the other) chapters on the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog.
Feedback is always welcome and appreciated through the Contact page or in the comments section below.
That said, this new chapter explores the villages of Dun Laoghaire, Howth, Bray, and Greystones on the coast north and south of Dublin city. These are all an easy (and cheap) DART ride from City Centre and their walking opportunities are great. I recommend visiting one, but not necessarily all, of these villages. The choice will depend on the taste of the traveler in question. Howth has more rugged hiking trails and great fish markets, Dun Laoghaire has a few more village shopping and pleasure boating opportunities, and Bray and Greystones have the fantastic- but less difficult- Cliff Walk and Bray Head hiking trails.
Check out this (and all the other) chapters on the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog.
Feedback is always welcome and appreciated through the Contact page or in the comments section below.
 |
| Howth Lighthouse |
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
New eBook Chapter: Viking-Age Dublin
I know, I know. It's been a while since the last chapter of guide was published. Believe it or not, things have been quite busy around here at Narc Ex HQ. This one has been quite a long time in the making, and I had to do a little extra visiting and note taking to give my most accurate advice and recommendations.
In this chapter, we cover the oldest part of town: Viking-Age Dublin. The Viking invaders first chose the spot where a smaller river met the Liffey as their strategic docking station, and from there they built their city. When the Vikings were booted (or assimilated into the local Gaelic and Norman population), other invaders set up camp here.
Today, the Irish have full control over this center of power from which they were ruled for all those centuries, and we lucky tourists can pay the area a (mostly free) visit. The guide includes tips for visiting Dublin City Hall, Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Library, and the churches and cathedrals just to the west.
As usual, check out the pdf download over at my Free Dublin eBook page on the blog for the latest version of the Viking-Age Dublin chapter. I plan to eventually include a map and maybe some photos, but that will have to wait until I have the text and content of the book finished, which shouldn't be too much longer!
In this chapter, we cover the oldest part of town: Viking-Age Dublin. The Viking invaders first chose the spot where a smaller river met the Liffey as their strategic docking station, and from there they built their city. When the Vikings were booted (or assimilated into the local Gaelic and Norman population), other invaders set up camp here.
Today, the Irish have full control over this center of power from which they were ruled for all those centuries, and we lucky tourists can pay the area a (mostly free) visit. The guide includes tips for visiting Dublin City Hall, Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Library, and the churches and cathedrals just to the west.
As usual, check out the pdf download over at my Free Dublin eBook page on the blog for the latest version of the Viking-Age Dublin chapter. I plan to eventually include a map and maybe some photos, but that will have to wait until I have the text and content of the book finished, which shouldn't be too much longer!
 |
| Dublin Castle Norman Tower and Chapel Royal |
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
New eBook Chapter and Updates
Now that the content of the eBook is growing, I've run into some of the first editorial roadblocks of travel book writing. When this project started, I was writing whatever I felt was most appropriate for any specific area of Dublin. Some areas would work best as a mapped and guided walking tour, some as a list-followed-by-a-paragraph, some as a more long form traditional book chapter.
When putting together my latest chapter covering City Centre North, I had to do some real reflection about what kind of format to use so that the book may one day be a coherent single piece instead of the broken bits it is as it trickles out of me. I had to finally start writing a style guide for myself so that I could at least get my dates, times, and weblinks consistent even if the chapter format changes depending on my mood when I wrote it.
The rest of these issues I will have to face as the book grows and grows, but for now, I have updated each of the previous chapters with a few minor style changes and uploaded and linked the latest versions on the eBook page. Whenever I make an adjustment, I will upload and re-link the latest version, so for that reason I will only link to each article on the main eBook page of the blog so I don't have to track down older pages to update.
See the new chapter and the latest versions of all the other on the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog.
Feedback is always welcome through the Contact page of the blog.
Thanks for all your continued patience and encouragement!
When putting together my latest chapter covering City Centre North, I had to do some real reflection about what kind of format to use so that the book may one day be a coherent single piece instead of the broken bits it is as it trickles out of me. I had to finally start writing a style guide for myself so that I could at least get my dates, times, and weblinks consistent even if the chapter format changes depending on my mood when I wrote it.
The rest of these issues I will have to face as the book grows and grows, but for now, I have updated each of the previous chapters with a few minor style changes and uploaded and linked the latest versions on the eBook page. Whenever I make an adjustment, I will upload and re-link the latest version, so for that reason I will only link to each article on the main eBook page of the blog so I don't have to track down older pages to update.
See the new chapter and the latest versions of all the other on the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog.
Feedback is always welcome through the Contact page of the blog.
Thanks for all your continued patience and encouragement!
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
New eBook Guide: Temple Bar Area Walk
Another short walking tour for the book! This one isn't as detailed as the Urban Park Scramble, mostly because the directions are easier and more flexible. It is meant to be a quick glance at some (but not all) Temple Bar highlights. The user is encouraged to diverge from the walk and enjoy the atmosphere of Temple Bar whenever possible.
Download the PDF here and check out the rest of the guides as they are finished on my Free Dublin eBook page here on the blog!
Thanks for the encouragement. As always, feedback is welcome and encouraged from the Contact page above.
Download the PDF here and check out the rest of the guides as they are finished on my Free Dublin eBook page here on the blog!
Thanks for the encouragement. As always, feedback is welcome and encouraged from the Contact page above.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
New eBook Chapter- West Dublin
I've been busy working on more book material. In addition to the guided step-by-step walking tours, I am writing text-only chapters covering the larger areas of the city that aren't as guided-walk-friendly. This isn't to say that there won't be more and more guided walks as the book grows, but I'd like to cover the tourist basics before I put too much work into labor-intensive guided walks of every neighborhood in the city!
I just published the chapter briefly covering a few highlights in West Dublin on the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog. This chapter is (for now) all text and formatted in a very basic PDF file. As I am ready to assemble the complete book, I will be changing some of the wording and formatting, but if the goal of this book is to get the information out to people, I have no problem publishing each chapter and guide separately before cobbling them together.
Feedback is always welcome from the Contact page of the blog. Thanks for the support and encouragement!
I just published the chapter briefly covering a few highlights in West Dublin on the Free Dublin eBook page of the blog. This chapter is (for now) all text and formatted in a very basic PDF file. As I am ready to assemble the complete book, I will be changing some of the wording and formatting, but if the goal of this book is to get the information out to people, I have no problem publishing each chapter and guide separately before cobbling them together.
Feedback is always welcome from the Contact page of the blog. Thanks for the support and encouragement!
Thursday, August 21, 2014
New eBook Guide: Grafton Street, Your Dublin Home Base
Staying on the southside for now, here is my guide to the Grafton Street area.
Many visitors use Grafton Street as their central southside Dublin landmark. It makes a nice point of reference because it is so easy to find and it connects St. Stephen's Green with College Green and Trinity College. This guide includes a shopping center, a statue of an Irish classic rock hero, Bram Stoker's church, an academic pub, and much more!
Check out the latest edition of all eBook articles on the Dublin eBook tab on the blog.
As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated through the Contact page.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement!
Many visitors use Grafton Street as their central southside Dublin landmark. It makes a nice point of reference because it is so easy to find and it connects St. Stephen's Green with College Green and Trinity College. This guide includes a shopping center, a statue of an Irish classic rock hero, Bram Stoker's church, an academic pub, and much more!
Check out the latest edition of all eBook articles on the Dublin eBook tab on the blog.
As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated through the Contact page.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement!
This work by Cory Hanson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Friday, August 15, 2014
New eBook Guide: Dublin's Southside Museum Row
I finished and published the next guide in my still-unnamed Free Dublin eBook. This guide takes the reader around the block that I call Museum Row. It begins at the Natural History Museum, works around the corner to the National Gallery, and around the next corner to the National Gallery and Archaeology Museum.
Conveniently, the walk can start at the end of Dublin's Urban Park Scramble if time and endurance permit. The guide briefly describes each museum, but isn't meant to be comprehensive or a replacement for the interpretive materials provided at each museum.
This guide includes maps and very specific walking directions to the entrance of each museum. I feel this necessary because so many free printed tourist maps and online map applications fail to guide the reader correctly to the entrance of these museums. For example, the National Gallery is currently under long-term renovations, and the normal front entrance will be closed for several years. Tourist maps don't reflect this, so it would be easy to miss the very understated side door around the block that currently serves as the main entrance to this wonderful gallery.
View and download the guide here or on the Free Dublin eBook page. As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated as I continue this crazy project!
Conveniently, the walk can start at the end of Dublin's Urban Park Scramble if time and endurance permit. The guide briefly describes each museum, but isn't meant to be comprehensive or a replacement for the interpretive materials provided at each museum.
This guide includes maps and very specific walking directions to the entrance of each museum. I feel this necessary because so many free printed tourist maps and online map applications fail to guide the reader correctly to the entrance of these museums. For example, the National Gallery is currently under long-term renovations, and the normal front entrance will be closed for several years. Tourist maps don't reflect this, so it would be easy to miss the very understated side door around the block that currently serves as the main entrance to this wonderful gallery.
View and download the guide here or on the Free Dublin eBook page. As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated as I continue this crazy project!
This work by Cory Hanson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
A Big Writing Project
I have been slowly working on a large-scale writing project over the last few months. Inspired by all the people who have contacted me through the blog, I have begun work on a free eBook to distribute to potential Dublin visitors.
I originally thought to complete the book before making any kind of announcement or material available, but if the goal of the project is to get as many Dublin tips out to as many Dublin visitors as possible, it only makes sense to get things out as soon as they are finished(ish).
The main focus of the book will be free and cheap activities in Dublin. I hope to include essays with general Dublin and Ireland money-saving information and step-by-step walking tours. The book will not be written as the only book you'll ever need to visit Dublin, like so many other commercial guides. These books require regular research and up-to-date information on things like hotels, transportation, and the latest tourist activities. This research is time consuming, costly, risky, and just not fun.
My book will hopefully be entertaining, informative, and useful for the potential Dublin tightwad visitor. If someone finds it funny and/or useful, I might set up a PayPal donation button for readers to voluntarily buy me a pint for my trouble. If someone finds it unfunny and not useful, they can simply go on their merry way.
Publishing the book in pieces will also help me get the hang of this whole e-publishing thing. I am planning to protect my work with Creative Commons licences, which are meant for freely-shared material. I won't have to endure the trouble and expense of copyrighting material that I plan to give away, and people who use and share my work can do so as long as they credit me and don't sell it.
I'll be setting up a Free Dublin eBook page on the blog on which to post each piece as they are completed. As each piece is edited and completed, the library will change and build. Each new piece will also get a unique post with a link for download and to the Dublin eBook page. Hopefully, the completed book will be available in a number of formats in individual chapters and as a complete book for people to pick and choose the content they want. Inklings of future audio and video content are also swimming around in the back of my mind, so stay tuned.
The first piece, Dublin's Urban Park Scramble is a guided walk through Dublin's three City Centre parks. Right now, the piece is only available in PDF format as I experiment with publishing choices and the look of each piece on computer, print, and mobile platforms. Bear with me as we learn the free publishing game together.
I originally thought to complete the book before making any kind of announcement or material available, but if the goal of the project is to get as many Dublin tips out to as many Dublin visitors as possible, it only makes sense to get things out as soon as they are finished(ish).
The main focus of the book will be free and cheap activities in Dublin. I hope to include essays with general Dublin and Ireland money-saving information and step-by-step walking tours. The book will not be written as the only book you'll ever need to visit Dublin, like so many other commercial guides. These books require regular research and up-to-date information on things like hotels, transportation, and the latest tourist activities. This research is time consuming, costly, risky, and just not fun.
My book will hopefully be entertaining, informative, and useful for the potential Dublin tightwad visitor. If someone finds it funny and/or useful, I might set up a PayPal donation button for readers to voluntarily buy me a pint for my trouble. If someone finds it unfunny and not useful, they can simply go on their merry way.
Publishing the book in pieces will also help me get the hang of this whole e-publishing thing. I am planning to protect my work with Creative Commons licences, which are meant for freely-shared material. I won't have to endure the trouble and expense of copyrighting material that I plan to give away, and people who use and share my work can do so as long as they credit me and don't sell it.
I'll be setting up a Free Dublin eBook page on the blog on which to post each piece as they are completed. As each piece is edited and completed, the library will change and build. Each new piece will also get a unique post with a link for download and to the Dublin eBook page. Hopefully, the completed book will be available in a number of formats in individual chapters and as a complete book for people to pick and choose the content they want. Inklings of future audio and video content are also swimming around in the back of my mind, so stay tuned.
The first piece, Dublin's Urban Park Scramble is a guided walk through Dublin's three City Centre parks. Right now, the piece is only available in PDF format as I experiment with publishing choices and the look of each piece on computer, print, and mobile platforms. Bear with me as we learn the free publishing game together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)