About this project

Mark Twain said that "Travel is lethal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness". Paulo Coelho says that by following your personal legend you are serving the soul of the world. These two statements summarize the importance of solo travel.

My project, The Solo Traveler's Handbook, is for those who love and those who long to go solo.

The writing is just about complete and I'm almost ready to publish... almost.

I'm a writer and I believe in words. However, communication is also about design. How individual words, paragraphs and images are positioned on the page affect how the information is accessed -- how the reader is energized. I can write the words but I need to hire a designer to make this book a success. This is why I'm on Kickstarter.

The financial goal set for this project is to help with the initial design costs of the book. I'm actually hoping to exceed the goal and cover almost all design costs.

For the past two years I’ve been writing about solo travel on a blog called Solo Traveler. I’ve written a manifesto for solo travelers called “Glad You’re Not Here”. I’ve started the Solo Travel Society on Facebook. And, because solo travel is such a hot topic, I’ve been interviewed by the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today and the LA Times. In July I'll be speaking at the Smithsonian on the subject. (That's the speaking engagement alluded to in the video.)

The Solo Traveler's Handbook is the type of book that you can pick up for a few minutes or a few hours. It's part how-to manual and part travel literature. It has four sections.

• The first is about the philosophy of solo travel - the "why" of it.
• Safety is then covered. It's first summarized in 8 words, then expanded to five principles and then detailed in dozens of tips.
• The next is on practical issues such as planning, packing and accommodation.
• Then it gets into how to have a great time - how to meet people, go hiking solo, go to clubs and find exciting, maybe less typical things to do on your travels.

Each section begins with a solo travel story. Throughout the book there are photos from my travels and postcards to the reader. It will be available digitally and in hard copy.

I hope that you'll help me help others travel solo by supporting this book financially. If you can’t do that, maybe you can spread the word to your friends.

Thanks,

Janice