So you think you are a writer??

Are we really all writers? They say that everybody has at least one book inside of them. So 2022 will be the year that shows if this is true or not for me. I have not one but TWO books in the works. So on today’s post, I will take a break from my usual tips for Short Term Rental Hosts to talk about myself for a bit.

Some History (as a writer)

I have always dabbled with writing – blogs, moblogs (yes this is a thing), newsletters to family and friends, and creative replies to my customers for my software business….

“Wait a minute, hold your horses Tracey…. you have a software business?”

“Why, yes I do!”

I moved to Japan in 2000 to start work with my brother at his software business, Enfour, Inc. We make software for mobile devices – phones, tablets, PDA’s that type of thing. Mostly, we create dictionaries and learning apps in different languages for different markets on small portable devices.

My job in this small family business is to do ~some~ coding – but I really can’t call myself any sort of engineer anymore. Glorified text editor/writer is probably a better description of what I do.

I mostly run the international communications, customer support, marketing and contracts. Other small business owners will recognise this need to wear ALL the hats and do ALL the things. I spend most of my time writing emails and I like to keep things real. So if you have ever written to us requesting customer service for one of our apps, then you have probably had a reply from me.

I try to infuse all of my missives with some humour, some realness and humanity. As I run my own companies, I do have the luxury of being myself. Of course, I am professional but I love connecting with people, helping people and being of service. It is so satisfying to get an unsolicited comment from a customer telling me how much I have helped them and how the software that I have created has positively impacted their lives.

Living abroad means that I often pop my writer hat on when writing newsletters to my friends and family around the world. I would try to make them interesting – people seems to appreciate them at the time. So I kept writing.

Mo’blogging ??? No MOBLOGGING

I have always loved tech (read geek) and many years ago, I started a moblog which is basically a blog that was entirely created on a mobile phone – a FLIP Phone FFS.

It was going strong for nearly 10 years. Living in Tokyo is like living in an amusement park 24/7 so I never ran out of things to post.

I would see something interesting in the street – usually a cat or my kid or something equally life affirming – snap a photo and then email it from my phone to my website and it would post automatically.

Voila… instant publishing to the world wide web! It was dangerous when I was out drinking or clubbing… coming home to see the things I posted.

In 2005 when I started this, it was a big deal to be able to do this from a phone – this was BEFORE Facebook and Twitter y’all … MySpace was big, as was LiveJournal (ever heard of them?) now everybody has Facebook on a smart phone so now my little moblog is a quaint little relic…

If you want to be amused, check it out. It is still live but I haven’t posted there since 2014.

It is called KeitaiGoddess.

For some trivia… keitai-denwa means “mobile phone” in Japanese – the old flip phones which pre-dated smart phones. In the early naughties, Japan flip phones were leading the world in this technology. But for a laugh, take a look at how much camera technology has improved on mobile phones. The quality of the photos is just nowhere near what it is today. But you can see how it progressed from the first posts in 2005, to the final posts in 2014. A moblog was designed not only to be created on a mobile phone, but viewed on a mobile phone. Now all of this is covered by Facebook so I retired my moblog when it was hard to keep up both channels.

ebooks

No stranger to the ebook world either, I also have published these in the past. “Food and Drink in Japan” Phrase book. This is still available on Barnes and Noble and on Apple Books. I never managed to get it out on Amazon – long story but I might try to get it released there as it is good little book and the content is still current.

I remember how I walked around so many convenience stores researching the different flavours of rice ball on sale.. oh the glamour!

Of course, there is my STR ebook – 7 Hosting Mistakes You’re Making Right Now. (and how to solve them). I am pretty proud of this. It has helped a ton of STR hosts get their heads around hospitality. Did you get yours yet?

Hospitable Hosts

Now fast forward to 2022 – Can I call myself a writer now because I have two books in the works? Firstly, a collaboration called Hospitable Hosts. This is with some absolute giants in the STR world that I am honoured and humbled to call my friends and colleagues. Some names you might know:

• Julie George of Million Dollar Host
• Mark Simpson of Boostly
• Rachel Gainsburgh of Short Term Gems
• Stacey St. John of STR Society

We are all contributing a chapter telling our stories in this fascinating and profitable world we have found ourselves in. This book should be out in a few months time. Expect to see ALOT of social media about this.

For many authors in this book, they already have books of their own too. So the challenge was there for me…

Challenge unlocked: Solo book

All of my past little writing efforts are lovely and they do leave breadcrumbs of my existence on this planet. But I wanted something more, something of my own, something that collects all of my acquired knowledge from a decade in Short Term Rentals…

Now for the big news… drum roll… I am writing my OWN book. The working title is:

“The Wholehearted Host: How to maximise your profits in a busy STR market without selling your soul.“

working title

I’d love to hear from you though – is this a title that would make you want to read this book? Would this make you feel more confident to book a session with me? Would you want to come to a live event where I was speaking if I had published a book?

I see it as more than a vanity project, but as a real desire to share my love of hospitality and how being true to yourself and your values can also be profitable.

So many books out there focus on just the profits or just the investments or just the Airbnb algorithm or just the design side. I wanted to write from the perspective of a host who understands the needs of guests and knows how to make that a profitable relationship. How giving guests a great experience has helped create a business I am proud of and also has been a sustainable business for a life of financial freedom.

I know lots of hosts feel like I do about creating a positive guest experience so I wanted to write a how-to book for maximising profits wholeheartedly. I felt that my values were not represented in many of the STR books out there on the market now and I felt misunderstood and unseen. If this is you too and you currently haven’t found a book that speaks to you – I will dedicate this book to you.

Now it is over you my readers… tell me what you would like to read about…. tell me YOUR stories. I am looking for collaborators and case studies. I have a few lined up already but I have space for a ton more.
Let me tell YOUR story of being a Wholehearted Host.

Leave a comment below or send me a message.