If you missed my book review on Monday on "BeachHunter's Florida Gulf Beaches Access Guide" then go
here to read it. Author David McRee stopped by to say hello and to do an interview so please read on....
You now call yourself a professional Beach Bum. You served as a beach expert for
Visitflorida.com for over 2 years providing multimedia content. What is your writing and photography
background?
My only experience with writing and photography was
researching and writing my Florida Gulf Beaches Access Guide and building my
BeachHunter.net website. I took beach photos for the book and website. In 2007,
Miles Media in Sarasota was looking for someone to create content about beaches
for the new Visitflorida website. One of the editors found my website and liked
my writing, so they offered me the contract position. I gained a lot of
valuable experience and contacts from that assignment and got to travel to
beaches all over the state, including my first trip to the Dry Tortugas.
Do you hold a regular job now or are you lucky enough to
spend your days living on the beach and writing about it?
I am a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in
Florida. I left my job at an accounting firm in 2005 to pursue my writing,
however I’ve done a great deal of freelance consulting as a CPA to pay the
bills and am currently rebuilding my practice since writing about beaches has
never really produced a dependable full-time income. As a CPA I specialize in
tax compliance and IRS problem resolution for nonprofit organizations of all
kinds. I’ve also done some freelance writing and blogging for the Space Coast
Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida and have created content
for some other beach related websites.
How many books have you written?
Well, let’s see, with regard to beaches:
·
Florida Gulf Beaches Access Guide (currently available
in print only)
·
Best Beach Day Trips from Orlando and Central
Florida (e-book only from my website)
·
Dog Friendly Gulf Beaches of Southwest Florida
(kindle book only)
·
Beach Survival Guide (e-book available on my
website (free) and on Kindle (not free))
With regard to my CPA work, I’ve written a technical manual
for CPAs and attorneys on resolving IRS penalty issues for nonprofit
organizations.
What do you like most about writing your beach books? Is it gathering the information, the writing,
the photography, the editing?
I enjoy it all, but mostly I enjoy discovering new beaches
or new things about a beach I’m already familiar with. I also get a huge amount
of satisfaction from all the email I get from people telling me how much my
books and website have helped them find the right beach and plan their
vacation. I have individuals who tell me they have been using my website and
books for many years.
What do you like the least about writing a book?
My least favorite part of writing is probably the last few
editing and fact-checking efforts where I’m really splitting hairs in the way I
word something or where I’m having trouble nailing down an important detail
about beach access at a particular location. Also, making sure the table of
contents and the index are correct and the layout is readable and all the
photos are positioned correctly is tedious. I use Microsoft Word, which is not
really what a professional book layout person would use.
Your books are available in both print and E book. Do you prefer one medium over the other?
Just from a personal perspective I prefer printed
books. Now that I’ve discovered the
Createspace publishing platform I no longer have to stock books and mail them
out. Createspace handles printing and on-demand delivery. From a business
(profit) perspective, I prefer to sell e-books. They are easier to update and
have a much higher profit margin. And I can use color photos or illustrations if
the book is not too long.
How do Florida’s east and west coast beaches differ?
I could easily write an entire article on this. The Gulf
beaches are calmer, have more shells and fewer jellyfish (except the panhandle
has lots of jellies), and the Gulf barrier islands are smaller and narrower.
The panhandle and Atlantic coast beaches tend to have larger dunes and the
buildings and houses are not packed quite as tightly as on the Gulf side, with
some notable exceptions. The Gulf of Mexico water temperature gets warmer in
the summer and colder in the winter than the Atlantic Ocean.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever found on a beach?
I found a clay smoking pipe on Caspersen Beach, near Venice.
It looks much like a pipe that Native Americans or Caribbean Islanders might
have smoked hundreds of years ago, but probably isn’t that old. Perhaps it fell
from a passing cargo ship. Who knows? It was a great find!
I know that water clarity changes on a daily basis, but
which beaches typically have the clearest water for snorkeling/shelling?
I’ve actually written a blog post on this and it happens to
be the most popular article on my blog at BlogTheBeach.com. Panhandle beaches
from Pensacola to around St. Joseph Peninsula generally have very clear water.
Beaches from Anna Maria to Naples often have very fairly clear water,
especially during May and June before the rains start, but clarity varies and
can be inconsistent. On the Atlantic side, the beaches from about Palm Beach
south to Miami usually have very good water clarity.
What do you personally look for in a beach in order for it
to qualify as great beach? Is it the
shelling, the snorkeling, sitting in the sand, watching sunsets, the parking?
It depends on what I’m in the mood for mainly. But overall,
it’s the vibe. I prefer quiet neighborhood beaches where I don’t have to fight
traffic and I can just pull into a shady parking spot right next to the beach
access trail. I like beaches where there is no crowd—just a few locals and
vacationers staying nearby--and where I can see plenty of greenery and no high
rise buildings. Clear water is a plus. I don’t care if the sand is white or
brown or if there are lots of shells. Late afternoon and sunset are my favorite
times at the beach. I don’t want to smell cigarette or cigar smoke, and I don’t
want to hear traffic noise or loud music.
Describe your best beach day.
My best beach days actually happened when I was a teenager.
I spent many wonderful days surfing with good friends on Anna Maria Island.
I’ll never forget those times and those friends. More recently, my best beach
day is harder to pinpoint, but my first trip to Sanibel Island, Bowman’s Beach
and Captiva, --before Hurricane Charley blew over all the Australian Pines--was
probably one of the most magical beach and island exploration days I can
remember. My first trip to the beaches of Cayo Costa aboard the Tropic Star
rates pretty highly as well.
So going to the beach is technically your “job.” What do you like to do for fun?
I still go to the beach for fun. I enjoy kayaking as well.
I’ve been a life-long birder and also enjoy working in my vegetable garden
almost every day. For indoor activities, I’ve been an avid Argentine Tango
dancer for over 15 years and I still pursue that passion as my schedule allows.
What advice would you give aspiring travel writers?
Oddly perhaps, I don’t really think of myself as a travel
writer but I guess that would be a conventional description of my beach related
writing. My advice would be to pick some angle or niche that you can specialize
in. Become the “go-to” expert in that niche. Don’t be afraid to start off by
self-publishing. Learn to take good photographs and to use social media. Create
a lot of content. The biggest challenge in travel writing is that so many
travel writers are willing to work for free or nearly free. That’s some pretty
tough competition. Don’t undervalue yourself. Learn to write persuasive sales
copy. Don’t quit your day job too soon.
I'd like to thank David for his interview and for giving me the opportunity to review his book "BeachHunter's Florida Gulf Beaches Access Guide." It's available on his website and also at Amazon.
