The woes of a travel writer – Part I

Updated: Mar 20th, 2010

This morning, some of you may have read the original post “The rants of a travel writer.” Now that I’ve re-read the post and received insight from others, I realized it may have had a bit of an angry or sarcastic tone to it. That was not my intention. I meant to advise writers of what could happen to them. Yes, life is one big learning experience. Without further ado, here is the re-write.

Here’s some advice for anyone who is working or considering working as a travel writer. Sometimes these opportunities may not be “fun in the sun.” But, most of the time life is grand as a writer.

You may encounter people in authoritative position such as editors who may not make the best managers. To be fair, not all of them have poor management skills. Also, sometimes people do not put themselves in another person’s shoes.

When you accept a writing job, make sure you ask questions. Treat it like any other job. You would not accept a regular job without asking questions, would you? As a travel writer, you want to clarify the following: style and tone of publication, how far you can “push the envelope,” due dates, number of words for articles, and photo sizes. Also, ask for links to totally free stock photos.

Communication

Don’t you just love miscommunication or no communication? It happens from time to time. When it does happen do the following: take a deep breath, go for a walk, listen to music, workout, or go for a drive. There’s no sense in getting upset because that will not solve anything.

Perhaps you discover that your writing services are no longer needed by accident. Let’s say you’re a travel writer and you visit the website you’re writing for. You discover that another writer has written the articles that were assigned to you. Chances are you will be upset about this and you have every right to be. Contact the editor to find out what happened. If it turns out your services are no longer needed, so be it. Accept it and move forward with your writing.

It’s a good idea to give writers guidelines before they begin writing. Furthermore, it’s a better idea to ask for them in writing. Make sure you understand what is expected of you as a writer. This will make life simpler.

Moving forward with life

In part two, we’ll take a look at how this situation could have been handled. Yes, being a travel writer has its ups and downs like any other career. Remember, travel writing is no different from other careers. If things do not end up how you expected them to be, try not to take it personally. Another writing opportunity will come along soon enough.

Rebecca

Are you a travel writer who discovered that another writer was given your articles?

About Amandah Blackwell 198 Articles

Amandah Blackwell is a creative, freelance and ghost writer for industries that include but are not limited to the arts & entertainment, travel, publishing, real estate, pets, personal and professional development, and much more.

Amandah's personal writing projects include screenplays, teleplays, YA, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry. 

You can find more of her writing at www.MisticCafe.com, savvywritingcareers.wordpress.com, and www.savvy-writer.com.

You can follow Amandah on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/savvy_writer

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