Author Profile: Susan Farewell
Biography »
Susan Farewell is the editor-in-chief of FarewellTravels.com, a travel information and planning site drawing on the experiences and insights of passionate travelers all over the world. It features animations, videos, photography, artwork and of course, words, to showcase travel destinations, experiences and products.
A former travel editor and staff writer at The Condé Nast Publications in New York City, Susan is a widely known digital, print and broadcast travel journalist. Her work has appeared in numerous publications (and sibling websites) including Condé Nast Traveler, Vogue, Gourmet, Cooking Light, Travel and Leisure, Outside, Metropolitan Home, McCall’s, Child and Bride’s. She also writes for newspapers such as The New York Times and The New York Post, newsletters (BottomLine Personal) and numerous in-flight and regional magazines as well as various websites.
In addition to writing, Farewell has also developed countless products both in digital and traditional media from travel guides to online magazines.
She is the author of several books including "How To Make A Living As A Travel Writer", "Hidden New England" and "Quick Escapes from New York City" (the latter two have had multiple editions). She has also co-authored many books.
Susan is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, the New York Travel Writers, the North American Snowsports Journalists and the Eastern Ski Writers Association.
Articles By Susan »
Are Press Trips REALLY ‘Traveling’?I recently asked my friend and colleague, Ed Wetschler, if he was traveling much these days. It was a fair question for Ed, who is the Executive Editor of Tripatini and chair of the Northeast Chapter of SATW. But his answer baffled me. “No,” he said. “I’m not. I’ve taken some press trips, but I’m [...]
FREE SEX and other Attention-Getting WordsWhen I was at Conde Nast, my colleagues and I periodically talked about how powerful the words “Free” and “Sex” were. Those were the two words that sold the most magazines, the two most frequently used words on the covers. However, they were never used together (which, quite frankly, would have drawn even more readers). [...]
10 Tips for Staying On the Writing BeamOne of the biggest challenges I have as a writer these days is just staying on the beam. For example, just now, rather than write that first sentence and move on to the next, I Googled ‘staying on the beam.’ I wanted to check—was it being used in this context by all sorts of writers [...]
A-BROADening ExperienceAs an international travel writer, I’m routinely asked these same three questions from people I meet: 1) What’s you favorite place in the world? 2) How did you become a travel writer? 3) How can I (or my college-bound teen) become a travel writer? For this post, I am skipping the first two and just [...]
Are You Cut Out to Be a Travel Writer?If you’re already an established travel writer, you’ve heard it dozens of times. “Oh what I would do to have your job!” Indeed, the life of a travel writer can be an enviable one, but at the same time, it’s not for everyone. Take a few minutes and answer the following 12 questions. Jot down [...]
Dos and Don’ts for Getting Invited on Press TripsYou just noticed on Facebook that two colleagues are off to the Amalfi Coast on a press trip. Your heart sinks. Why weren’t you invited? Chances are you’re not on that invitation list for a reason. So what does one have to do to get on and stay on these lists? Here are some dos [...]
10 Pros and Cons for Top 10 ListsFor my site, FarewellTravels, we just posted a piece about 10 great winter retreats. Putting it together got me thinking about the whole formula of using top ten lists in travel writing. Why are they so popular among bloggers and site editors? Are they really a smart choice when preparing content? I decided to weigh [...]
Is It REALLY the Best Place on the Planet?With the rush to get scoops on stories or simply to just write and post a piece before one heads out to the gym in the morning… …. we all know, editorial standards have taken a nose dive. Some of this I can live with occasionally. The word “there” inadvertently spelled “their” for example. [...]
Going Someplace? Bring Money.About a year ago, I was on a press trip with three other journalists. Our driver did a yeoman’s job of taking us places to get great stories and really amazing photographs. He personally went out of his way many times for us, taking group pictures, working very long days, even lugging one writer’s camera [...]
Title? Check. First Sentence? Check.Years ago, while driving around Norway, my colleague (also a journalist) suddenly announced quite smugly… …“Well…I’ve come up with a title and a first sentence, so my story is done. Now I can relax and enjoy Scandinavia.” At the time, I didn’t quite get what she meant, but over the years, I’ve come to understand. [...]
Losing it Over Lost LuggageA few weeks ago, someone I was traveling with lost her luggage… …well, briefly so. We arrived at our baggage carousel at Heathrow, and within five minutes, two out of three of us had our bags. We waited and watched the conveyor belt empty out and as it ground to a halt, it became very [...]
What Makes You an Expert Anyway?Over the last several weeks, I received a couple of e-mails from writers who told me they were experts in various parts of the world. One fancied himself an Asia expert; another, an Israel expert. The first one really threw me, because I can’t even call myself an expert on the country I’ve spent my [...]
Travel Writer Slash PhotographerOne of the first job responsibilities I had when I started out as an assistant travel editor at Condé Nast was to do photo research. This required physically going to various Ad and PR agencies in midtown Manhattan and examining sheet after sheet of slides with my loupe (which I never let out of my [...]
Getting a New PerspectiveToday more than ever, there’s such an urgency to post stories. No sooner do we have an idea, there’s pressure to get it written and get it out there. So what’s up with that? Fear. Fear that someone else is going to beat us. Fear that they’ll be perceived as the originator of the idea. [...]
Standing Out in the CrowdAmong us, right now, there could be a garage band as game-changing to the music world as the Beatles were. But chances are we’ll never hear a note they’ll play. Breaking out of the pack or being discovered in any creative arena today is as realistic as a blonde hair/blue eyed Minnesota girl showing up [...]












