About four years ago, in a fit of naivety and suffering from a serious case of itchy feet…
…I jacked in my steady career job in PR, bought an entry level D-SLR camera and booked a ticket to South America. I had it all worked out; I was going to become a travel writer.
I was old [...]
Some people realize very early in life what they want to do when they grow up. Some people figure it out later on.
However, a few people, like myself, stumble across their destiny quite by chance.
I am not young. I am not rich. I wasn’t born under a lucky star. I don’t have connections.
I [...]
In the world of travel writing you meet many different people….
…Who all entered the industry in their own way.
Traditionally, people wanting to become travel writers had to study their craft and work their way up in the industry, but with the advent of the internet, many people have become blogging stars without prior experience.
But [...]
Many of our readers are already familiar with TripBase’s 7 Links Project…
…And many have already participated.
For those of you who may not have heard of it, the idea is for nominated bloggers to offer their readers a roundup of links to previous posts, one in each of seven categories, as a way of introducing new [...]
What’s the one thing every writer must do to be considered a professional?
Get their articles published and get paid for it.
Last week I reviewed Roy Stevenson’s eBook, “Free and Low Cost Travel: Inside Secrets of a Successful Travel Writer“, about how to enjoy one of the perks of being a professional travel writer.
This week, I’m [...]
Probably the number one question I hear from new travel writers and bloggers….
…is “How do I get free travel?“
The answer, unsurprisingly, is very similar to that for the old joke “How do you get to Carnegie Hall” (answer: practice, practice, practice!)….in this case it’s “work, work, work”.
However, if you’re looking for much more from an [...]
Opportunity is a very interesting thing.
It’s always there, even when few can see it.
On the one hand, travel writers everywhere bemoan the shrinking opportunities to get published in print, as well as the steady decline in pay.
And yet others point to growth in online opportunities and the ease with which nearly anyone can see their [...]
Rejection is a natural part of being a writer.
Even those writers and authors who have gone on to achieve international success were, at one point or another, rejected.
One of the differences between those who go on to be successful and those who don’t is the willingness to learn from the experience and try again.
It’s [...]
Interviewing another person is one of the important skills that any travel writer may wish to develop.
Interviewing anyone – whether a tour guide, a celebrity, hotelier or a fellow traveler – will give you new ideas to write about, and a fresh angle on what might have looked like a stale story line.
Quotes [...]
Welcome to another installment of Ask The Editor!
Today I cull once again through the copious questions from my email inbox, and pull another one that I hear frequently enough that it belongs in an FAQ somewhere:
Q. Why do my article pitches and guest posting efforts get rejected? Sometimes I don’t even get [...]
Since I started FarewellTravels.com just over a year ago, I’ve been approached by many writers who say they simply want to write for the site so they can stay in luxury hotels.
This always stops me.
I can’t help but wonder….did they get into the field so they could stay in luxury hotels?
I have a very [...]
Editor’s Note: The following is reprinted from the Global Bloggers Network newsletter, with the gracious permission of Janice Waugh.
I was asked recently how I manage a guest post that just isn’t the quality that I want on my site.
And from there, the discussion expanded. We discovered that there are many issues around guest bloggers [...]
I am a traveler, and like many people on this site, I write about it.
That is to say, I don’t blog about my trips, but instead have written a book, Time Zones, Containers and Three Square Meals a Day, about a few particular journeys I made while working on a container ship.
Now that my [...]
I’ve been working on this post for several days now…..
…and hesitated even publishing it but on Monday I read Trisha’s “Why Am I Not Getting Invited on Press Trips?” Then, a couple nights ago @solofriendly and @dkferm had a similar discussion.
Trust me, I am not the type of person that dots my I’s [...]
Are you tired of the conventional wisdom that says that you have to spend a lot of money to travel the world?
Well, it’s not true.
In spite of the general consensus that you have to be rich to travel extensively, I will let you in on a little secret: not only is it possible to [...]
