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 [...]
You 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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
I cringed when I saw the headline… … “How to Score a Press Trip”, By Christy and Scott, from The Ordinary Traveler and as I hovered over the link to click it, I braced myself to read something that was going to get me all fired up. As a PR pro, the last thing [...]
Hi there, I’m Anthony from TheTravelTart.com,… ….and I’m going to write about my experiences on how to land the odd travel press trip here and there – starting from scratch. I’ve managed to score three press trips so far in 2010 – to Fiji, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, and with all of [...]
Welcome to another installment of Ask The Editor! This month a travel blogger I know personally called and asked me why he/she (I won’t say which, I’m trying to keep this anonymous since it involves some constructive criticism) has been declined by several PR companies and destinations for press trips. It was frustrating just being [...]
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 [...]
When we go on press trips, we hope that we’ll have fun, eat the local food, meet interesting people and pick up a story or two along the way that will knock the socks off of our editors. Unfortunately, there will be press trips that are unorganized, boring and uninspiring … and finding a [...]
Years ago, I thought of writing a book called, “I left Paradise a Day Early” on the many hardships travel writers have to endure while on the road. I “shelved” the idea back then because a colleague/friend said to me, “Susan, normal people won’t get this.” Of course, how can staying in a pristine villa [...]
Hosted Press Trips – Are you in favor or not? This topic has been tossed around for years with stands pro and con. Discussions generally run to extremes and can get quite heated. In the past, most salaried journalists were not allowed to participate in hosted trips. The publishers felt it clouded their reporting. Instead, [...]
A while back I wrote about a Media Trip I went on in April, to the Park Royal Holiday Resort in Cozumel, Mexico, and I followed that up with a list of “Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Media Trips“. Most established writers have been invited – at one time or another, sometimes frequently – [...]
Are you a new travel writer looking for travel writing jobs? Would you like free travel? There is a way that few writers know about to help them get the funds they need – funds that could take you to a destination that you’ve always wanted to write about. The same way that many high-school [...]
