You’re a travel writer. You don’t write about food or gardening. You write about travel therefore, you have a niche. Unfortunately, unless you have star status as a travel writer, you’re not niche enough. Budget-strapped editors hiring freelancers don’t get stars for the majority of their stories. All things being equal, they hire writers with [...]
After twenty years of travel obsession, Ben Holbrook signs up to the London School of Journalism’s travel writing course – here’s the inside scoop on his bizarre but brilliant experience. Sitting at a bar drinking ice-cold San Miguel, a suitcase-sized screen showed lions ripping deer to pieces on National Geographic TV. I scribbled notes in [...]
Editor’s Note: This is the final article in a Three-Part Series Six Things You Need to Know About Travel Writing. Although a travel writing workshop helped me jump into the field, experience and time were my best teachers. I read other travel writers, researched outlets, sent out queries and wrote voraciously. Some of my attempts [...]
Editor’s Note: This article is Part Two in a Three-Part Series How DO You land that first travel writing assignment? It’s an age-old question that many aspiring travel writers have asked — how do I get a writing assignment if I don’t have any writing clips yet? It is, understandably, a frustrating conundrum, and it [...]
Editor’s Note: This article is Part One in a Three-Part Series It’s funny how one small decision can change your life. Fourteen years ago, I was working as a stringer for The Chicago Tribune. Based in Colorado, I covered the usual news topics. Then Columbine happened, and I spent the next year covering the sorrow [...]
Have you been reluctant to take lessons in writing, watch online seminars or read books on improving your writing? Perhaps you fear that if you are too heavily influenced by outside sources you will lose the originality and raw talent of your own style. Or, that your writing will become like the boring literature they [...]
One of the best things about traveling are the unpredictable situations one gets into. Like when you realize you are in remote little village without any Internet access. While this is great for relaxing and focusing on exploring the surroundings, you might get stressed that you’re neglecting your readers. Especially if your income depends on [...]
Research is the key for all writers, especially when you are a travel writer. Whether you are writing about exotic destinations, new hotel openings, the best restaurants or the most popular spa…you need to do your research about whatever topic your article will be about. Research on your subject will allow you to learn about [...]
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 [...]
A short while ago I wrote this post about the emerging online market for travel writing. I explained how changes in search engine and social media technology were causing commercial travel websites to start seeing themselves as travel publishers in their own right, opening up significant new opportunities for professional travel journalists. The idea is [...]
When 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). [...]
For some reason, most people believe (falsely) that they need loads of cash, and a year long sabbatical to write a travel book. Don’t get me wrong, having loads of cash is never a bad thing, but it just isn’t necessary. The most expensive part of travel should be the plane ticket, which hopefully you [...]
Travel writers make great novelists. They have all the ingredients – writing ability, courage and the creative fuel of seeing new places. With this in mind, I thought I’d share a few tips about how to write and sell travel fiction. I now write travel fiction for a living, but writing novels and getting paid [...]
One 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 [...]
The travel writing journey is different for everyone,… … and how you get where you’re going is often a matter of connections, good ideas, strong writing skills and a little bit of luck. I’ve never stumbled across step-by-step instructions on how to become a successful travel writer, but if such a thing existed, Travel Writer’s [...]
