“I want to be a travel writer and do what you are doing.”
“How can I get my stories published in high paying travel magazines and land those travel perks? What do I need to do?”
These are questions I frequently receive in emails, but they can’t be answered in just two or three paragraphs.
There’s a sizeable list of skills and abilities that successful freelance travel writers possess – like sound writing skills, a high level of literacy, a fertile imagination for dreaming up saleable travel stories and a whole bunch of other talents.
But beyond these skills, there’s one overarching attitude required for travel writing success: patience.
Recently one of my friends, an accomplished freelance writer, told me it took him 6 years to break into the field. He was working a full-time job, and pitching away in his evenings and weekends. Six years is a considerable chunk of time to hammer away – with minimal results – without being discouraged! He was patient. Today, he’s a very successful freelance writer, and loving it.
Lured by slick sales hype, many aspiring travel writers believe it’s possible to quickly break through into glossy, high paying, travel magazines. When they don’t achieve immediate success, they get impatient and drop out of the game before they give it a chance or before they pay their dues. I know some who are stuck in the rut of writing free content for other people’s travel websites – ultimately a dead end.
It takes patience to break into the travel writing stratosphere. But, if you persist, you can reap the benefits like free travel, luxury accommodations, gourmet meals, VIP treatment, personal guided tours, and those other cool perks that beginning travel writers dream about. However, this doesn’t happen quickly. It takes time, hard work, and patience – just like any other new job.
Successful travel writers have certain other characteristics in common.
Check out these vital traits of successful travel writers and see how you measure up: http://www.pitchtravelwrite.com/travel-writers-characteristics.html