Established Travel Writers Share Their 11 Favorite Pieces of Travel Writing Advice
We’ve started hosting focus groups around the globe to tap into the pitching, writing, and organizational processes of established writers so we can share them with you in a series of white papers.
To get the ball rolling, I wanted to share words of wisdom on travel writing success from the writers who joined us in New York City for our first focus group this fall.
Tour the Travel Magazine Database
For our official launch of the Travel Magazine Database, we’ve created a tour video to walk visitors through the site.
Check it out:
Our Crazy Travel Magazine Database Money-Back Guarantee
If you’ve ever looked at an online marketing product, you’ve no doubt noticed the miles-long sales, pages, deluge of testimonials guilting you with their smiling faces, and big arrows point you toward the massive “BUY NOW” button.
But what I’ve always been curious about is the money-back guarantee.
Pitch This, Not That: *Much* Better-Paying Replacements for the Usual “First Clip” Travel Writing Outlets
As one of the first assignments of its travel writing program (more on that here), Matador has long had students scour the web to find places that pay for travel writing and then share them online.
For each website or magazine, students list the editor’s name, how to get in touch, and the submission guidelines for the publication.
49 Regional Magazines that Can Be Your Travel Writing Bread and Butter
Before the internet came along and offered every aspiring travel writer the opportunity not only to write for free on one’s own blog but to write for free for other people’s websites, new writers looking for an easy place to break in and get a first clip turned to local publications.
Do You Diversify Your Travel Writing Client Portfolio Like a Wall Street Bada$$?
A couple years back, at a special workshop before a large travel writing conference, a relatively well-known travel blogger made a surprising confession that really struck me.
She said she doesn’t think of herself as a “real” writer.
27 Magazines Looking for Special Interest Travel Articles
We’ve talked before about how zeroing in on what interests you most as a travel writer can help you power up your travel writing career quickly, and the fact that most successful travel writers have several of these different major and micro niches.
But where are all these special interest publications looking for travel articles hiding?
To Niche or Not to Niche: What’s the Best Way to Freelance Travel Writing Success?
A lot of the prevailing advice to the soon-to-be-self-employed is to pick a niche and brand yourself heavily in that area. Proponents say,
“Who’s going to hire a freelance travel writer with no experience besides her own personal travels? You have to do something and be known for something so incredibly specific that when people really need exactly that skill, they come to you.”
But what new freelance travel writers respond with, very validly, is:
“Okay, but who is going to hire me for that incredible specific thing right now? I need enough clients to earn an income now, not just later when I become famous for my super specific niche.”
What You Need to Know About Freelance Travel Writing Contracts
If you’ve already been in this game for a while, feel free to skip this post. I am not a lawyer (though that was my original career plan back in the day!), just a concerned citizen, so if you are already commanding the rates you deserve and negotiating for contract terms that work in your favor, jump ahead.
How Can You Tell Which Editor to Pitch at a Travel Magazine?
When I talk to freelance travel writers about their biggest issues in pitching a lot of people talk about the difficulty in finding the right editor to pitch.
Writers fear that if they send a stellar pitch to the wrong editor it will get deleted, simply because of irrelevance, before they even get their chance to shine and sell their idea and their writing abilities.