The Six-Figure Travel Writer

Behind the scenes, I’ve been working on something very unusual for you guys.

In a way, you could call it the map to the Holy Grail, a la Indiana Jones–that is, if becoming a full-time, well-paid freelance travel writer sounds like a worthy mission to you!

Of course, there may or may not be poisonous snakes and collapsing tunnel floors in ancient ruins in this scenario. Unless that’s your preferred travel writing topic!

What we’ve been working on, however, is designed to be a path that is sign-posted and laid out, but that, like any good quest in travel writing or fiction, requires the main character–you!–to do the work involved in following the path and bravely facing the challenges that lay upon it.

This path will take you from where you are now directly to your goal, no matter where you’re starting. To be sure, we’re even creating five slightly different maps that will have you end up as a full-time, well-paid, freelance travel writer no matter which of these five places you start from:

• “I’m just getting started…what should I do?”
• “I’m ready to move from blogging into writing for magazines.”
• “I’ve got a timeline, and I’m getting ready to permanently leave my full-time job doing something other than travel writing soon to become a full-time freelancer.”
• “I’ve been doing freelance editorial for a long time, and I’m not getting enough traction. I’m going to have to get a full-time job soon if things don’t pick up.”
• “I just need to earn the maximum $$$ ASAP from my travel writing.”

We were inspired by the International Coaching Federation, which, like many entities that issue certifications, has a very detailed rubric (you can check it out here, though if you have never had a coach, it might not make a ton of sense!) on exactly what skills one needs to display and what traits one needs NOT to display to achieve a certain level professionally.

This framework of outlining:

• what the levels are that an individual goes through on the way to peak professionalism,
• what are the required traits for each of those levels, and
• what attitudes or behaviors the individual needs to outgrow to reach the next level

…inspired us to take a hard look at all of the interactions we’ve had with travel writers at many levels over the past several years and the characteristics exhibited by those that are starting out and cruising along quickly, in a slump and struggling, and settled in a sustainable and successful stage in their career.

We’ve distilled the biggest roadblocks that freelance travel writers need to overcome and the knowledge gaps they need to fill and skills they need to acquire to surmount them into a formula for guaranteed success.

All you need to do to use it is get started. We’ve done the planning for you.

These roadmaps will show you how to achieve your goal on your timeline, whether you’re trying to get there in three months, six months, or 12 months–from each of the five starting points we outlined above:

• just starting
• transitioning from blogging for yourself to writing for pay for others
• preparing to leave a full-time job to freelance full-time
• plateauing with your freelance travel writing income
• hurting for cash and needing to hit the gas hard and fast

We’re putting the final touches on these bonuses, which are exclusively available to members of our Dream Buffet program right now, and we’ll walk members through how to use them in detail in our first Travel Writing Industry Update + AMA call for Dream Buffet members.

If you want to stop u-turning or zigzagging up the mountain, head here to learn more about the Dream Buffet and hop on the right path for you.