BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello I would like to know how does one get into being a Freelance writer for travel. What type of credentials are needed?
Do you just start writing articles and hope and prey someone else reads them?
What type of resources does one have to use to be qualified?

Where do I start to become or get to first step of becoming a travel writer?

Thank you

Hey WT321 - I would suggest choosing a few publications you'd like to write for and checking out there Submission Guidelines. This will tell you what editors are looking for AND what the trends are. Then, my friend, just start writing! Before you can be published, you've got to have something to sell (at least at the beginning...assignments come later).

In addition to individual Submission Guidelines, you can also pick up a copy of "Writer's Guide 2007" and/or the 2008 version when it comes out. This is a great resource!

To learn more about the business of writing, I would also suggest the book "Travel Writing" by L. Peat O'Neil and the "Lonely Planet Guide to Travel Writing" by Don George. There are many other great books, but start with those.

Read, read, read...find out what gets published and why. Then write, write, write. Good luck!

Start writing every day. After a while you won't need to do this religiously, but it's a habit that needs forming. All of us have at some point believed that the muse would send us a great gift of a story but that's just not going to happen. Learn to write even when you think you have nothing to say.

At the same time, learn to write well. Know your grammar and punctuation. Editors do not hand hold, so learn your craft. If you aren't comfortable with these concepts, then start learning. The Elements of Style (Strunk and White) is a classic and simple guide. Full text can be found online: http://sut1.sut.ac.th/strunk/

Research the heck out of writing and submitting an effective query letter.

Then do it. Submit a whole bunch of story ideas to your local newspapers and magazines. If you want to start out in a risk free environment, then write a piece or two for submission here on BootsnAll. Just don't half-ass the writing and editing or you'll regret having your name attached to it later.

Somewhere in that process, learn to edit for content. A first draft is never publishable, you will probably have to re-write most stories several times over. Get used to it.

Umm. That's all I got. Talking about it is the easy part; it's the followthrough that's hard.

markus makes a great point...go local!

The most important thing starting out is motivation. Find somewhere that you can contribute to on a regular basis. A column at your local newspaper, a small magazine, heck, even a blog. You need to commit to writing for others to read. Writing for yourself is great, but if you want to get published you need to have some accountability for the product you produce. Readers, only if there are a hand full of them, will provide that. Deadlines will provide the motivation.

Good luck!

I started writing in high School! obviously, nothing fancy or paid.
Later, I started freelancing and joined a freelancers' website. As I continued to built relationships, I ended up on LinkedIn and someone pointed out BootsnAll. Now I'm a full time writer here.

So, bottom line? networking sure helps

What everyone said above, and learn how to use spell check!

You also might want to start a blog or web site with your writing. It will give you the opportunity to practice and hone your skills.

I just started a freelance writing career. I decided I'd had enough of the daily grind and that I had to do what I love--so I took the leap!

I've since started up four blogs, and I've joined some freelance websites. I'm not rolling in the dough, but I'm making enough to get by for now...AND I'm building up my portfolio and getting experience all the while.

One thing you could do is start up a blog about where you live. (I am writing a whole blog that is just focused just on Austin, Texas.) Then you can list it in the travel section of different blog directories like Technorati.

If you're interested you can see it (it's still new, though): Austin, Texplorer

Good luck!

ADQ

I think that blogging gives a budding writer the best possible showcase that might attract commissions. Travel editors at publications -- whether newspapers or magazines or websites -- simply don't have time to filter out all the talent-free wannabes (and yes, there are plenty out there) from those would-be contributors with talent, which means that you have to convince them that you have what it takes to deliver the goods. A great blog is the ideal 'calling card'. Convince the editor to take a look at your blog, and if it does a good job of showing off your narrative skills, you are halfway there.

The other think that differentiates would-be contributors is the quality and originality of their ideas. It's no use going to a publication wanting to sell them a story on 'a weekend in Blackpool' -- it's been done a thousand times -- but the same editor might be interested in an offbeat, comic story about surviving three different Blackpool Hen Nights in one weekend, or on attractions well off the beaten path, away from the Three Piers of the Realm, or on a search for the best curry or the worst comedian -- or both on the same night. OK, so these ideas are not great, but originality is what sells.

ron

Try to start by getting stories published on Bootsnall, or other non-paying sites that accept stories from newbies.

Then, you'll have bylines you can show to other editors when you're ready to work your way up to getting paid.

TIP: Check the "Advertise With Us" links on travel magazine sites to see who their readers are, what the circulation is, etc., to get a feel for what they might be looking for in stories and how to write to their audience.

Good Luck!

http://blogs.bootsnall.com/laviecommeart

There's some great advice in the above posts. I've met quite a few wannabe writers who think they should get published and paid from the get go - they're dreaming!

Sure, the odd one or two might get paid for their first piece of work, but they are the lucky ones.

There's no substitute, just write, write for yourself, your friends, your diary, your blog, your company rag, your Parish Council news, for the free newspapers that get stuffed through your letterbox, for travel websites, for forums, for club newsletters. And once you have finished - keep doing more of the same, only this time start pitching to magazines. Many of them have contributor guidelines, follow them to the letter!

At some point someone will pay you something, and maybe, just maybe, if you're good enough, you'll get your first commission.

But until then:

"keep writing until you don't suck at it and until someone is willing to pay you."

Good luck

Ok. The one thing I'd chuck into the mix here is MONEY. Decide right now if you are happy accepting that you are unlikely to earn a great deal. Even the big guys pay pretty poorly. Loads of people think they want to be travel writers. But that's when they're 21 and don't have a mortgage or pension plan. It's very difficult to make a living writing solely about travel... So have a back up plan - maybe writing duller stuff that pays much better or else marry someone rich!

Jeremy Head's Travel Blather

I think some sort of freelance writing or travel writing course is a great help. It is a nice way to cover all the bases, get lots of questions answered and learn the ropes.

If you are going to just go for it without a class- I would say study the magazines you aspire to writer for, read writers guidelines. More than anything take time to understand that each magazine, website, newspaper, zine has its own style and departments. Make sure you do your research before sending the query.

I am the editor of the online travel website 52 Perfect Days. I publish a lot of work from new writers as well as writers transitioning into travel writing from another genre. Please check our guidelines here http://www.52perfectdays.com/writers-guidelines

Please feel free to query some ideas. I would love to hear from you.

Lots of good advice above which I won't repeat.

1. Focus on becoming a great writer, not just a traveler writer. Every writer has a passion, but confining yourself to one subject is a difficult way to get started.

2. Get some staff experience as a journalist. If you're new to the work force or making a career switch, that probably means getting an internship, possibly unpaid. Why? You'll learn much faster if you're getting feedback every day. Editors invest much more training in staffers than they do in freelancers. And even if you only do it for a year or two, you'll leave with a strong idea of what the publication wants and a network of editors to pitch.
(Just make sure it's an internship in which you're reporting and writing, as opposed to running errands.)

3. Be an idea machine. Know the publication you want to write for inside out. Know what they've done recently and and therefore don't want to repeat, and what would surprise and delight their audience.

4. Pitch with a brief introduction, a fantastic idea, and published clips that show your style and expertise. Speaking as an editor who sometimes hires freelancers, a great blog can be persuasive, but not nearly as persuasive as a full-length story that is focused and well-organized.

5. Don't ever, ever turn in sloppy copy. Spelling and grammatical errors spell your doom, unless you've got a good excuse. (Ie, you're brilliant and famous and the publication needs you more than you need it, but English isn't your first language.)


6. Be easy to work with, if you want repeat business. That means meeting deadlines and handling requests for edits and rewrites professionally.

Good luck!
Elisabeth

Try submitting your work to free submission sites. Free newspapers... Hometown News and that sort of thing. Travel Lady is a fairly large travel site that accepts submissions. They don't pay, but it's decent exposure. Pitch every single day, view rejection as part of your daily job. Use it as feedback instead of as a means to discourage you. From there, work your way into bigger markets.

But don't be afraid to follow unconventional wisdom and follow your own path. After years of rejection, I finally got a break with kayak.com after I saw one of their commercials on TV a few years ago. I thought they sounded interesting and on a complete whim sat down and emailed them to let them know why they should hire me to write their newsletters. This was a method any professional writer would have told me would never work and not to waste my time. I really had no practical experience for it.

The person I emailed said no. Sort of. They weren't hiring, but it turned out she was about to go on maternity leave, needed some help, and let me pitch 20 ideas. They thought I understood their wit and took 10 of those ideas. I worked very hard on those 10 and got 10 more. And so I wrote for them off and on for 2 years, then branched into bigger markets, started going on press trips for a different travel site I started freelancing for, kept ptiching ideas to anyone who would listen, and so far have made it all the way to a travel feature in The Boston Globe.

You can do it. It's mainly persistence. Talent is honed by practicing your craft, which takes a lot of discipline and persistence. Nothing else will work for you without it.


My Blog - www.DontForgetToWrite.org