BootsnAll Travel Community

*I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I write but don't have a clue as to how to find a medium to make some dough through. After all we are all pretty broke. Any ideas?

dan

Hey Dan-
Check out The Written Road for a few ideas.

If you are interested in writing for us, look at our writing guidelines.

I hope that gives you a few places to start!

Court

Also go to Writer's Weekly. Great site with a weekly email newsletter that's specifically for freelancers seeking to build their careers and hit quality paying markets. They also have great tips on the business end of writing, including setting rates, why you should stick to your guns and go for paid gigs, rights/copyright issues, etc.

Hit your local library as well. You'll probably find books and references on publishing markets, running a writing business, writing in general, etc.

Also, think of the sort of places you'd like to be published. What magazines/ websites do you read? Why? What do you like? Where to you think your style/ subjects/ etc. would fit?

Good luck!

Cheers, Anthony

I agree with everyone else. i've been thinking about going freelance (writing) and i've gotten a TON of info from the web.
more good sites:

Travel writers

About.com check out the freelance writing section


and

The Writers' Resource Center

Definitely start with the Written Road. Oh, and Rolf Potts' site Vegabonding


whew, that should keep you busy for a while!

Hey, check out my blog:

Central America At Last

Get a copy of "Writer's Market." Even an old copy would be fine at first. Besides having a list of markets and what they're looking for an pay, it's full of articles on how the business work.

Its good to have a visible webpage where you can pimp your work. I just got something published in a v big magazine (hurrah!!!) after they found my webpage....

Philip

www.philipblazdell.com

Well Done Blazedell

greg s martin

i've been writing for a few years now, basically b/c i'm pretty flexible - in that i'll write about any crap you throw at me )
i started with internships, and the last few mags i worked with, i just walked in with some random clips that i had written for free, and that led to more jobs. i also called up a few places and asked for 'informational' interviews - just sit-down chats, which led to more contacts and jobs.
face-to-face talks are the best, b/c they'll see you as a person with a passion, rather than just a few sheets of paper and a job plea. if you're abroad and can't do this, pitch a couple of stories through the mail - just include a catchy lead and why the story's interesting and to whom. if you're willing to start for free, you're golden. good luck.

Erin

I've posted some of what I learned in a freelance writing class on my blog in the hopes that others may find it useful:

Writing a Query Letter

Magazine and Story Structure

There's a lot of info online but I've found that a fair bit of it is outdated such as manuscript formats. I read several sites that said to format in a certain way and have discovered that publishers no longer require this. Actually many writers and publishers told me that they've never seen/used those formats when I asked them about it. Just one example of bad info online.

_____________________
[Still Wandering] [Halcyon Climbing]

Check out this site:

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/magazine-writing.htm

It also has tons of information on all kinds of interesting stuff.

If you learn two things, and let them guide everything you do, then there is a chance you will make some money as a travel writer.

1) It's not about where you're going or even what you're doing there. It's about the unique story angle you can bring to the table. Editors can easily find someone who is off to Tahiti next month and they are good at taking your decent story and making it hum. What they're not good at is coming up with dozens of fresh ideas month after month. As a freelancer, especially one starting out, that's your role. Great writing is almost an afterthought until you get to the point where you are being hired to write cover stories or other long features.

2) It's 90% marketing, 10% writing. Being able to effectively pitch yourself is far more important than how well your write, assuming you already have command of the language. The English speaking world is overrun with wannabe writers (why do you think travel web sites don't have to pay for articles?), but not with people who are good at selling themselves.

Tim Leffel
author, The World's Cheapest Destinations
(and tireless freelance writer...)

http://www.worldscheapestdestinations.com