How to Become a Travel Writer (Seriously)

First of all, you’ve got to commit to being a writer. You’ve got to believe that words matter.

by Julie Schwietert

AFTER THAT, begin with these 22 tips.

1. READ.

Start reading and don’t stop.

Read all the “greats,” but don’t skip the more obscure writers. Read magazines. Get yourself a library card if you don’t have one, and if you can’t do that, check Google Books and Google Magazines.

Good writers read. A lot. Photo: Jayel Aheram

The idea isn’t to imitate, but to simply know what–what genres, what styles, what writers–came before you, as well as who your contemporaries are.

2. Redefine the genre of travel writing.

“Travel writing” includes hotel reviews and destination guides, published in guide books and in glossy travel magazines.

But travel writing’s more than service pieces.

Check out this genre-busting, long-format narrative by Porter Fox. Or this blog post by multi-genre writer, Elizabeth Eslami, which I’d categorize as “place-based writing.”

In a way, all movement and all settling is travel, and so the stories we tell about these experiences are “travel writing” in the broadest sense of the word.

Even if editors don’t see it that way.

3. Start a blog.

In the not-so-distant past, a writer had to have a decent portfolio of publication credits to be considered a “travel writer,” and certainly to be published in a glossy mag.

Not so anymore.

Thousands of writers have published their writing primarily or exclusively on their blogs. Some have gotten book deals. Some have gotten print gigs. Some get offers of free travel. And some get nothing more than the recognition that their writing means something to a random reader who stumbled across their blog doing a Google search.

Not sure how to get started? Matador has archived all blogging tips articles here.

4. Develop your online presence.

Use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms to connect with other writers, editors, and readers.

5. Build a network–online and off.

Start your blog, set up a Facebook and Twitter account, but make sure you get offline, too. Stories and relationships don’t develop best through a screen. That only happens at ground level.

Matador will be hosting many in-person meet-ups in 2011. The first one will be held in Chicago on January 13. Announcements about future meet-ups will be posted on Matador Radar.

6. Travel. But not just to “exotic” places.

You’ve got a 9-5′er.
You’ve got kids.
You’ve got debt.
You’ve got no money, seriously.
You’ve got an expired passport.

What you’ve got are excuses.

A walk beyond your front door is travel. The only thing you need for a trip is curiosity.

7. Look for stories everywhere.

The author, at home in NYC. Photo: Francisco Collazo

Often, the most interesting stories aren’t waiting in some far-flung place for you to come along and unearth them. Instead, they’re right beside you, at ground level.

8. Avoid cliches.

If you’re not sure what cliches we’re talking about, you need to go back to step 1 (READ). You can also consult our articles, “10 Words and Phrases We Never Want to See in Travel Writing Again” and “5 More Words We Never Want to See in Travel Writing Again.”

How many hidden gems and best kept secrets can there be in the world, anyway?

9. Learn when to break the writing rules you’ve been taught.

One of the challenges new travel writers often confront is unlearning rules of narrative they were taught in school: “Always write in the third person.” “Every paragraph must have three to five sentences.” “Every story must have an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.”

It’s not narrative that’s inflexible; it’s the writer. Don’t be afraid to play with forms or break rules.

10. Commit to the craft.

Tip #9 notwithstanding, there are some rules that shouldn’t be broken. Spelling and punctuation should be solid if you intend to submit your writing for publication, whether online or in print. Your syntax and word usage should be on point. Commit to the craft of writing. Simply telling a good story isn’t enough.

11. Get a writing partner.

Writing has some pretty solitary moments, and reviewing your work with a writing partner (especially if you have problems with spelling, grammar, etc.) can be invaluable. Participating in a writers’ group can be even more useful; you’ll have a support network of writers who can offer constructive feedback.

12. Prepare yourself for rejection.

Every writer experiences rejection. The sooner you learn how to handle rejection and move on, the happier and more successful you’ll be as a writer.

13. Be professional.

Learn how to pitch and query. Don’t make your problems an editor’s problems.

14. Invest in yourself.

If you want to pursue travel writing as a profession, consider making some investments in your professional development. MatadorU, Matador’s travel writing, travel photography (and soon- travel filmmaking) programs, teach you the craft and business of this line of work.

The course is $350 and provides students with access to the core curriculum, continuing education courses (called Pro Modules, which are added each month), and the Market Blog (assignment leads), as well as a supportive community of faculty and peers. You can test drive the course for one week for just $10.

Another worthwhile investment is Mediabistro’s Avant Guild program, which, among other things, provides access to a How to Pitch directory of publications that accept all types of writing, including travel and place-based writing.

15. Develop other relevant skills.

Assignments often go to writers who also have other relevant skills, especially in photography. If you can offer an editor a complete package of writing and photos, you’ll save him/her lots of time.

16. Use prompts if you have writers’ block.

Joshywashington rounded up three websites that are full of prompts to get your pen moving again.

17. Don’t tell the reader how to feel or what to think.

Way too much travel writing is characterized by the author/narrator telling the reader how to feel or what to think. The ways in which we experience “the exotic” and treat it as precious and the ways, in particular, we see people, dramatically shape the ways we talk about them and the impressions our interpretations leave on the reader.

18. But don’t think you’re objective, either.

There’s no such thing as objectivity.

19. Practice “10 Possibilities.”

In order to test your own ways of seeing and your default interpretations, start practicing a game a friend of mine calls “10 Possibilities.” For every experience that you’re inclined to classify as “strange,” “exotic,” “amazing,” or otherwise otherworldly, challenge yourself to come up with 10 possibilities that could explain why you’re seeing what you’re seeing.

20. Write.

It’s obvious enough, I suppose, but what distinguishes an “aspiring writer” from a “writer” is that the latter actually… writes. At Matador, we’ve taken to calling this “ass-to-chair” time.

21. Learn how to use an anecdote.

So much beginning travel writing is what I call “This is what I did in my summer vacation” essays: chronologically linear stories that detail every single activity, meal, and person the writer has encountered in his or her travels.

98% of that material isn’t relevant.

Read this article to learn how to use an anecdote and this one to learn how to use scenes.

22. Accept the fact that luck, timing, circumstance, and knowing people often play a big role in a writer’s life.

As Brave New Traveler editor Carlo Alcos said in the article, “How Do You Advance as a Writer?”, “Don’t underestimate the ‘right place, right time’ scenario. While you might not have much control over that, you do have control over being ready, willing, and able to take advantage of any opportunities that come your way.”

In my own work, and among many of my freelance travel writing colleagues, luck, timing, circumstance, and knowing people have played as important a role as being a good writer.

Like this resource?

For LIFETIME ACCESS to our full curricula, including the market blog, press trip opportunities, community forums, and more, please enroll now.