Sell Your Skill Travel Writing Jobs

By Simon Natta • April 17th, 2009

If you’re a writer and enjoy travel, jobs can be a lucrative sideline. While it may take a while to set up yourself in this market, once you do, you can make travel writing jobs into a full time occupation. To begin with, there’s no need to travel far from home to start putting together your collection. Check online, in your phone book or with your local Chamber of Commerce to search out some of the local and regional travel publications. When you’re brainstorming concepts for articles, think outside the box. While a comprehensive traveler’s guide to San Francisco may be a good topic, when you’re trying to break into the travel writing job market, a narrower focus needs less time and research and may better your chances at being published.

As with any other kind of writing jobs, you’ll need to accumulate a few clips geared specifically to that market, so that when you query a specific client, you’ll have a few published pieces to show which demonstrate your skills, knowledge and style. For example, a piece on a make-your-own-teddy-bear shop in Ghirardelli Square’s complex allows you to interview the shop owner, explain the process of making the teddy bear and snap several photos, creating an in-depth look at this shop for both native San Franciscans and travelers visiting the city. The topic obviously has wide appeal among readers of diverse age groups. This article also opens up a variety of publications which might want to publish the piece. Your local newspaper may want to include it in their Sunday travel section. Brief Introduction on Writing careers

A crafter’s magazine might find it attractive to their readership. It’s best to begin small, as you’re unlikely to get published in National Geographic right off the bat! Here’s a good strategy to establishing yourself in the travel writing niche. While the text should naturally be descriptive, these types of photos allow you to focus on the minute details. Providing photos can also raise the bar significantly when it comes to pay. It’s a winning combination. As for photos, editors love photos, and you don’t have to be Ansel Adams to fill their necessities. Photos serve to enhance the article, making it come alive to a greater degree. Pictures of the shop owner, customers browsing the shelves and the quaint, nostalgic flavor definitely help sell the article.

For example, an article on B & Bs in the Pacific Northwest may locate a home in a small airline’s magazine, an online travel agent’s web content or a wedding planner’s newsletter.

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Most writers who are trying to get into travel writing jobs tend to restrict their ideas to the sort of thing found in every travel guide. The snows of Kilimanjaro, the Eiffel Tower, that sort of thing. Think small . Think cool. Choose off-the-beaten path shops, restaurants and little known, but attractive sights. Places the average reader would find fascinating , once they know it’s there! Each airline has an ‘in-flight’ magazine. Target a small airline to begin. The topic you choose for an exacting airline must involve an area which that airline covers. Again, try to select a topic with multiple markets.

The only caveat is that it may take quite a while before you are selling sufficient to make it more than an occasional sideline source of income. Foodies and sports freaks are additional demographic groups you might want to consider . It’s a large world of travel out there. Write to an audience of history buffs, seniors, adventure travelers or students. There are more travel writing jobs out there than you can shake a fix at! However, it’s completely doable and you’ll have fun writing every piece! When pursuing travel writing jobs, you’ll make progress more rapidly by developing a new take or slant on your idea.

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