How To Become A Travel Writer.

I seem to be surrounded by people who all love to travel, and who all want to become jet-setting travel writers.

While I am not a travel writer myself... I have worked as a freelance writer. And I do happen to have a close friend who is an amazing travel writer. I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to become one, as well as the reality of what it takes to be a good one. And the reality is, "It's not the luxurious, glamorous lifestyle" you think it is. It is hard work. VERY HARD WORK.

Sure, there are elements of excitement and glamour to it. But you have to absolutely love traveling. You have to be inquisitive. You have to be respectful. You have to be proactive. You have to be grateful. You have to know how to write.

So, as an observer of this industry, here are my tips for becoming a travel writer.

• Write. Write. Write. There are MANY evenings and weekends where writers just sit and write. You hole yourself in, make some tea, have John Hughes films on in the background... This is your Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You just write and write and write. You occasionally come up for fresh air.
• Expect to write on spec. This is one thing MANY writers hate hearing. But it is the reality. There are so many writers out there. You have to be REALLY ESTABLISHED (usually) in order to get someone to pay you to write something beforehand. MOST writing is done on speculation... Meaning, "You take a trip with your own $$$. You come back. You write about it. You pitch it to different publications. Maybe someone gets back to you wanting to publish it."
• Turn one trip into many stories. You took one trip, yes. But in that trip, there could be a number of different stories. Recognize them. Explore them. Flush them out.
• Do a lot of pitching. Connections are not easy to make... But pitching editors over and over again gets your name in front of them. The more often they see your name, the greater likelihood they will eventually see something you have produced that they think they can work with on their publication. And sometimes, you may even find that you have submitted something to them that they don't need, but they know of another publication that could use it. This is incredible "networking."
• Expect long lead times. My travel writer friend submitted a story idea based on a trip we took last Fall to Mexico. She submitted it to the a publication right when we got back. They JUST NOW got back to her and let her know they would be using it. So unless you get a firm, "no," a story opportunity could actually still be in play.
• Be incredibly respectful and always say "thank you." Impeccable manners gets you very far when you are hitting up editors to publish you. So even when editors are incredible skanky-assed bitches to you and ask you to "quit fucking bothering" them, always say "thank you" with a genuine tone. The karma train will come around and reward you eventually.
• Do NOT be discouraged. Again, you have to do a lot of pitching. Over and over again. It is time-consuming and energy-draining. But keep your spirits high and remain an optimist.
• Expect to work for "free." I know, probably not what you want to read. The bigger publications do pay well. But it takes a lot of hard work to write for them. In order to build up your clips, you have to expect that no one will pay you for your words. Your focus needs to be about getting published. Getting published equals credibility.

It's not until you have a great number of published clips in your portfolio that you will begin finding yourself going on press trips to destinations to write a story on them. But when you do finally get to this stage in your career, here is what you can expect:

• Expect to maintain a near full-time job. Travel writers often don't just "write about travel." They often have to have full-time or near full-time jobs just to make ends-meet. So don't plan to quit your day-job anytime soon.
• Expect to produce a lot. If you are lucky enough to get invited on a press trip, and you don't write up something and get it published somewhere, do not expect to be invited by a PR person on another trip. If it was a press trip stimulated by a publication you write for, and you come back and don't write it up, don't expect them to allow you to take another trip using their name. If you get invited on trips, you have to produce something. Ideally, PR people love it if you can write a number of stories on their clients and get them coverage in different publications. Publications also love it when you come to them with a number of story ideas... Variety. Bottom line, those who produce are the ones that get invited again and again.
• Expect to "work" while you are on a trip. Sure, you have fun, get to see great things, eat great food... But keep in mind, when you are on a press trip you are working. That means no getting shit-faced at a bar. No acting silly or making outrageous diva-like demands. You have to be respectful. And you have to be extremely kind. Otherwise, PR people won't want to connect you to their clients to cover them for publications. And if editors at publications that have hired you hear that you were an ungrateful person, you won't be writing for them for very long.
• Expect what you write to be re-written. Either by you or by your editor... Sometimes you are asked to re-work your take on something. Sometimes, you aren't even asked... You see it published, and it looks nothing like what you wrote.

Should I be telling you all of this? Maybe. Maybe not. But it comes down to the three essential things to make it as a travel writer:

1. Honest hard work.
2. Never quitting.
3. Remembering your manners.