want to be a travel writer?
Finally, faced with a mountain of financial debt as a result of two failed expeditions to climb Everest, Paul was faced with a stark choice: remain in his job as a Marketing Manager for an outdoor retailer and pay off what he owed over a period of time; or go freelance and use his desire to clear the debts as a driving force to become a financially successful writer and public speaker. Paul made the sensible choice… and quit the day job.
If you also aspire to become a travel writer, but you’re unsure of how or where to begin, here are Paul’s 10 top tips:
1. Ensure that your story is compelling
The chance of getting published will increase dramatically if you have a compelling story angle. You might think that it is easier to offer an article about an out-of-the-way place that few other people have been to, rather than yet another piece about Kilimanjaro or the Inca Trail. But do bear in mind that the number of stories about remote locations that a publication prints every year is normally far fewer than fresh spins on favourite destinations that are supported by advertisers offering trips to these places.
2. Know your reader.
How to do this? Easy. Study – and not just read – the publications you wish to appear in. Identify the section into which your story is most likely to fit. If your story angle does not fit the publication, either adapt the angle so that it does, or widen your net and investigate additional magazines and newspapers. Also, visit the publication’s website. Many have writers’ guidelines available for download.
3. Contact the right person at the right time.
Almost every publication publishes the names of the people occupying its various editorial positions. Target the most appropriate person, and then find out on what date each week or month the magazine or newspaper goes to press. Armed with this information, you can then write or email shortly after this date, as the person you wish to contact is more likely to have time to respond to aspirant contributors when the latest issue has been sent to the printers. Don’t expect an immediate reply. Be prepared to wait several weeks, but after a month or so do send a follow-up enquiry. Remember that new writers with a limited track record are often more likely to get accepted if they are proposing a smaller article to begin with, rather than proposing a front cover headline feature story.
4. Keep your approach short and sweet.
I would suggest keeping your letter or email of introduction short and to the point. If your proposed story is similar in style to an article that has been recently been published, say so. (If nothing else, this will let the recipient know that you have at least bothered to read the publication!) Lay out your writing credentials, together with any relevant expertise and experience you possess. Your proposal should also be as compact as possible.
If you are new to the writing game, then you are likely to find a chicken-and-egg situation exists whereby publications prefer to consider stories from individuals who have a proven track record of writing. So how do you establish your own credentials as a writer? One method is to approach publications that rely on voluntary contributions to fill their pages. (The British Mountaineering Council’s excellent Summit magazine is a particularly good example of this.) Another tactic is to offer to write a travel story for your local newspaper. Again, you might not get paid, but it all counts. Simply mentioning the titles you have been published in is rarely sufficient for an editor: always make the effort to send in photocopies of a couple of your favourite cuttings. Finally, travel websites are often eager for fresh content. Somewhat predictably, there is usually little in the way of financial recompense from this avenue. However, having an article or two online does make it easy for editors to check out the standard of your writing.
6. Grow out of your niche.
Another way to establish your credibility is to establish a specialist niche for yourself and then grow out of it, which is effectively what I did (albeit unwittingly). To begin with, my expertise was in trekking and mountaineering. I then started undertaking journeys to remote places, and finally went into writing about mainstream adventure travel destinations. At all times I continued to write about the mountain side of things in order to maintain a profile in my original specialist subject.
7. Make life easy for your editor.
Once you have nailed a commission or been asked to produce an article ‘on spec’ (which basically means you will be paid only if it is published), adhere to the word count, remain focused on the subject matter, and ensure that your copy arrives on the editor’s desk in advance of the deadline. Earn yourself the reputation of being a reliable and competent writer and work is far more likely to flow your way.
8. Secure multiple assignments from a single trip in order to make a profit.
If you decide to approach multiple publications about the same trip, do make sure they are not direct competitors, and ensure that the stories all have fundamentally different angles. For example, on the 2001 An Ice Odyssey expedition, photographer Martin Hartley and myself secured several commissions in order to pay our way on the project. One, for Food & Travel, was all about the local staple food, tsampa. Another, for Geographical, described the advent of a new all-weather road in the region and the possible impact of it on local communities. Global magazine bought an adventure story about the trek down the frozen Zangskar river. And The Sunday Times published an article about an encounter with a wizened silversmith. A year after returning from the expedition, the final article was published and we turned a small profit.
It is best to assume that the publication will not pay for your assignment. However, do try to obtain a letter from the editor explaining that you are travelling on behalf of the publication in order to write a story. Armed with this and you might succeed in receiving discounts on things like airfares, but take care to check with the publication exactly what credits they are prepared to give companies that assist you. As a responsible writer, be aware of the law of reciprocity. Editors and readers need to be able to trust that what you write is accurate and honest: a free poor-quality meal is still a poor-quality meal! Ultimately, it is your reputation (as well as that of the publication) on the line.
10. There is always a way to get published – if you are persistent.
Don’t assume that just because the same writers appear in print every issue of your favourite publication that it is a ‘closed shop’. Journalists are dropped by publications for all manner of reasons. And people also change career, retire, or move on to write about different subjects. You may be a relatively inexperienced writer, but if you have buckets of enthusiasm and are able to take something positive from every rejection letter (hey, at least they read your proposal and considered it!) then you stand every chance of eventually getting published. It took me nine years to graduate from having my first article published to finally getting an average of one article a week published every year. One of the reasons why it took me so long was highlighted at the top of this story. Another was because a couple of well-meaning friends, who had some experience of the travel and expedition writing game, told me that it was impossible for anyone to earn a living from it. And for a very long time I believed them.
I hope it takes you a lot less time than me to ‘make it’ as a travel writer. And remember: you are only as good as your last article. Make every word of every sentence earn its place on your page!
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