Free journeys! Exotic vacations! First-class travel, everything compensated for! Ah, the existence of the travel author. All that you should do is bang out a couple of words about this and you are area of the besotted brotherhood of pampered travel journalists.
Oh, yeah: Firstly you need to enroll in an pricey course that informs you the way to profit from each one of these free journeys travel purveyors are dying to toss the right path.
Which was effectively the content of the pitch I lately received to enroll in a how-to-be-a-travel-author course. The program may be okay-I did not fork within the $300 to discover-however the pitch offends me.
I have been an independent author for any lengthy time, mostly within the travel arena. Personally i think compelled to eliminate or clarify a few of the myths about travel writing.
FAQs About Freelance Travel Writing
Would you get offered a variety of free journeys? Yes. But don’t forget, I have been an effective author in excess of 30 years. Pr people representing holiday destinations, outfitters, and adventure-travel companies know me and realize that basically vacation, they are likely to get protected inside a major national magazine.
Can anybody enter around the fun? No. Most journeys can be found to “authors on assignment.” The general public-relations folks establishing the trip need to know just who you are writing for, and frequently request evidence of assignment. Usually they are searching for firm newspaper or magazine assignments-not assignments from blogs or websites. They would like to know your history, plus they avoid authors referred to as trip grubbers.
Would you take these free journeys? From time to time.
Dirty Little Secret: Couple of magazines or newspapers are able to afford to pay for writers’ expenses. You are by yourself. Very frequently, the only method to talk about an excellent destination is to achieve the expenses compensated by another person.
Because Dirty Little Secret No. 2 is: Your writing fee will not cover the price of the trip. You will not even break even.
Which means you get awesome compensated vacations? They are not even close to vacations! I visit some amazing places, but I am working. Taking notes, photos, hustling interviews, moving at three occasions the rate of the casual traveler to determine everything I’m able to, to obtain a full and balanced picture from the devote a restricted period of time.