Travel writing can give freelance writers many opportunities. It provides exciting topics, discounted travel costs, and plenty of excuses for vacations. On the downside, travel writing gigs are not always consistent – especially when you first start out, and travel writing publishers don’t always pay for your trips. Despite the challenges of breaking into this field, freelance writers can build up a career that challenges them and allows them to write about their passions.
Travel writing can get costly, unless you land a job that covers all expenses. The best way to begin building your travel writing portfolio is to start with your hometown. You can review accommodations, restaurants and festivals without any travel expenses when you stay local. It might not feel like travel writing when you are reviewing a restaurant five miles from your house, but it will show travel writing publishers that you know what you’re doing. Once you’ve landed a few pieces about your own town, expand a few miles at a time. Reviewing mountain cabins located two hours away will still be easier than planning an overseas adventure for your next piece.
Writing During Vacations
Once you feel ready to expand your travel writing portfolio beyond local pieces, try to land a gig inspired by your next vacation place. Most writers won’t receive an all-expense paid trip until they build a little clout for themselves, so take advantage of your regular vacations to start getting your name attached to travel pieces out of your home state.
Online writing jobs may not pay a dollar per word like your favorite travel magazine, but they can help a beginning travel writer break into their favored field. Most of these gigs will be informational, not narrative, and you probably won’t see a word count above 600. Regardless, a few of these gigs could lead you down the right path.
Many aspiring travel writers make a name from themselves by self-publishing articles on a personal blog. Successful bloggers have a couple advantages when approaching travel writing publishers – they possess a pre-built group of followers already loyal to their work, and they’ve proven they have what it takes to get and keep a reader’s attention.
Magazine Travel Writing
Breaking into magazine writing can be tough, but it will be easier if you know what type of articles to pitch in your first query letters . Front-of-book (FOB) pieces are typically easier to get published than longer feature articles. The front articles in a magazine might review a product or service – think luggage or a local tour. They might also share some traveling advice, or a clever top ten list. The best travel writing for FOB pieces will be short, straight to the point, and offer a quick bit of information or laughter. Successfully landing a FOB spot in a magazine will often lead to longer assignments in the future.
