The media landscape is constantly changing. travel writersThere are many routes to success. Some are authors of books, others write primarily for magazines, and some earn a good living by blogging or running destination sites. Tim Leffel is the author of “Travel Writing 2.0” (http://travelwriting2.com), offers these tips on making it as a travel writer, whether in print, e-books, travel apps or the next media we haven’t seen yet.
1. Start with the basics. Sub-par writers will not be able to succeed in this competitive field. Take a course at your community college to learn how to write well or read books that teach you. Before blogging or being hired by editors, travel writers should be able to communicate clearly and effectively.
2. Find Your Niche. You will be competing against a lot of other travel writers if you try to be all things to all people. It’s much easier to be a specialist in one area or style of travel than it is to become a well-known name.
3. Be original. Your main currency as a travel journalist is your ideas. It is more important to be able to come up with original stories for every destination than what you put on the page.
4. Be a professional. Editors are often frustrated by the lack of professionalism in their writers. They send inept e-mails. They miss deadlines. They promise things they won’t keep. It is possible to rise above the rest by carefully reading publication guidelines and not wasting editor’s time.
5. Take every opportunity to travel. If you don’t travel on a regular basis, it is difficult to be a successful travel writer. It could be your locality, but you have to find the stories no one else is writing. You also need to move beyond the routine vacations covered thousands of times.
Find out more about travel writing for the book “Travel Writing 2.0: Earning Money From Your Travels in the New Media Landscape” or by visiting http://travelwriting2.com.
