Get Paid to Travel - Become a Travel Writer

Do you love to write? Have you always wanted to see the world? Why not combine those two passions and become a travel writer? This job is incredibly rewarding and is a career that you can make a good living at )as long as you work hard enough) and enjoy your time seeing other cities and countries.

Not everyone has what it takes to become a travel writer, but if you are motivated and able to move around a lot, it could be the job for you. Before you decide to take the leap, there are a few things to consider. Here's everything you need to know to become a travel writer.

Requirements to Become a Travel Writer

Besides being a decent writer, there are some other requirements to think about before launching your career as a travel writer. You'll need to be self motivated because being a travel writer is generally a freelance position and you'll have to be ambitious enough to get your work done without a boss staying on you the whole time. You'll also need to be good at coming up with unique ideas and creative angles on the travel topics you want to pitch to publications. Sometimes they'll offer you an assignment, but more often than not, you'll have to come up with your own ideas and then get a magazine, website or other travel publication to hire you for the job.

Types of Travel Writing

Hopefully you're familiar with the options since you're trying to become a travel writer. There are several ways to make money writing about your travels. A few such writers have been able to make quite a bit of money through a travel blog. This isn't something to bank everything on though. It's a good idea to have some other forms of bringing in money. This might be writing for magazines, doing guest blog posts, writing copy for travel brochures, writing destination guidebooks or simply sharing your experiences and recommendations when traveling to specific locations. Try your hand at all of them so you're able to meet the needs of a variety of publishers, which ensures a steady income and a well-rounded portfolio that will get you future writing jobs.

Getting Published

As mentioned above, you're likely going to have to pitch your ideas. This involves coming up with the general idea for the article and then writing a query letter. You may have to shop your idea around to more than one publication before one takes a chance on you. This is why you must have a plan for paying the bills as you try to launch your writing career. Many writers keep their full-time job as they get started and then quit once they've made a name for themselves and have a list of clients they work for on a regular basis.

Start by Reading

Now that you know what it takes to become a travel writer, it's time to get started on the steps to get you there. The first is to read. Read travel publications from a variety of sources to help you get a sense of what makes good travel writing. Practice different styles and techniques until you're very familiar with the different ways to create a compelling travel piece.

Think Differently

There are loads of travel articles, books and websites out there, so it's your job to get a new angle. Redefine what travel writing is by coming up with new ideas and pitches. Think of some specific ideas and some broader ones. Be sure you can do a piece that is very detailed as well as those that aren't as in-depth. Being able to be versatile, both in your ideas and your actual writing, makes you more marketable and increases your chances of getting published.

Now It's Time to Travel

You can't be a travel writer without traveling. You don't always have to go to a faraway exotic location where you're getting some culture shock to be effective. You can write interesting and marketable pieces by staying close to home too. Hone your skills by writing about nearby destinations and then work your way toward those further from home. Sometimes the best stories are right there waiting for you around the corner from your house.

Develop Other Skills

Often, travel writing also involves photography. If you can take your own photos, you can more money because you won't have to hire a photographer to go with you. Also, you can market yourself to a wider range of publications if you can take your own pictures. Practice your skills by taking a class and learning about composition and lighting. Then take those new skills with you next time you travel and put them to work. You'd be surprised at how much more passionate you are about travel writing when you can document your experiences to go with your writing.

Become a Great Writer

Not only will you need to be committed to writing without making punctuation, spelling or grammar mistakes, but you also need to interesting and make your readers want to keep coming back for more. Take a creative writing class or craft practice articles in your free time. This will give you the practice you need, but also helps you build a portfolio that you can use to help you find work. Getting feedback is important and the experts at assignmentmasters can help you proofread and edit your work so you have flawless copy each and every time.

Becoming a travel writer won't happen overnight, but it's definitely a career you can make a go of with some time and effort. The most important thing to remember is that you need to have writing skills and be able to travel, but you must also be committed to offering readers something new and exciting that they won't find anywhere else. Don't give up on your dream to see the world and then turn it into your livelihood. You won't be sorry.