If you want to be a high-earning travel writer in charge of your own business, first read my tale of what to NOT do.
Want to Become A Successful Travel Writer?
A few years back, I was doing everything one does as a successful travel writer. I was travel blogging, writing freelance for other blogs, contributing to Fodor’s guidebooks, and copywriting, blogging and consulting for a travel industry client.
Then, I received an enticing offer. At least at the outset it seemed enticing.
A publisher of online guidebooks asked me to write an ebook guide to Las Vegas. They saw me as an expert after learning I had contributed to several Las Vegas guidebooks for Fodor’s Travel Publications.
They were asking for my permission to write for them! Sounds great, right?
However, when I inquired about a writer’s advance and their payment, I was informed that they can only offer a revenue share deal, a 50/50 split.
Hmmm, I’d have to think about that. So, I made a list of the pros and cons.
Let’s look at the bad news first:
- No advance
- A year of unpaid work
- Unknown amount of future income
- No quality control of a product with my name on it
- Released as an ebook only
- Not widely sold, only on their site and on Amazon
- The publishers lived in Europe as digital nomads
Now let’s look at the pros:
- Another great travel writing credit
- More prestige as a Vegas expert
- Possibly earn a good amount of money
- Can now bill myself as an author
- Get an Amazon Author page
- More networking/name recognition with my Vegas contacts
- More free travel!
So, what do you think I decided to do?
If you said, I went for it, you are right. I did!
But did this project turn out well?
Nope.
The publisher had created a beautifully designed and executed ebook. I felt proud to tout my latest creation. I marketed the heck out of it, setting up interviews, creating a promotional video, blogging, posting on social media, writing guest posts on other blogs and alerting my email list. Yet, as I pestered the publishers about sales, I got no answers. Until the day I was notified that my first payment was coming. I was elated!
Until I saw the amount – a fat $29!
That’s all I had ever received from our 50/50 “revenue share.”
So, I washed my hands of this misadventure.
Still, there were some bright spots.
One, I did get the chance to speed around the Vegas racetrack behind the wheel of a Ferrari 450 as a handsome Italian driver sat next to me to direct me through an earphone. Bucket list!
Two, I now had an Amazon Author page, soon to be listing my own future books.
Three, I had retained my copyright, thus owning all the writing behind that lovely ebook cover. For more on your copyrights, refer to The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know.
When the publisher stopped marketing this Vegas ebook, I informed them in writing that I was taking back their right to sell my work. Then I began to hatch plans to re-vamp and update this guidebook.
I decided use my Las Vegas guide to create an asset for my business. I could offer my guidebook for sale as:
- An ebook
- A print on demand book
- A paperback
- A hardback
- An audiobook
- A large print book
- A foreign rights license to translate and sell it in other languages
I could sell it worldwide on many sales platforms, not just Amazon or on my website, but also on:
Kobo, Apple Books, Book Bub, Audible.com and in bookstores in paperback through Ingraham Spark.
Taking my book back and hatching plans to sell it on my own soothed my frazzled nerves.
But my sad history leads to my next question.
What was the lesson learned from my tale of woe?
Two Biggest Rules of Your Travel Writing Career
My biggest lesson helped me discover the two most important rules in any travel writing career when it comes to self-publishing your work:
#1 – Always stay in control of your travel writing or product
If you want all the money in addition to all the glory, stay in control. In the end, the publishers are the ones who earn the top dollar. Why not you?
#2 Always sell the license to your travel writing because you own the copyright.
I knew I had taken on lots of unknowns with this project. But I had stated in writing in our contract that I owned the copyright and was only selling them a license to sell my work.
So, never, ever give up your rights to your work. Unless someone offers you millions of dollars and you’re positive that you couldn’t do better than that!
Three Words That Transform Your Money-Making Travel Writing Career
As I mentioned before, travel writers craft story pitches in order to travel with an armload of paying assignments. Then they’d write the articles aimed at those different travel markets, selling their writing over and over again. It’s hard to make a living this way without a supplemental income.
And travel blogging doesn’t bring in a whole lot of money unless you branch out into other moneymaking ventures, such as affiliate sales – trust me, I know, I’ve run two and have written for many.
Both freelancing and blogging require time and persistence yet the rewards are huge. You can still utilize those strategies in your travel writing career. Though you encounter lots of competition, there are plenty of outlets online and in publications who need your expertise. But you’ve got to work your plan in order to be successful.
But today I believe travel writers are dropping the ball. You can’t earn enough money using the Permission Model so we must escape from today’s permission model of travel writing. But let’s take a look at a new travel writing business model that’s illustrated with three game changing words:
Long-term global sales.
Here’s my proposal for you. I don’t want you to ask for permission to write and then ask for more permission to sell it over and over again. I don’t want you to ask for permission to publish your articles or books that you created with your travel writing. I don’t want you to ask for permission to sell your travel books to publishing middlemen in order to place your work directly into your readers’ hands.
I want you to write about places that you know and love and to share the wealth with the rest of the world.
My goal for you?
Get your travel writing, in other words, your intellectual property, out into the world and into the hands of your enthusiastic tribe.
I want you to cut out the middleman, publish your own travel writing and pocket the profits yourself.
In short, I want you to structure your business as an indie travel publisher. Not to say that that you won’t stop blogging, posting in social media and everything else that content marketing requires.
But let’s focus on one goal and developing a one-pointedness about designing your travel writing career.
And you can do it.
Build Streams of Income in Today’s Digital Landscape
In addition to freelancing and blogging and all the rest, you could become an indie publisher of your travel writing. And you could publish your:
- Travel memoir
- Guidebook
- How to guide
- Travel photography collection
Add in other income sources. What will work for you? Some choices to contemplate:
- Freelance writing
- Travel blogging with ads and affiliate income
- Copywriting for the travel industry
- Corporate writing
- Speaking at travel shows
- Teaching in the area of your expertise, such as social media or photography
- Copywriting for the travel industry
- Tour guide
- Travel photography
- Videos
Sounds scary? Not when you know develop your plan and figure out how to efficiently and slowly build your travel writing career.
Start your journey. Become a travel writer with Travel Writing Success Coaching.
