To become a travel writer, books and websites often portray a lucky sucker swinging in a beach hammock with a laptop as a tropical sunset blooms behind her.  That’s the myth of the travel writer.

The Myth of the Travel Writer

If you’re serious about becoming a member of this passionate tribe, traveling and writing all over the world, then here’s what you’ll need to know.

You have to think about your travel writing career as a business. And if you wish to become a high-income earning travel writer, plan on building your business and creating multiple streams of income, no matter at what stage you are in your travel writing career.

Perhaps you want to break into travel writing.

Perhaps you are plugging away but need more success strategies.

Perhaps you want to boost your earning power and expand your reputation by creating new streams of income through speaking, teaching or writing books.

No matter where you are, advice is for you.

In fact, I wish I got this advice when I first started many years ago.

Traveling Writing in Today’s New Media Landscape

Travel writing has been around since the fifth century BC when the first recognized travel writer, a Greek named Herodotus (c. 484 – 425/413 BCE) published his eyewitness accounts.

A historian, he became famous for his travel writings on Egypt around 454 B.C. On his far-flung sojourns, Herodotus sailed the Nile River, ventured into Babylon and Persia and published the ancient world’s earliest account of India.

He also wrote about encountering fantastical things on the road, such as flying, winged snakes in Arabia, furry desert ants that dug for gold in an Indian desert and a musician whose life was saved by a dolphin.

Travel Writers Transformed Our World

From then on, travel writing has traversed the annals of history and intrepid travel writers have transformed the world. In 1299, Marco Polo published his Silk Road travelogue after his trading excursion to Asia. In 1839, Charles Darwin upended science after publishing his Galapagos Islands explorations in The Voyage of the Beagle. The well-born Victorian, Isabella Bird, was an explorer, naturalist, photographer and travel writer, published her first book, “An Englishwoman in America” in 1856; she went on to chronicle her vast travels to Japan, Hawaii, Australia, Tibet, Turkey and Morocco.
The dawn of the Jet Age brought on an explosion of travel writing. The world had grown significantly smaller as Hollywood film sets migrated to shoot in actual story locations. Director John Huston shot The African Queen in Uganda and the Congo and Jean Renoir shot The River on the Ganges in India.

Suddenly, the average Joe could fly off to experience faraway Singapore, once an exclusive destination of the leisurely rich. During the 50s, travel journalism flourished in glossy magazines, fat newspaper travel sections and engrossing television travelogues. And travel writers presented the world at large from tropical beaches, luxury hotels, icy fjords and isolated mountain tops.

Travel writing satisfies a very human need of trying to understand this beautiful blue planet that we all live on.

Besides, who wouldn’t want to be a travel writer? It’s probably the most desired job in the world today.

Yet.
A simple Internet search reveals portrayals of travel writers typing away on a laptop on a white sand beach surrounded by palms. What’s closer to reality is pounding away on a deadline in a hot, noisy hotel lobby because the WIFI is better.

The Truth About Travel Writing

Here’s the real truth about travel writing today. Travel writers write story pitches to editors to collect an armload of paying assignments. In order to travel, they’ll work with travel industry outlets, hotels, airlines, tour operators, for free perks to help write their articles. Once back in the office, or, more likely, the airport lounge, they’ll write their articles. Then, they’ll write more articles aimed at different travel markets to sell their writing over and over again. It’s a challenge to make a living this way without a supplemental income. And many do have other sidelines; I’ve met college professors, entrepreneurs, and even a television director who share my passion for travel and writing.

The Permission Model of Travel Writing

After the explosion of the Internet, travel writing has been disrupted, up-ended, and tossed on its side. Contracting ad budgets have reduced pages in print media, magazines and newspapers. This caused the rates paid for travel writing to crater. Plus, many print outlets closed shop or migrated online. Online outlets only offered microscopic rates for full articles. Worse, markets started asking travel writers to write for free in exchange for more traffic to your website. Unfortunately, you can’t meet your monthly expenses on traffic.

Though travel blogs have exploded across the Inter-verse, perks for free travel have shrunk. Today, to merit free stays and comps on activities and tours, the travel industry demands that writers not only have article assignments but a strong online platform. This may entail a travel blog with a large readership, abundant website traffic, video channel viewers, social media followers.

And to compound this challenge, high-paying outlets, such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, will refuse any articles written by a writer supported with sponsored or free travel.

And without the support of free travel, combined with dropping article payment rates, it’s tough to have a profitable travel writing career.

But it’s possible.

Travel writing as a business operating on a permission-based model can be a tough slag.

And that’s bad.

Let’s break it down.

I want to go to Italy. I do my research and craft dozens of pitches to editors to land several article assignments. Basically, my pitches were asking for permission to write for their publication. After I’ve gathered my assignments, I engage in lots of networking, present my assignments to the travel industry serving my destination, airlines, resorts, and tourist commissions, for example. Again, I’m asking for permission to trade free flights, hotel stays, tours or activities in exchange for inclusion in my future articles.

And I’m not the only one asking for permission. Editor and publisher in-boxes are flooded with pitches from other travel writers, bloggers, Instagram influencers and other freelance writers.

Or as a travel blogger, again I’m stuck with asking for permission in order to run an efficient, money-making blog. I’m asking for likes, links, clicks, sponsors, ad placements and social media posts.

Anyone Can Be A Travel Writer

Today, anybody can be a travel writer. And that’s a beautiful thing. But everyone’s clamoring for permission. Which is just fine. No problem. But I’d like some cash flowing in while I’m asking.

What’s wrong with this permission model picture?

I have no control in my business! And travel writing, if you wish to do it right, is a business. After all, aren’t we in this game to travel more and earn more?

So, what’s the solution?

The Solution for Travel Writers Today

It’s time to escape from the Permission Model trap. And escape from those false depictions of travel writing as an endless, free vacation.

You can craft a new business model for a travel writing career can transform your bottom line.

Consider these questions:

• How about creating a travel writing business that pours streams of income into your pocket?
• How about selling your writing online, 24/7, around the world while traveling to your next destination or writing your next travel piece?
• How about positioning yourself as an expert in your niche so well that editors and publishers seek you out?

In other words, your readers and editors start asking for YOUR permission.

We’ve just watched the universe of travel writing evolve from print media into a beautiful new digital landscape. And in this new territory, there’s a profitable business model can be your reality.

There’s never been a better time to become a travel writer. And there is money to be made as well as your stellar reputation and a whole lot travel in your future!

It can happen.

But, (and there’s always a but), it takes time and persistence to get there.

So now that you’re around along for the ride, let’s decide how you want to design your travel writing career. Just your niche and start creating a great system for making money in the travel writing world.

You Already Own Your Greatest Travel Writing Asset

This is a manifesto for those who love traveling and writing. You share a passion for travel and writing with millions around the world. Now it’s time to start selling your travel writing. It’s time to start building assets, the guides, travel memoirs or travel photography collections, that only you can produce.

In addition to freelance travel writing and travel blogging, start creating your own assets for your travel writing career.

After all, you may not realize this, but you already own your greatest asset for your travel writing career.

Your greatest asset as a travel writer – your voice.

 Only you can share your experiences, adventures and disasters in one, and only one, unique way.

Think about it. Only Anthony Bourdain can transport us to a meal in a Singapore food stall and induce us to immediately book a flight to savor the flavors.

Perhaps only you can let us experience the frisson of joy while viewing a sunset upon an Alaskan glacier. Maybe only you can describe the perfect French pastry you created in a Parisian culinary class. Perhaps no one else can recount your hilarious misadventures on the road and make us crave more.

The greatest travel writers bring their unique voices into the world and you need to know this.

The world needs to hear your voice.

And you know this. That’s why you are reading this blog post.

Start your journey. Become a travel writer with Travel Writing Success Coaching.