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How to be a Travel Writer

Page 23

by Don George


  The Expeditioner

  www.theexpeditioner.com

  An online travel magazine featuring articles, travel news, commentary, insights and video from bloggers around the globe.

  The Wayward Post

  thewaywardpost.com

  An online magazine with a social conscience, looking for socially conscious trip guides, inspiring storytelling and features about using travel as a force for good throughout the world.

  Transitions Abroad

  www.transitionsabroad.com

  Designed for people who are interested in studying or working – or simply living – abroad. It includes useful links to numerous travel writing sites and blogs. They encourage contributions and run an annual travel writing competition.

  World Hum

  www.worldhum.com

  Publishes first-person narratives, ‘rants and raves’ and travel interviews. Stories published here have won Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards and been included in travel anthologies including The Best American Travel Writing. Also provides links to travel-related journals, magazines, communities, blogs, newspaper sections, book publishers and other helpful sites.

  World Travel Guide

  www.worldtravelguide.net

  Columbus Travel Media publishes guides to top travel destinations and loads of features, updated daily. They seek contributors for features and for travel guide updates.

  Travelmag

  www.travelmag.co.uk

  A fiercely independent online travel magazine interested in both articles and pictures – there’s no payment but it’s a good way of getting your name in print.

  Resources for writers

  Absolute Write

  www.absolutewrite.com

  There’s a great list of recommended resources for writers on here, loads of personal experiences and tips from published authors and a very active forum.

  Allen & Unwin Writing Centre

  www.allenandunwin.com/being-a-writer

  ‘Being a Writer’ gathers inspirational tips and practical advice for writers, including author interviews, useful links and competition news.

  Author Network

  www.author-network.com

  An extensive range of resources for writers including information on festivals, courses, agents and competitions, plus tips and insights from authors.

  Break into Travel Writing

  breakintotravelwriting.com

  A large collection of podcasts and articles covering the travel writers’ life, and how to take your blog to the next level.

  Copyblogger

  www.copyblogger.com

  Understand the basics of content marketing and how you can apply them to your blog writing.

  Contently’s The Freelancer

  contently.net

  Resources, trends and insights for the freelance writer, plus a database of freelance rates. The ‘Content Strategist’ blog here will help you keep up to date with trends in social media, SEO and blogging.

  Fiverr

  www.fiverr.com

  Need someone to create a logo for your website or blog? Want to outsource some interview transcriptions? You can find someone to do almost anything for a super-cheap price here – be prepared to shop around to get quality results.

  Freelance Writing

  www.freelancewriting.com

  A job board (you can filter your search for travel writing jobs) as well as tons of resources, tips, articles, guidelines and contests.

  Goins, Writer

  goinswriter.com

  Jeff Goins’ website and blog contain lots of resources, insights and ideas for writing professionally, maintaining your creativity and becoming an online entrepreneur.

  Jane Friedman

  janefriedman.com

  Practical information from a publishing expert, particularly useful for keeping on top of tech and self-publishing.

  Mediabistro

  www.mediabistro.com/career-advice

  The ‘Go Freelance’ section of the Mediabistro site has lots of advice on how to pitch and managing your freelance writing career.

  Moz

  moz.com/tools

  This online marketing company is a one-stop-shop for blogging beginners with free guides to help you get your head around SEO, link building, social media and much more. Follow the blog for the latest trends and insights.

  Online Newspapers

  www.onlinenewspapers.com

  Comprehensive list and links to thousands of international newspapers.

  PublishersGlobal

  www.publishersglobal.com

  Links to every publisher in the world.

  ProBlogger

  problogger.com

  The best how-to-blog site on the web – everything you need to know about setting up, writing and monetizing your blog.

  SmartBlogger

  smartblogger.com

  Blog writing, tech tips, how to build traffic and make your blog as big as it can be.

  The Write Life

  thewritelife.com

  A community site featuring contributors who specialize in all areas of professional writing – ebook promotion, blogging, finding an agent and much more.

  The Write Practice

  thewritepractice.com

  This site focuses on honing your writing skills – free articles and tutorials to improve your writing as well as paid programs and a community to help you reach your creative goal.

  The Writer

  www.writermag.com

  Articles, resources for freelancers, event and course listings and writing prompts to keep your creative juices flowing.

  Travel Writing 2.0

  travelwriting2.com

  From where to find freelance jobs to interviews with successful travel writers to lists of resources to a blog full of insights – expert Tim Leffel’s website is a treasure trove for budding travel writers.

  Who Pays Writers?

  whopayswriters.com

  An invaluable resource: an anonymous, crowd-sourced list of which publications pay freelance writers, and how much, based on the personal experiences of the community.

  wpbeginner

  www.wpbeginner.com

  A comprehensive how-to site to help you set up your blog in WordPress.

  Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook

  www.writersandartists.co.uk

  An ‘insider’s guide to the media’, including loads of advice for unpublished writers, a research center, an active community of writers and a calendar of literary events.

  Writer’s Digest

  www.writersdigest.com

  ‘Write better, get published’ – articles, tips, blogs, courses, forums, event listings and a blog on how to find a literary agent.

  Zero to Travel

  zerototravel.com

  Articles and podcasts to help you build your life around travel, including how to get your start as a travel writer.

  Online courses

  Great Escape Publishing

  www.greatescapepublishing.com

  Travel writing, blogging and photography, but also courses covering other ways of making money while traveling like import/exporting and running tours.

  MatadorU

  matadoru.com

  Offers courses in beginners’ and advanced travel writing, travel photography and film-making.

  Mediabistro

  www.mediabistro.com/online-training-courses

  The career site for media professionals offers courses in a wide range of writing- and freelancing-related subjects like social media marketing, SEO writing, podcasting and travel writing, among many more.

  Superstar Blogging

  superstarblogging.nomadicmatt.com

  Travel blogger Nomadic Matt runs courses in travel writing and blogging, travel photography and taking video.

  The Recipe for SEO Success

  www.therecipeforseosuccess.com.au

  Sydney copywriter Kate Toon’s ‘10 Day SEO Challenge’ is a great introduction to SEO; she al
so runs a copywriting school and blogs about all things freelance writing. Plus, she’s funny.

  Travel Blog Success

  travelblogsuccess.com

  Courses in travel blogging, Facebook marketing, freelance writing and brand partnerships, and a members-only group to help you find your way to a successful blog.

  Writers Online Workshops

  www.writersonlineworkshops.com

  Courses to hone your writing skills – character development, description and setting, editing and revising your work – as well as your professional skills – writing a query letter, how to market and sell your ebook, and much more.

  Reference and tools

  Bartleby.com

  www.bartleby.com/reference

  A little dated, but a good source of freely available dictionaries, quotation collections, literary encyclopedias and histories.

  Dictionary.com

  www.dictionary.com

  Online dictionary and thesaurus.

  GrammarBook.com

  www.grammarbook.com

  Help with all those pesky grammar and usage questions (for US English).

  time and date.com

  www.timeanddate.com

  World time zones, meeting planner, international country codes and much more besides.

  Universal Currency Converter

  www.xe.com

  Gives you the ability to calculate your dwindling finances online in any number of different currencies.

  World Standards

  www.worldstandards.eu/electricity

  Useful information on the types of plugs used worldwide (plus some other world comparisons).

  Travel trends and information

  ABTA

  www.abta.com

  The Association of British Travel Agents, you can download their most recent trends reports here.

  AITO

  www.aito.co.uk

  The Association of Independent Tour Operators; contact them for story ideas, specialist information or press trips.

  ANTOR

  www.antor.com

  Association of National Tourist Offices in the UK; the peak body for the world’s tourist offices.

  ETC

  www.etc-corporate.org The European Travel Commission promotes tourism to Europe and has regular, comprehensive trends reports downloadable from their website.

  Gov.UK

  www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

  Country-by-country travel advice from the British government.

  IATA

  www.iata.org

  The International Air Transport Association site features some useful reports, facts and figures.

  Intellicast.com

  www.intellicast.com

  Extensive weather information to help plan outdoor and weather-sensitive activities such as golfing, sailing, hiking, skiing or relaxing at the beach. Free, accurate and up-to-date weather information and forecasts for most US and featured international destinations.

  National Rail Enquiries

  www.nationalrail.co.uk

  Information about Britain’s train services.

  OAG Travel News

  www.oag.com

  The market and trend reports published by this air-travel intelligence company could be useful for identifying future travel trends and story ideas.

  PATA

  www.pata.org

  Pacific Asia Travel Association is the leading authority on travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region; some of their trend reports can be downloaded for free.

  Phocuswright

  www.phocuswright.com

  Credible data, information and analysis on the travel, tourism and hospitality industries – detailed reports available; see the Press Room for access to events.

  Skift

  skift.com

  A travel industry intelligence company with a technology focus, providing info and predictions on travel trends.

  The Weather Channel

  www.weather.com

  Current worldwide conditions and forecasts, maps, weather-related news, educational material, seasonal features, and other resources for travel planning.

  Thorn Tree Travel Forum

  www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree

  Lonely Planet’s online community of travelers gathers here to exchange information about anything and everything travel-related; you’ll also find discussions about culture, literature, food, and politics.

  Tnooz

  www.tnooz.com

  News, analysis, commentary, education and data for the travel industry focusing on travel technology, including marketing, devices, start-ups, social media and commerce.

  Tourism Australia

  www.tourism.australia.com

  The research section includes a breakdown of visitor arrivals data and other market intelligence.

  TravelMole

  www.travelmole.com

  Travel industry site with daily trade news reports, event listings and reference directories.

  Travel Weekly

  www.travelweekly.com

  ‘The Travel Industry’s Trusted Voice’ in the USA provides news for travel agents, with a good section on travel trends.

  Travel Weekly

  www.travelweekly.com.au

  The news source for Australia’s travel industry, with the latest news and travel-related event listings.

  US Department of State

  www.state.gov/misc/list

  Country-by-country travel advice from the US government.

  US Department of Homeland Security: Transportation Security Administration

  www.tsa.gov

  Information, links, tips and requirements for air, rail, passenger vessel, highway and mass transit travel.

  US Travel Association

  www.ustravel.org

  Research, statistics, analysis and forecasting for the US travel industry.

  VisitBritain

  www.visitbritain.com

  The British Tourist Authority site has a comprehensive media center.

  World Tourism Organization

  www2.unwto.org

  Look in the Media section of this site for handy factsheets, publications and trends reports.

  World Travel Guide

  www.worldtravelguide.net

  Travel information on virtually every country in the world.

  WorldTravelWatch

  www.worldtravelwatch.com

  ‘Reporting on worldwide safety issues for travelers since 1985’ – from crime waves, disease outbreaks and transit strikes to political upheavals; also cultural quirks and tourism-specific news.

  Ecotourism & responsible travel

  ClimateCare

  www.climatecare.org

  The site has a carbon calculator so you can calculate and offset your travel carbon footprint; a useful resource for writing about ethical travel.

  Ethical Traveler

  www.ethicaltraveler.com

  A non-profit organization seeking to use tourism to protect human rights as well as the environment, with lots of advice on how (and where) to travel ethically.

  The International Ecotourism Society

  www.ecotourism.org

  The world’s largest and oldest ecotourism organization, TIES is dedicated to generating and disseminating information about ecotourism and has a network of members around the world in the travel industry, development and academia.

  Tourism Concern

  www.tourismconcern.org.uk

  Campaigning for ethical and fairly traded tourism.

  Embassies, consulates & passports

  US Department of State

  www.travel.state.gov

  Provides information to US citizens about passports and visas required to visit other countries.

  UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office

  www.fco.gov.uk

  Provides details of all embassies and consulates in the UK, as well as travel and passport advice.

 

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