How to be a Travel Writer
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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.