How To Write Stellar Travel Articles
Traveling to exotic locations while writing articles for travel websites and magazines might seem like a dream job. Finding clients and crafting a quality piece is harder than it seems, however. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional, these tips can help you forge a successful writing career.
1. Manage Your Time
Meeting deadlines requires discipline. Similarly, traveling can be stressful; the jet lag from airplane flights and time changes can make it challenging to maintain a normal routine. To turn work in with ease, you can practice habit creation to minimize procrastination and feel in control of your surroundings, no matter where you’re located.
Getting disciplined in scheduling your day can be enormously beneficial. Eating three meals at certain times, taking a break for exercising and sightseeing on weekends only can help you turn in better assignments and complete assignments in less time.
2. Take a Tour
Readers want to know about exciting places to visit in a particular city or country. As a travel writer, you might be required to conduct research such as visiting museums, architectural landmarks and beaches. This can be time consuming and expensive. Instead, consider booking a tour that covers all the places you want to see at an affordable price.
A southern Caribbean cruise vacation, for example, can provide a lot of material for writing. Sailing the ocean gives you the opportunity to socialize with your peers or relax and admire the sparkling water while stopping in gorgeous destinations like Curacao, Barbados, Costa Rica, Bahamas and more. There are many tour packages available to suit your preferences or the requirements of an editor or publication.
3. Do Your Research
Editors receive dozens or even hundreds of pitches. To land worthy assignments, you must know how to separate yourself from the competition. Always have an updated resume at hand that showcases your experiences. When you’re emailing prospective clients, prepare pitches for article topics. Editors appreciate writers who are invested enough to come up with engaging ideas for their website or magazine.
Read and study your competition for article inspiration. Many travel writers are heading to the same destinations and you want your work to be as unique as possible. There’s no such thing as too much research on a country; the more you know the better you can craft a story to wow your readers. You should have a sense of the weather, currency, best places to stay and top tourist gems.
4. Ask Questions
It’s easy to visit a destination, look around and take pictures. Speaking with locals and people you meet can add flavor to an article too, and it’s often disregarded by writers. Take a few minutes to chat with a front desk associate at a hotel or a waiter at a restaurant. Visit a bar to enjoy a drink with a stranger or say hello to your housekeeper. The insight you obtain can help readers get an inside glimpse of a country.
5. Edit Like a Pro
The articles you submit should be free of spelling and grammar errors. In addition, there are techniques beyond a standard proofread that can elevate your artistry to spark the imagination of readers and please managing editors.
Advanced editing requires careful reading and thought instead of a quick skim. You can think about important facts and descriptions to include and how to weave them into a story. Or, you can re-write paragraphs to ensure your language is provocative instead of fraught with clichés. Writers might work through several drafts before completing a final version.
6. Have Fun
Although writing is hard work, try to soak up your experiences as much as possible. At the end of the day, you’re in an unfamiliar place for a short time. The quality of your experiences shines through in your writing; if you’re excited to visit cultural destinations, then you can take readers along for the ride.
Making a living travel writing is possible with the right mind frame. These six tips can assist you on the path to adventure.
