A travel writer may compose articles for magazines or newspapers about various locations within the region, or globally. They might work for a guidebook and write small informational pieces for the book on various places. They also might work for an airline magazine, or travel company, writing about the locations to which that airline or company travels. A travel writer may make their living writing about travel itself — tips, tricks, and information on how best to travel. All of these things can be included in the job duties of a travel writer.
Most importantly, however, a travel writer must be able to both travel and write successfully. These are the two things that must happen in order to be a travel writer. Not only must you be able to travel, but you must be good at it — this involves experience at moving from place to place. Not only must you be able to string sentences together to form ideas, but you must also be a truly talented writer. If you have these two qualifications, you can think about being a travel writer.
Publications
When you are a travel writer, chances are good that you will be working for publications. This is done in one of three ways. You might work solely for one publication or company — such as a travel magazine or an airline. Or, you might work as a freelancer and write pieces which you will submit to many different publications, with the hopes of being published. The third way is a combination of both. Many travel writers are hired by a certain guidebook publisher, airline, or travel agency — but they also freelance on the side to make that extra money here and there. Therefore, when you are a travel writer, you want to think about what type of publication for which you would like to work; whether or not you would like to work for only that entity, or whether you would like to do some freelancing as well.
Freelancing Versus In-House
When it comes right down to it, your main choice is going to be whether you'd like to freelance or whether you'd like to work for a specific publication. There are many advantages and disadvantages to both.
Freelancing
First of all, when freelancing, you have the freedom to go anywhere and write anything — which can make you more marketable. You can query publications and see if they would be interested in a piece from a particular place. Freelancing allows you more freedom to write articles with subjects of your own choosing. You would write the piece and then try to sell it for the largest possible amount of money. Freelancing does offer you great freedom in many ways. You can feel free to choose which assignments to take — and if you don't like the way that a certain publication or company handles their writers, you don't have to work for them.
In-House
Working for a specific publication does offer you a greater sense of job security. It will give you assignments and you will do them, and as long as you keep on doing your job you will keep your job well, you’ll continue to receive a paycheck. Also, when a publication sets up a travel story idea, they often pay for the travel there and back, so that you can do your job. So your work expenses are handled by your employer.
However, working for a publication means that you are stuck with them. If you don't like the way they do things, you have to stay with them and do things their way. If you don't like the assignments that you get, you don’t have much of a say about it, either.
Tips
If you are interested in becoming a successful travel writer there are a few things to keep in mind. Travel often before writing on the subject professionally, and work on your writing skills as well. Also, remember try and sell yourself and your abilities as much as possible to prospective employers, so that you will get hired for the best travel writing position available to you.
