This post continues from yesterday's post in response to a reader's request for advice on developing a freelance travel writing career and financing research trips:
11. When you get a guidebook commission, start pitching story ideas on the destination - the fee for a single story could equal a quarter of your guidebook fee. Sell enough stories and you're finally profiting from travel writing. Keep in mind some publishers, such as Lonely Planet, forbid you from writing for their competitors on the same geographical area that you've written on for them, making the job less lucrative and making it difficult for you to develop destination expertise: read your contract so you don't breach it.
12. Can't get a guidebook commission? Consider fact-checking work - while it doesn't pay as much, it's a good way to develop research skills and it develop your contacts, and - if you're willing - can get you to a city or country. A fact-checking fee may only cover your air-fare, but once there you can be developing ideas and gathering content for stories to pitch and write when you get home.
13. Got a magazine commission but no guidebook work? - ask your editor for a letter or email confirming the commission tp forward to airlines, hotels, car rental companies, etc, to secure 'media rates' (established discounted rates, like corporate rates) and complimentary stays. (Check this is okay with your editor first as they may have a policy stipulating their writers can't accept discounts or freebies.)
14. Before jumping into full-time travel writing, ensure you have savings in the bank - even when you get a commission, the contract and cheque/bank transfer can be a long time coming. Sometimes projects are commissioned at the last minute (especially when another writer falls through or schedules change), so you need to be prepared to jump on a plane even if your payment hasn't gone through.
15. Do your guidebook research write-up at the destination - most writers go to a city or country, do their research, then fly home to write up the book. Consider renting an apartment in the destination (cheaper than moving between hotels), staying longer, and thus gathering more and better quality content from which to produce stories later on.
16. Embark on content-gathering trips in between commissions - you have a guidebook to research and write in one destination, then another book four weeks after manuscript submission in a nearby country. Don't waste air-fares flying home, but use the period in between to do some content-gathering; do an overland trip between the destinations or base yourself in a cheap but interesting place in-between to scout stories.
17. Can't get any commissions at all? Be creative - explore other options for getting to a destination that you can write about. Find work as an English teacher, yoga instructor, seasonal worker etc, and develop a story on working holidays focused on your experience. Line up some volunteer work with a charity or aid organization and write about volunteering abroad.
18. If you must self-finance your first research trip, then don't spend more than you'd ordinarily spend on a holiday, in case your investment doesn't pay off later, and seek out destinations and experiences that are unusual or rarely written about so you have a greater chance of getting something published.
19. Once you have been commissioned - develop your relationship with that editor, go the extra mile for them, stay in touch, and keep pitching ideas - especially if this is the only person who has commissioned you so far! If the editor likes what you do and keeps publishing you, then stick with that publication and take the opportunity to build your portfolio. You can branch out later on.
20. Ensure you continue to get commissioned - once you're established as a travel writer, continue to develop your greatest assets: your research and writing abilities, your travel and travel industry knowledge, your understanding of the market, travellers and readers, and your destination expertise. In other words, keep travelling, keep reading and writing, and always keep your readers in mind.
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