My Travel Writing Dream

My Travel Writing Dream

By Susie Kearley

In 2011, my 15 year career in marketing came to an unexpected end. After a few false starts, I decided to launch a new career as a freelance writer. I pitched a wide range of ideas to magazine editors, and eventually found work in niche subjects, writing about health and nutrition, the paranormal, and historic places. 

Some of those early experiences introduced me to the world of travel writing. After doing a few pieces on historic houses, I bought a caravan and started writing for Caravan magazine. Travel writing complemented my interest in historic places and gave my British holidays a whole new purpose. There were no press trips to exotic locations, but travel writing was still a dream come true. It led to me writing about some overseas locations too.

As my workload in the travel sector became more regular, it became clear that I needed to improve my photography. I invested in a professional camera, a few lenses, and went on a photography course. Then it became clear that my photos needed enhancement, so I bought Photoshop and enrolled on a course. The end result was better pictures, a new interest in photography, and greater commitment to travel writing, as well as dabbling in stock photography.

I started writing occasional travel pieces for women’s magazines, overseas publications, and blogs. However, as years passed, it seemed harder to secure regular work. The industry started cost-cutting and competition intensified. I’d also written pieces that editors had commissioned but not published, which was frustrating. 

Then COVID-19 struck. The pandemic devastated demand for travel writing. Caravan magazine, who’d already slashed their rates, stopped commissioning altogether. So did other titles in that sector. In fact, editors across all kinds of titles, from countryside to regional magazines stopped commissioning. Finding work during lockdown was a challenge. I started writing about COVID-19 instead.

In June 2020, with work being slow, I decided to compile some of my caravanning adventures into an ebook.

I’d written a series for Caravan magazine, following a long trip around Scotland in 2014. It was a memorable adventure and I decided to turn these stories into an ebook, illustrated with beautiful pictures we’d taken on our journey. 

On our Grand Tour of Scotland in a Freedom Caravan, we went up the west side of the country, past Loch Lomond, through Iveraray, and up to Oban, visiting Mull, Iona, and the Isle of Skye en route. We stopped in Ullapool, then travelled along tiny winding roads, blocked by hundreds of sheep. We continued up country, until we reached the beautiful deserted beaches of Durness, where we stayed for three nights.

We travelled along the north Coast to John O Groats, taking a day trip to the Orkney islands in persistent rain. Coming back down country, we called at Dornoch, Inverness and the Cairngorms. It was an incredible and exhausting journey, that took over three weeks to complete, but it was also extremely memorable, and something we’d like to do again. I was commissioned to write 13 articles based on those journeys. They formed the basis of the ebook.

Pros and Cons of Travel Writing

The pros of travel writing are obvious. You can write about places that inspire you, turn leisure into work and have fun writing about things that go wrong… and the things that go right! You get paid for writing about what you enjoy, and the research is much more enjoyable than, for example, writing about the pandemic. Travel writing can be extremely rewarding, and motivate you to pack more into your holiday than you would do normally…. because no-one wants to read about you lying on a beach for a week.

On the downside, it can be hard to get a break. The costs can be high, and rates of pay are low and falling in some sectors of publishing. Although some publishers still pay well.

Sometimes you’ll find an editor wants a piece urgently, and you’re expected to write it while you’re on your journey. I always do drafts while I travel, but submitting the final copy while you travel is completely different. I remember reading about one writer whose editor was so insistent on a quick submission that he was forced to write his article on his mobile phone, while being canoed along the Amazon river. The end result was that it spoiled the experience. And it wasn’t published until many months later – so much for ‘urgent’.

Photography is important for travel writers. Many of the best travel writers will develop their photography skills and invest in good equipment. Writers can get good shots from regional tourist boards and websites like Visit Britain Images. Even compact cameras will take a decent image on a sunny day – and for some publications, that’s fine. Upmarket publications often prefer to source their own images. So while investing in photography skills and equipment may advance your career, it’s not essential.

Where’s my travel writing going next?

Today the UK is heading for a second lockdown. I’ve lined some work up writing about chickens. I expect in the longer term travel writing opportunities will recover. Some magazines are still open to articles about what’s happening in popular travel destinations, even if we’re not permitted to travel there at the moment.

Also, there are other ways to make money from your travels, for example, blogging, like Goats on the Road who have affiliate links on their blog and run courses, to help pay for their travels.

Want to know more? Read about my Travels Through Scotland, or explore some of my Books on Freelance Writing

Follow me on Twitter @susiekearley 

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Category: How To and Tips