niedziela, 24 grudnia 2017

Becoming A Freelance Travel Writer

By Douglas Moore


The world is a large place, full of many countries and cultures that are very different from your own. You may have dreamed of traveling the globe at some point in your life, but found that it may not have been in your budget, not to mention your schedule. It can get costly very quickly, and you may not have enough vacation time to cover the days you will be gone. One way to get around this is to enter the freelance travel writer field, which allows you to traverse the globe and get paid for it, instead of having to pay yourself.

While a regular worker would be an actual employee of a magazine they write for, you as a freelancer would not be an employee, but rather a contractor. You may work with several companies at one time in actuality.

Instead of getting assignments from an editor, you would instead come up with an idea, called a story pitch. You would pitch that story to various editors, and they will then decide if they wish to hire you or not. The pitch could be for a single story, a series of stories, a column, or perhaps even a book if you have lots of stories to tell all at once.

The person you pitched to can hire you for the one assignment only, or ask that you come back and contribute later. You would still be a freelancer, but with a recurring gig that could help you get some financial stability. You would generally still be able to pitch other ideas to other publications. The assignments could be reviews of specific hotels or attractions, or a city or state. You may even get to travel abroad.

While some articles could focus on a country or city, some will have a completely different focus. For example, you may be tasked with writing about the local wildlife and ecology of a place. Perhaps you will write about an entire cuisine instead of simply reviewing a restaurant that serves that cuisine. Some publications will pay for your travel expenses for you, while others will reimburse you later.

To increase the likelihood of an editor accepting your pitch, you will want to show previous pieces of writing, especially ones that have been published. A degree in English, journalism, or similar field is helpful, though not always required.

You may not be a journalist as you embark on this career field, but you should still hold yourself to journalistic standards. This includes those given by the Society of American Travel Writers, which state that you should not take money for a positive review, but instead only accept payment for an objective story. You should never plagiarize, even in part, from any other piece, published or not.

It is also important to note before you get started that since you are not an official employee of a company, even if you work for them often, that you do not get the associated benefits. That means no vacation days or sick leave, and no medical benefits whatsoever. These must be paid out of your own pocket, so make sure you charge enough for your articles to pay for all of these extra expenses. A little prior planning helps ensure you have a smooth transition.




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