Welcome!
When you’re ready to develop your skills, find markets for your articles, or start earning money as a blogger or travel website owner, here’s a pared-down list of books and sites that will hopefully be useful to you as you navigate through the travel writing world! We will be updating this resources for travel writers page regularly, so please keep checking back for new additions!
References and Databases
The following resources and databases commonly list editors to pitch to, their e-mail address, and a phone number for the main desk. A bit of sleuthing will often accomplish the same thing for free (a magazine masthead will have somebody’s e-mail address under the business/advertising part you can extrapolate). When time is money though, a database will get you rolling in a hurry. (Note that the services that require a subscription fee are noted with an asterisk--but remember, a great resource (and these are great!) beats a crummy free one any day!).
- Your local library (for magazines and reference books) - Search for your closest public library here!
- Writer’s Marketplace book – access in the library as the travel section is very sparse
- A good newsstand (at Borders or Barnes & Noble you can write down key masthead info and study the issues without buying every one.)
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- * The best resource out there used to be the Travel Magazine Database. It looks like the owner hasn't updated it for years though, so it's probably not worth paying for unless it gets revived.
- * Bookmarket.com has downloadable agents and publishers lists plus regional magazines
- * Publishers Marketplace has databases and a query service
- TravMedia.com - sends out editor alerts and press releases
- * ResponseSource - database of editors, press releases, and journalist alerts
Job postings and leads
- WritersWeekly site and newsletter
- The Writers Job Newsletter has a freemium model, with a free version and more robust one with more leads and a database.
- Cristina Jane maintains a list of editors looking for pitches here.
- * Opportunities of the Week is an inexpensive newsletter with leads gleaned from social media.
- JournalismJobs.com
- Media Bistro's Job Openings
- DynamiteJobs.com
- TravMedia.com
- * Upwork.com (you pay a portion of the revenues)
- * Sologig.com (you pay a portion of the revenues)
- * FlexJobs.com
- FreelanceWriting.com
- Jobs.Problogger.net
- Indeed.com (search by keyword)
- Craigslist (search an area, keyword)
- LinkedIn (search "jobs" by industry)
- BloggingPro.com
Writing, Websites, and Newsletters
Some of these are specific to travel writing, some are for freelancers in general. Many post a steady stream of openings for bloggers and are therefore a better source for online opportunities for beginners than some of the above.
- Travel-writers-exchange.com
- AdWeek FishbowlNY
- Bookmarket.com– from book marketing expert John Kremer
- FreelanceWritingGigs.com
- GoinsWriter.com - from book marketing and writing expert Jeff Goins
- Contently.net's The Freelancer
- FundsForWriters.com
Communities
- Thekiti.com – a place where PR/marketing people connect with writers for announcements, press trips, and help with assignments
- HelpAReporter.com – THE place where journalists seeking sources post their needs
- TravelMassive.com - Global network of travel industry insiders
Professional Development Associations and Networking Conferences
- American Society of Journalists and Authors
- North American Travel Journalists Association
- Society of American Travel Writers
- Book Passage conference
- International Food, Wine, & Travel Writers
- British Guild of Travel Writers
- Travel Media Association of Canada
- Outdoor Writers and Photography Guild
- Australian Society of Travel Writers
- TravelClassics conference
- Travel & Words conference
Book Publishers and Agents
Many of the vanity press, print on demand, and e-book publishers are flaky and just out to make money off your set-up fees, but here are a few with transparent terms and reasonable costs. I’ve only used the first three, however, so do your homework and read all the fine print.
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- Booklocker.com
- kdp.com (Amazon)
- Ingram Spark
- Smashwords.com
Other Writing Websites to Learn From
Travel Writing and Creative Non-fiction Courses
There are a million of these out there it seems, but the following survive on results and good word of mouth rather than extreme hype and hard-sell direct mail pitches. Assume they all have a substantial fee.
- Travel Writing 2.0's own Travel Writing Overdrive Course - a video series led by Tim Leffel detailing everything you need to know about being a profitable travel writer. You can either join up for the mastermind course that has one-on-one consultations and a cohort of other travel writers, or the self-paced course.
- Self-PublishingSchool.com - Chandler’s Bolt’s free intro course and paid in-depth one on publishing your first book and marketing it.
- Paris Creative Writing workshop
- MediaBistro offers writing courses, a membership, and webinars.
- Writer's Digest courses and webinars
- Gotham Writer's Workshop - for writers based in New York City
- Larry Habegger's course for writers based in San Francisco
- Tribe Writers by Jeff Goins
- Start a Blog that Matters by Corbett Barr at Fizzle.co
- Fizzle.co offers courses for the online entrepreneur
- Make a Living Writing offers courses on article writing and pitching to editors
If you know of any other legitimate resources for travel writers that are free or are a great value, with proven worth, let me know!