Sucheta Rawal: Travel Writer, Author, and Speaker

I’d known about Sucheta Rawal for years and was happy to finally meet her last year at a NATJA party during the International Media Marketplace (which is about the only reason to visit frigid NYC in the winter.) She’s an accomplished freelance writer, occasional blogger, and children’s book author, but also gets paid to get on stage as a speaker and run workshops. I tracked her down recently to get her back story and advice for other travel writers. 

By any measure, you’re a successful travel writer, but everyone has to start somewhere. I know you didn’t start out in this field after university, so what was the winding path to where you are now?

When I was growing up in India, I had no concept of a Travel Writer. I had not even seen a travel magazines or watched a travel show. So like any good South Asian kid, I studied hard, went to university, got a degree in finance, and started working in investment banking. That allowed me the funds to pursue my passion for traveling, and I used all my bonuses for four big trips a year.

As I started traveling on my own, my friends and colleagues often asked me to help them plan their own trips, and asked for advice on where to go. Someone suggested that I start writing a blog so people were not calling me all the time and that’s how I really got into travel writing. It was initially meant to be my own travel dump, and then I started contributing to some local publications here in Atlanta, just as a hobby, something I did on the weekend while holding a corporate job.

I honestly never thought there was a career like that. It took about 5-6 years before I was getting enough work from writing that I decided to move into contract work & eventually quit my job. I make a lot less money today but I am 100 times happier!

When did things start to feel like they were clicking? Was it a certain article publication or series of things that made you start to feel like this was a real career for you?

I did not know much about this trade initially. So I started volunteering at conferences that allowed me to get in for free. I remember attending conferences in Austin & New York where I found out for the first time about press trips. I had mostly been writing about food until that point and they told me that you can get free travel to write about food in other destinations.

That was a game changer for me. I was already well-versed in different cuisines & cooking techniques & until then, had been paying my own way to travel for food. Combining my passion for food & travel made things a lot easier and more work started to come in.

You’ve gotten into a lot of big-name publications over the years. Any editor pitching advice you’d like to share?

Yes, I have written for CNN, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, Travel+Leisure, Fodor’s, AAA, AFAR, Condé Nast, Southern Living, etc.—pretty much all the heavy hitters! In terms of pitching advice, a lot depends on being at the right place at the right time. You really have to know what the editor is specifically looking for and when, otherwise it’s feels like shooting brilliant ideas in the dark.

I follow a few editors who I really want to work with on social media for their call for pitches, read their editorial guidelines very carefully, and take a lot of time to craft a pitch that might interest them. I would say my success rate is pretty high just because I don’t actually pitch a lot. I am very intentional about each pitch.

Many writers who freelance have long said it’s tough to get stories about sustainable travel published and read, though there finally seems to be a growing appetite for it among consumers. How do you go about getting these stories accepted and told?

I feel you can, and should, approach all stories in a sustainable way. I have been personally interested in the subject ever since I first started writing, which is why I founded Go Eat Give, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of meaningful and sustainable travel. I feel travel is a force for good, not just about vanity and vacation. Every single choice we make during our travels—from where to stay, which tour to go on, to which kind of cup to drink out of—leaves an impression on the places and people you visit.

My blog on Go Eat Give was named one of the most influential cultural blogs in the world multiple times. You will see a lot of stories on there that are probably not anywhere else in mainstream publications.

But for publications too, I feel it is not hard to get the stories published or read. You just need to make them fun, entertaining and insightful.

Tell us about how your books for children came about and how you’ve marketed them.

I started writing the Beato Goes To series of children books in 2016 because I felt that there wasn’t much out there to educate kids about the world. Kids don’t get to travel or read about travel as adults too, yet them have the most impressionable and curious minds.

It was actually when I was staying at a sheep farm in Greenland that impacted me the most and promoted me to start the series. On this super remote farm, there was a seven-year-old girl, Ina, who made such a deep impression on me. She was so isolated from the world, but she was able to communicate with adults, speak multiple languages & have meaningful conversations. She practically acted as my tour guide!

I wanted to tell her story to other kids who are consumed by electronics, after-school activities, and practically very little adult conversation. And who better to tell the story than a traveling cat? Beato is actually my own now 15-year-old Norwegian Forest cat with a big personality. The books are based on my actual trips, people I have met, and photographs I’ve taken. The idea is to educate kids about the world so that they grow up to be more open-minded global citizens.

You’re also a successful speaker, with three TedX talks, travel shows, and corporate events in your credits. Has this turned into a money maker for you or is it a branding and visibility strategy?

Yes, as a professional speaker I do get paid for my work. I gave my first speech when I was 20 years old and received several accolades for speaking. Now I feel that I have such a rich repertoire of stories from having traveled the whole world, that I would like to share them with larger audiences and on bigger stages. In fact, that’s the next chapter in my career as a food & travel writer.

Imagine somebody just handed you a suitcase full of cash to go somewhere for two weeks with whoever you want, no writing or posting obligations. Where are you headed?

Right now, I am thinking of a luxurious wellness retreat, perhaps where I can quieten my mind, detox my body and restore healthy sleeping patterns. Being on the road so much also takes a toll on your body. I have never been on a long retreat like this before (some of them charge $5-10k/ week) so a suitcase full of cash will definitely be helpful!

With a mission to promote meaningful and sustainable travel, award-winning South Asian travel writer, columnist, author and speaker, Sucheta Rawal has contributed to over two dozen publications including CNN, TIME Magazine, NatGeo, Travel+Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and Fodor’s. Sucheta is a three time TEDx speaker and author of five Beato Goes To children’s books that educate kids about the diversity of the world. She has personally traveled across seven continents and speaks about her experiences from her firsthand perspective. She also founded the non-profit, Go Eat Give, to raise awareness of different cultures through travel, food and community service. See more at SuchetaRawal.com.