by Holli C. Buck

Created on: December 03, 2008

Travel writing is a dream occupation for me because it marries my two favorite pastimes: writing and travel. But what exactly is entailed in becoming a travel writer?
First, you need to have a love of writing and a love of travel.
The worst kind of travel writer is one who isn't enamored with both of those things. Second, you have to have the drive to do both, not just the desire.

So it will entail spending some hours in the car, traveling through places you would rather avoid in order to reach your destination. (If you can afford to fly everywhere, and that is even better.) And travel writing will also involve frustration with long hours accomplishing little writing, and ingestion of a few quarts of coffee. But overall, you will find that it is all worth it.
Besides having the desire to pursue a career in travel writing, you will also need to have practical tools to use. Four tools that I think are helpful when travel writing are: a notebook, a camera, an audio recorder and a laptop.
Notebook: I always carry a pocket-sized notebook with me to jot down any thoughts or ideas that come to my mind. It helps me keep track of the restaurants I visit and the sites that I see while out on my travels. And since I choose not to carry around my laptop while I am out and about (opting to leave it in my hotel room), my notebook is my most important tool that I have with me.
Camera: I am also a photographer, so I am never without my camera. I tell the story of my travels not only with words but with sights that I am able to capture with my camera's lens. Whether or not you plan to use your photographs in your travel writing submission, it may still help to take photographs so that you can keep them as a point of reference. Seeing the images will bring to remembrance the situation and you will be able to easier capture it in words and share it with your readers.
Audio recorder: For whatever reason, I have some of my best thoughts when I am driving or otherwise engaged and unable to get to my laptop or to my notebook. Having an audio recorder is invaluable in being able to capture those fleeting thoughts, those brilliant little sound bytes that drift into your brain and give you that perfect description. I've lost a number of those thoughts without my recorder because I've not been able to type them out or write them down. And you can't always trust your memory to be that of an elephant. An audio recorder will save you a lot of headaches as long as you keep fresh batteries and blank cassettes.
Laptop: Like most people, I type faster than I write and I am able to capture my thoughts much easier than if I'm trying to keep up with them when I am writing. And also having my laptop with me on the spot allows me to upload my pictures and do a mock write-up of my day's adventures. For those who only have a desktop, I would recommend purchasing a laptop to take with you on your trips. It will prove to be invaluable in your travel writing.
And once you have written your travel pieces, there are various places online that you can research and try to figure out where you can submit your work to. Two websites that I find to be useful are the Writers Market (www.writersmarket.com paid subscription) and MediaBistro (www.mediabistro.com free, but offers a paid premium account as well). Looking at different markets will help you get an idea of what magazines or websites or travel guides you can shop your pieces to.
I know that there are many other things that could be beneficial, but those are the things that are most helpful to me. Hopefully they will be of some benefit to you in trying to break into this challenging yet exciting business.

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