Travel Writing Miscellanea...

DeliciousBabyhas an interview with Wendy Perrin

World Hum has a Q&A With Stephanie Elizondo Griest, author of Around the Bloc and 100 Places Every Woman Should Go. Stephanie has a new book out - Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines - which she talks to World Hum about.

Nomadic Matt interviews Chuck Thompson

Happy Hotelier has chosen Desert Mama (from The Traveling Mamas) for his latest 10 Questions series.

Written Road posts about Travel Writer Events in NYC this October

Anyone in Telluride, Colorado this weekend should go to the Writers in the Sky literary meeting which has a number of travel writers attending.

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. The Dark Side of Freelance Writing

2. 6 Reasons Why Freelance Writers Should Have A Niche Blog

3. Why You Should Attend Conferences

4. Drumming Up Clients During a Recession

5. Are You a Lazy Writer?

A Book called 'Ultimate Blogs'

Interesting Authors@google talk by Sarah Boxer who researched and wrote a book called 'Ultimate Blogs'...

Nerd's Eye View Twittering World Savers Congress...

Here's a head's up for all of you interested in environmental issues. Conde Nast Traveler's 2nd Annual World Savers Congress is being held in NYC today (23 September 2008).

The World Savers Congress is a gathering of travel industry leaders. They join together in one place in order to discuss ways to reduce environmental impact and help improve the economic well-being, health, and education of communities in which their companies operate.

This year's Congress has some great speakers - Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Jeffrey Sachs, and Ashley Judd - as well as many panels and discussions, including one moderated by Wendy Perrin of The Perrin Post.

I'd love to attend this event. But that, of course, is not possible.

Instead, I’ll be at the Congress, virtually, through Pam Mandel’s (aka NerdsEyeView) twitter posts.

Pam was handpicked by Conde Nast Traveler to go to NYC and provide live continuing news feed (twitter) and also blog about the Congress so that people like you and me could feel involved and follow along.

Round-up of latest tips from '1001 Travel Writer Tips'

The tips just keep on coming over at 1001 Travel Writer Tips and each one is a gem.

Here's the last four...

Expensive destinations on a budget (or getting money by writing about value for money)

Turn trivia into a story (or how to make money from useless pub quiz knowledge)

Using trivia in round-up articles (or making money from themes).

Why editors love round-up articles (or playing the numbers game).

The Travel Media Showcase...

Here's a slice of the Travel Media Showcase for those of us who never got there...

Now on Twitter...

Well, have finally got around to joining twitter.

Not really sure what to do with it.

But then, once upon a time, I didn't know what blogging was either.

So one step at a time, I will find my way with twitter.

I'm here -- http://twitter.com/kiwiwriter

Stop by and help me learn to twitter...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Lessons on Freelance Writing from the Dating Scene

2. Letting Your Articles Marinate

3. 7 Motivation Hacks for Freelancers

4. Strategies for "Man on the Street" Interviews

5. A Guide to Becoming a Writer for Kids and Teens

Rolf Potts Discusses 'Marco Polo Didn't Go' With Pauline Frommer...

Travel Writer Rolf Potts discusses his latest collection of travel essays, "Marco Polo Didn't Go" with Pauline Frommer in this podcast.

Rolf's also got a 'virtual book tour' happening this week and next. You can check the schedule here...

Travel Writing Miscellanea...

Vagabonding has an interview with Matt Goss, aka The New York Times Frugal Traveler.

Brave New Traveler interviews Christopher Rufo and Keith Ochwat, the Nomadic Geniuses Behind Roughing It: Mongolia.

Check out 2008 Rolf Potts Marco Polo Didn’t Go There book tour to see when Rolf might be in your neck of the woods.

For would be self publishers, Vagabondish has put together 7 Self-Publish Websites to Jumpstart Your Travel Publishing Career.

Wild About Travel + Writing provides Top tips for taking better travel photographs: Part 1 and Part 2.

Photoshelter looks at How to Shoot Great Travel Photography.

Rick Steves writes about The Art and Value of Journaling as You Travel.

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. 10 Ways to Write Better Articles for Magazines

2. The “Alfred Hitchcock” Guide to Branding

3. 5 Ways to Battle Creative Blocks

4. Putting the “Work” Back Into “Freelance Worker”

5. Transforming Your Blog Into Really Big Business

Tips for Travel Writers...

Want some help in becoming a travel writer?

Then this blog's for you.... 1001 Travel Writer Tips

Created by David Whitley, a successful freelance travel writer with articles published in magazines and newspapers around the world, 1001 Travel Writer Tips looks to be a great resource to anyone considering a career in freelance, and in particular, travel writing. Actually, it looks like it's going to be a great resource for freelance writers at all levels of expertise.

It's a new blog, so there are only a few posts so far:

#1 Writer who travels vs traveller who writes

#2 Know Your Competition

#3 Know your place in the greater scheme of things.

#4 Don’t get too precious

#5 Find the editor’s real e-mail address

#6 Spell the editor’s name correctly

#7 Exchanging contacts with other travel writers

#8 Writing about where you live

Only 993 to go...

You can be sure I'll be stopping by every day to get my travel writing tip of the day. Sure hope you'll join me...

In fact, I'll make it easy for you by posting a link each day to the latest tip over on sidebar under 'Daily Travel Writing Tip'.

David, by the way, was the very first travel writer that Write to Travel interviewed.

Advice on Becoming a Travel Writer...

Remember Kim from Wild About Travel + Writing ? She took part in the 'interview with a travel writer' series back in May and since then has been galavanting around Tanzania, helping author uthor Philip Briggs update the 6th edition of the Bradt travel guide. It's a tough life but someone's go to do it.

But before you start thinking it's all glamour and fun, check out check out this post written by Kim's travel buddy Dan who reflects on his experiences on the road trailing a travel writer

As for advice on how to become a travel writer, Kim's put together a couple of posts worth reading. Take her advice on board and see where it leads you...

So You Want to Be a Travel Writer Part One

So You Want to Be a Travel Writer Part Two

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Learn from the Greats: 7 Writing Habits of Amazing Writers

2. Power of focused attention

3. Q&A with Renegade Writer Gwen Moran

4. Deal Makers and Deal Breakers: How to Get Your Resume to the Top of the Pile

5. Reslanting and Reselling for Writers

plus one...

What I Learned About Freelancing from Lucille Ball

Win a Copy of Lonely Planet's 'A Year of Festivals'...

Just a heads up to a book giveaway I'm running over at Perceptive Travel Blog.

Have a read of my review of the Lonely Planet's 'A Year of Festivals'...



...and then enter the giveaway.

Interview with a Travel Writer...James Bainbridge.

The 'interview with a travel writer' series is back this week with an interview with Lonely Planet author James Bainbridge. James has written a number of Lonely Planet books, including co-authoring the newly released 'A Year of Festival'.


Hi James and welcome to Write to Travel. Thanks for taking time to chat with us...



1. Did you always want to be a writer? How did you get started in writing?

Yes, definitely. I have book-selling parents so it was always in my blood. After penning a few great unpublished novellas (I never got as far as a novel), I converted my degree in English Literature and History of Art into something that'd pay the rent - with the help of a three-month postgraduate journalism course. It was a vocational 'crash' course that gave me enough skills to blag my first job in journalism, and I highly recommend it as a good way to get started as a professional writer. The guys teaching the course had lots of industry contacts and, within a month of completing it, I landed my first writing job: staff writer on Media Week, the magazine for the UK's marketing and media sectors. It wasn't my dream subject matter, but I stayed for 2.5 years to get some experience, working my way up to deputy features editor.


2. What do you consider your first "break" as a travel writer?

The only way to save my soul after 2.5 years of writing about advertising deals and targeted, customer-centric solutions etc etc was to go somewhere far far away from London. I travelled overland to Timbuktu and back, drawn by West African music. While I was in Senegal, I stayed with some 'griots' (musicians who play West African instruments such as the kora as their birthright, and are descended from the court bards in the Mandinke empire). When I got home to England, I sold a story about the experience to the travel section of Guardian Unlimited, the Guardian newspaper's website. Although I didn't apply to write for Lonely Planet for a couple of years after that, being able to send them that article demonstrated that I had solid West African experience. LP first hired me to work on their West Africa guide and, having proved myself on that book, I've contributed to half a dozen other books - from India to Ireland.


3. What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into writing?

You need to find a balance between practicing and hustling. You need to keep scribbling away when you're travelling (and even when you're not), but at the same time, you need to make sure you you're pitching and getting your name out there.. Check out travel media and figure out what they're looking for. Do they have any specific sections you could pitch something into? E.g. an article about that amazing Tagine you scoffed in Tangier for their food page. (Hey, we're back to targeted, customer-centric solutions!) What special skills do you have? Everyone's backpacked across Europe or southeast Asia, but do you know a certain language or have a deep knowledge of a country's history or architecture or food? Do you have any contacts who could show you round and help you find a fresh angle on a destination? Doing some time on a magazine helps, as it'll improve your understanding of what commissioning editors are looking for, and how they work... even if the mag covers something irrelevant.


4. What do you see as the future for travel writers in the printed media and online ?

As publishers like Lonely Planet start to describe themselves as 'travel content providers' rather than guidebook publishers, the future is all about cross-platform travel writing. Some naysayers have predicted that digital media will undo the likes of Lonely Planet, as consumers can get recommendations for free, via free websites and blogs. But have you used one of those free online sources of information? Not only is the writing often incoherent, but it's just not a trusted source. The information hasn't been collected by a professional journalist on the payroll - it's been collected by an enthsiast on holiday. Simply not the same. Digital media, then, is a great opportunity, giving us more channels to write for; in addition to producing the same, great guidebooks we've delivered have since LP's founder Tony Wheeler first flogged self-published tomes on street corners. One exciting and challenging thing about digital media is the opportunities it offers to multi-media journalists. If you can go somewhere and write about it, photograph it, film it and make some recordings, you can sell podcasts, blogs, video clips, photo features and so on in addition to the traditional, written account.


5. Which travel writers and/or travel books have influenced you?

I really like stylised, opinionated writers who tend to divide opinion... Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux. These guys tried to get to the truth of a place by telling it how it was - something Lonely Planet strives to do in a more prosaic, practical way in its reviews. Writers like that also really remind me how much a person's character informs his experience and perception of a place. Chatwin might spend a page describing the expression on a border guard's face or the atmosphere in a train carriage, then briefly refer to the view in passing. You just don't find that kind of subjectivity in mainstream travel writing, because publications often have a house style that can dilute a writer's individual voice.


6. As a writer and traveler, what are the biggest challenges you face on the road ?

Travelling by yourself, as I often do because I'm working rather than holidaying, you have be especially on your guard. You immediately look more vulnerable than someone in a group. I happily roam the streets by day, but I'm circumspect about what I do and where I go at night.

Then there are language barriers. In West Africa, for example, I can speak French, the colonial language, but many people only speak indigenous languages. If you can learn a few simple phrases in the local language (hello, how are you, thank you etc), it really wins people over, and someone normally appears who can speak English or a European language. I've had Sikhs in Punjab, North India punching the air when I've said 'satsriakal' (hello in Punjabi).

Although travelling is a lot of fun, it can be tiring and you have to pace yourself. If you don't, you'll get ill or, equally bad, you'll start to feel jaded and you won't get as much out of the travelling as you should. You need to give yourself a few days to acclimatise when you first arrive, to get used to everything from the weather to the food.


7. Finally, what is your favorite place and why ?

Ahh... the million dollar/dirharm/rupee question. It's a tough call but I do keep going back to Morocco's Atlas Mountains. The landscape is simply stunning, ranging from snow-capped peaks to red Martian hills, and Berbers are some of the friendliest, most laid back people you'll meet. There's a great mixture of Saharan and Arabic influences and a real romance to travelling those mountain passes, perhaps in a truck or a grand taxi with some Berbers on their way to market.