Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers....

1. Learn to Craft a Perfect Author Bio

2. Why Writer’s Block is Your Secret Weapon

3. 5 Questions To Ask Before You Write For Free

4. How To Get Past The Blank Page By Creating Urgency

5. How to Give Yourself to Whatever the Moment Brings, and Forget Stress

Video: Travel Blogger Sherry Ott Talks to Dispatches 2.0...

Need some inspiration?

Look no further than Sherry Ott, who left the corporate world, took off around the world, and created the popular travel blog ottsworld.com

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Q&A With the Travel Photographer Robert Caplin

2. 10 Reasons Why That Other Writer Always Seems to Get Ahead

3. 10 Ways to make your editor love you

4. Editing Help – Tips for Revising Articles, Essays, and Short Stories

5. News you can use: 10 top takeaways from the 2009 ONA (Online News Association) conference

Press Trips: ethical or not?

There's an interesting discussion going on over at twitter on press trips. It was triggered by the writers over at World Hum who posted about the continual debate about press trips - ethical or not.

This latest rounds of discussions started following a this Daily Finance post - Ethics takes a holiday: Newsweek, New York Times writers in swag orgy

You can follow the debate over at twitter thread #twethics

And for more about press trips, check out previous Write to Travel posts on this topic...

FAM and Press Trips - Good or Bad for Travel Writers?

The Press Trip: Great Deal or Big Hassle?

Everything you wanted to know about Press trips…

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1.5 Choices You Will Face When Freelancing (And What You Should Choose)

2. Is Your Mind Holding You Back?

3. Ideas for Writers Who Travel, But Who Don’t Write About Traveling

4. How to Defeat Burnout and Stay Motivated

5. 45 Free Things for Writers

Wanderlust and Lipsticks 2nd Annual Travel Writing Contest...

Wanderlust and Lipstick, a travel site for women, are holding their 2nd annual travel writing contest.

Submission guidelines:

Choose a category

*Adventure
*Family Fun
*Food & Drink
*Off the Beaten Path
*Spiritual

Write a travel article for that category

Submit it before November 31, 2009 to WanderlustAndLipstick (at) gmail (dot) com

More specifically...

Must be a nonfiction travel story
Indicate which of the above categories your story fits in
Include the category, your name, address and contact information at the beginning of the article
Email article in an Word doc (no PDF’s, please) to WanderlustAndLipstick (at) gmail (dot) com
Make it fun, interesting and personal!
Note whether it has been previously published and where
800-2,500 words in length
Must be received prior to November 31, 2009 23:59 PST
Open to women only (sorry guys!)
DO NOT send images with your story unless you are contacted to do so.

The prizes:

Grand Prize is a 12-day Health and Harmony land tour of Vietnam with Buffalo Tours

5 Best in Category prizes including Bayliss bags from Overland Equipment and CoolMax Blankets and Travel Pillows from Cocoon.

Winners will be announced no later than January 15, 2010

Guest Post: Create a Sustainable Life by Sara Morgan

It's something that all freelance writers dream of -- to be able to live comfortably and successfully of the fruits of one's writing. But getting there is not easy. It's a path full of obstacles, self-doubt, and fear. So before you take it, it's a good idea to get advice from those who have already thrown off the shackles of corporate life.

Today, Write to Travel is pleased be part of the WOW blog tour for Sara Morgan who offers insight into how to make the jump from corporate worker to self employed.

Sara's book No Limits (How I escaped the clutches of Corporate America to live the Self-employed life of my dreams) offers inspiration and motivation for anyone thinking about making the leap into self-employment. Full of practical information and tips that will help you discover what skills are needed to become your own boss.

Create a sustainable life by Sara Morgan

Around the age of 30, I realized that my life was unsustainable. I instinctually knew, even though at the time I could not verbalize, that I was not happy. I had all the things that were supposed to make me happy (beautiful kids, a loving husband, a nice house and a good, well paying job). But yet something was wrong. I was not where I wanted to be and my life was not sustainable.

At that time, I embarked on a ten year journey that has brought me to where I am today; happy and content with the life I have chosen. My life is now sustainable and even better than that, enjoyable. I can now face the daily struggles and challenges of life and instead of seeing them as problems, I see them as opportunities. The only thing that can ruin my life now is death – everything else is just an experience.

So, how did I get here you might ask? Well, it wasn’t easy and I had to make really big changes in my life, like get divorced, quit my job, move to the country. But, all the changes were worth it and I hope that I can inspire other bright and energetic people to get out of their own way and start on a path towards happiness. Create a sustainable life for yourself. It’s worth all the efforts it takes to achieve it.

Sara Morgan is the author of No Limits: How I escaped the clutches or Corporate America to live the self-employed life of my dreams". For more information about Sara and her book, check out www.nolimitsthebook.com

3rd Annual List of Top 10 Blogs for Writers...

Have you checked out this years list of Top 10 Blogs for Writers?

I see there are some of my favorites on it as well as a couple that I haven't had a chance to check out yet... but I'm on my way over to them as soon as this post is done.

1. Copyblogger founded by Brian Clark

2. Men With Pens by James Chartrand and Harry McLeod

3. The Freelance Writing Jobs founded by Deb Ng

4. Write to Done created by Leo Babauta.

5. Confident Writing by Joanna Young

6. The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burell

7. Remarkable Communication by Sonia Simone

8. Writing Journey by Bob Younce

9. Freelance Parent by Lorna Doone Brewer and Tamara Berry

10. Urban Muse by Susan Johnston

Happy reading...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. S.P.E.E.D. Writing: 5 Tips to Double Your Writing Productivity

2. 85 Hacks to Help Your Freelance Writing Career

3. Thirteen Steps to Write and Publish a Free Ebook In Thirteen Hours

4. Tips for Writing a Long or Short Author Bio for Magazine Articles

5. Why You Should Stop Waiting for Inspiration

2009 Book Passages Travel Writers Conference: Tim Cahill talks...

Here's a video presentation from Tim Cahill for all of us who didn't manage to get to this year's Travel Writers Conference...

Travel Writing Contest for Teens...

The 3rd annual FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship is being held by the Family Travel Forum (FTF), an award-winning website for family vacation information.

The scholarship, in association with professionals from the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), is for teens who want to write about their travel experiences.

It's open to all teens ages 13 to 18 enrolled in a junior high, high school or homeschool program in the United States, Canada or American school abroad. They need to submit a maximum 600-word essay with photo or even video on any type of trip and any aspect of a trip they have taken in the last three years.

Prizes include cash awards ($1,000, $500, $200) and a two-night family stay at any Homewood Suites Hotel.

For more information and rules, visit FTF Scholarships.

Write to Travel Heads for Wine Bloggers Conference...

Posts on Write to Travel have been few and far between these days and the main reason is because of new blog project I've been working on for the past six months or so.


There's a litte bit of travel, a little bit of green, and a little bit of wine involved in this new project called The Green Wine Guide. It's a site that aims to focus on everything about eco-friendly, sustainable wines and wineries. Right now, there's not much there except a few articles and a design that illustrates where the site will eventually be heading.

Meanwhile, I'm heading to Northern California wine country to learn more about many of their wineries sustainable and eco-friendly practices. Right now, I'm sitting in San Franscisco, but first thing this morning I headed for Santa Rosa and the 2nd annual Wine Bloggers Conference to meet up with fellow wine bloggers and learn more about wines and wineries.

As you can imagine, heading over to California isn't cheap, especially with how the dollar exchange rate is right now. But I applied for and received some assistance from the Wine Bloggers Scholarship that was set up by some dedicated wine bloggers who set out and found companies interested in donating to the cause.

The donations from these companies - Vin 65, vintank, Click Media Works, Gundlach Bundschu, WARK Communications, domaine547, Sobon Estate, Enobytes.com, St. Supéry Vineyards and Winery, Benson Marketing Group, Hahn Wines, Travessia, Iredisse, Hello Vino, cruvee, Cornerstone Cellars, and Flamingo Resort Hotel & Spa - has provided financial assistance to over 11 wine bloggers (me included) and for that I offer heart felt thanks.

Writing Contest: Win Free Entry to 'Linda Formichelli’s Write for Magazines E-Course'...

Dream of writing for magazines but don't know where to begin. Then Linda Formichelli’s Write for Magazines E-Course might just be what you need.

Here's a chance to win Free Entry into Linda Formichelli’s Write for Magazines E-Course.

From Renegade Writer Blog...

"My next 8-week Write for Magazines e-course will begin on August 3, 2009. If you’d like to enter to win free entry into the Premium course (which includes 8 weeks of unlimited e-mail support), here’s a contest for you: Somewhere in my Write for Magazines website, I’ve included instructions on how to enter the contest. Find and follow the instructions by July 20, and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win free entry into a course that has helped students land assignments with magazines such as Writer’s Digest, Woman’s Day, Cottage Living, Black Health, E: The Environmental Magazine, and more. Happy searching!"

Linda co-authored The Renegade Writer's Query Letter's that Rocked, a great guide for anyone looking to get more freelance writing gigs.

Newest 'Dream travel writing' Contest: The Big Trip

Well, here we go again. Here's yet another 'dream travel writing' contest.

The details from The Big Trip website:

Need a vacation? Looking for a dream job? TheBigTrip.comsm brand travel site is about to change your life. We are now hiring for the greatest job in the world. Apply now to become our next correspondent traveler and spend 15 weeks traveling The United States in style. Get ready to walk along the beautiful sandy beaches at the country's best beach resorts, drive a Ferrari down the Las Vegas strip, skydive over the Red Rock mountains of the western deserts... and so so much more!

We are looking for our next candidate to live the dream life and get paid to do it. Your responsibilities will include having the time of your life, and documenting your journey along the way for the world to see.

The perks? Of course, all travel expenses are covered and the job comes with a $50,000 salary as well as benefits, and some great must have toys to use along the way. Sounds good? Make a video resume telling us why you would be perfect for this job and fill out the application to see if you have what it takes to be our next big star.

But before you get too enthused about applying, check out my post over at Perceptive Travel on Who Wins in the ‘Best [Travel] Job in the World’ Campaigns ?

and also this post by the art predator on Careful, Murphy-Goode, Social Media Just Might Spit Wine in Your Face.

And if you do decide to apply anyway, let us know...

Wanted: Travel Writer for Williamsburg Travel Book...

(found at About Freelance Writing)

Travel Writer Wanted for Williamsburg Travel Book (Williamsburg)

Lake, Inc, a book publishing company based in New York City, is hiring a writer to create the primary content for a travel book about Williamsburg, Virginia, and the surrounding area. This book will be part of the Tourist Town Guides series of travel guidebooks. These books concentrate on regional tourist towns, and are designed to assist readers with planning vacations to these destinations.

Further information on project specifics, writer requirements, timeline, compensation can be found at further information at richmond craigslist writing jobs

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. 8 Tips for Success When Freelancing On the Road

2. 10 Useful Productivity Health and Fitness Guides for Web Workers

3. 5 Ways to Step Away from the Freelance Job Boards and Create Your Own Freelance Writing Opportunities

4. 5 Tips for Repurposing Old Blog Content

5. 7 Ways to Showcase Older Blog Posts

Guest Post: How Childhood Travel Can Influence Your Writing by Mindy Friddle.

Write To Travel is pleased to welcome author Mindy Friddle. Mindy, who is on a WOW blog tour to promote her new book Secret Keepers, offers an interesting guest post about childhood travel and writing.

But first a little about Mindy who lives, writes, works and gardens in South Carolina where she directs a community-based writing program. Her first novel, The Garden Angel (St. Martin’s Press/Picador) was selected for Barnes and Noble's Discover Great New Writers program in 2004. Secret Keepers, her second novel, was published by St. Martin's Press in May. For more information, visit Mindy's blog Novel Thoughts: Musings on Reading, Writing & the Earth.

Now for Mindy's thoughts on childhood travel and writing...

My family moved from our small hometown in South Carolina to an Army base in Germany in my formative years, and I have no doubt the extensive travel over four years helped shaped me as a writer. By the time I was fourteen, I’d been all over Europe. As a Girl Scout, I’d seen the East Berlin wall. At twelve, I’d taken a bus with a friend to Paris. I’d gone camping in Sweden. And I loved that military families were so comfortable with meeting new people. You welcomed change because every three years you moved...and so did everyone else.

For me, what's so powerful about travel, besides being the ultimate form of escape, is the way it changes your view of the world, even after you return home. Especially after you return home.When I was sixteen, we moved back to the States, back to the small town I was born in, where everyone knew each other since kindergarten, where there was no public transportation, where everything was so set. I loved so many things about it, but the place felt so different to me. I felt like a genie being squeezed back into the bottle.

Maybe that has something to do with why the protagonist in SECRET KEEPERS, my second novel, longs to leave her hometown and travel the globe. As I mention on my website, The Story Behind Secret Keepers, I started the novel with an image of Emma Hanley, gazing at a family portrait, stuck in her small hometown. Like George Bailey in the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, she yearns to flee. Just when it looks like she might get her wish, her husband heads off to his morning coffee klatch with a gaggle of adoring widow women, and Emma’s dream of travel is stymied. Again.

I'm still here in my hometown, by the way, nearly three decades later. But I'm feeling the itch to travel again-- explore another continent. Only... it seems to get harder to leave as the years go by. Katherine Mansfield expressed this perfectly in a letter: “How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully one goes they hold you -- you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences -- little rags and shreds of your very life.” Exactly.

Have a read of the first chapter of Secret Keepers. It will definitely make you want to read the whole book which can be purchased here.

FAM and Press Trips - Good or Bad for Travel Writers?

Press Trips and FAM tours have been around for years. Popular with some writers, not so much with others, they have always generated discussion about how ethicial they are.

Sheila Scarborough, one of my blogging colleagues over at Perceptive Travel blog, who has recently been on a couple of 'blogger' FAM tours - one to Kansas and one to Hawaii - raises these issues in an interesting and thought provoking post Are blogger fam trips a good idea or are they Jurassic PR?

It's a post that all travel writers should read.

How to Avoid Bad Travel Writing...

World Hum has an entertaining article by travel writer David Farley on 'How to Write a Bad Travel Story'.

Tongue in check, David explains how easy it is to write a bad travel story and offers a series of tips that will ensure that you do.

Read it carefully. You might just find that you are actually using some of those tips in your own writing. That's fine if you want to write bad.

But I'd rather be writing good, no, make that great, travel articles. So I'll be bookmarking David's article to ensure I avoid his tips.

Weekly Top 10 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. The Uncomfortable Facts About Plagiarism

2. Is Freelance Writing Suited To Your Personality?

3. Success Stories: Susan Gunelius

4. 5 Ways to Increase Your Writing Income

5. The Cycle of Creativity and How to Ride It

6. Drano for writers: 10 tricks to get the words flowing again

7. Guest Post: 5 Writing Tips From the Editor-in-Chief of Alive Magazine

8. The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Getting Paid

9. The Power of Paper for Everyday Life

10. Feng Shui On Steroids: Design Your Space to Achieve Your Goals

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. 8 Types of Freelance Writing Pitches or Why You Didn’t Get the Job

2. 5 Ways to Salvage Writing Disasters

3. How to: Solve an editor’s problem

4. Wordflab Surgery: How to Put Your Writing Under the Knife

5. >From Creative Writing to Creative Marketing

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. 12 Practical Ways To Become More Creative

2. Setting Your Freelance Writing Rates

3. What Freelancers Must Know About Ergonomics

4. Interview with Dan Baum on Writing for the Big Names — and on the Future of Journalism

5. Understanding Personal Essays: A Traveler’s Tales

plus...

How To Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle When You're Too Busy To Care

and...

10 Essential Mobile Apps for Your Next Road Trip

Win a Copy of Lonely Planet New Zealand's South Island...

I was sent a copy of Lonely Planet New Zealand's South Island to review for Perceptive Travel blog. The review will be posted this weekend, but I have to say from what I've read so far, this is the book to read if you've ever thought about heading to New Zealand. It will convince you that the South Island is the place to go. Of course, I'm kind of biased, being that Christchurch is my hometown and the South Island is basically my backyard and playground.

You can win a copy of this guidebook by heading on over to Perceptive Travel Blog and leaving a comment. Giveaway is worldwide and is open until the 1st of June.

Good Luck.

Authors@Google: Travel Writer Thomas Kohnstamm...

Thomas Kohnstamm, who wrote the controversal "Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism" talks...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Top 100 Books for Freelance Writers

2. What to Do When You Can’t Deliver (A Template For Emergencies)

3. What to Do When Someone Steals Your Work

4. Evergreen Articles: Cash Cows of the Freelance Writer

5. 30 Days to Become a Freelancer

plus...

Five Foolproof Ways to Generate Story Ideas Editors will Love

Sometimes they’re just not that into you

How to Create a Highly Viral Blog

TED Talk: Productivity Guru Tim Ferris...

"What's the worst that could happen?" That's the question Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Work Week, want you to ask yourself.

Free e-report on 'How to Make Travel Writing Work for You'...

I came across this free e-report in my travels around cyberspace. It's written by travel writer and novelist Linda Ballou who has written articles for a variety of magazines.

Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it looks interesting...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. How To Successfully Work With People Long Distance

2. 15 People and Places to Follow on Twitter to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

3. 10 Simple Steps to Landing More Gigs

4. 15 draw backs to working as a full time freelancer

5. Healthy Productivity Habits For Location Independent Business Nomads Who Travel The World

plus...

6. 6 Ways to Stay in Touch with Your Editors

7. 15 Reasons Your Idea Got Rejected (and How to Fix It)

8. Writer’s Block…A Thing Of The Past

9. What To Do When You Run Out Of Ideas

Minneapolis/St Paul Based Travel Writing Intern Needed...

Travel writer Leif Pettersen is looking for a travel writing intern for a six month commitment.

Leif, who was one of the first writers I interviewed for the 'Interview with a Travel Writer' series, is an entertaining (check out Killing Batteries to find out how entertaining) and productive (Lonely Planet guidebook writer)guy who is in need of someone to help with mainly

"...clerical and organizational (read tedious)duties, though there’s plenty of juicy, guidebook author tasks, including proofing, mapping, and researching as well as helping to plan and execute my upcoming trip."

It's unpaid, but Leif is happy to

"...share/train/advise on travel writing and freelance writing in general and will of course be able to provide letters of recommendation, leads, and even future paying work should it arise."

Click here to find out more about the position and how to make contact.

Free e-book for writers...

Anyone considering or working on becoming a freelance writer should head on over to The Art of Non-Conformity website and download this free e-book called 279 Days to Overnight Success.




Written by Chris Guillebeau, it offers tips, ideas, advice, and encouragement that will help on your own journey to full-time writing.

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. 7 Tips for Pitch Sessions with Editors and Agents

2. The Freelancer's Bill of Rights

3. 5 Ways a Blog Can Boast Your Freelance Business

4. 5 Tools for the Frugal Freelancer

5. The Scoop on Writing Profile Articles: Preparing for the Interview

plus...

6. 6 Steps to Effective Notes

7. A Guide to Beating the Fears That Are Holding You Back

8. The Solar Powered Traveler

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

I'm finally get my RSS feed built back up with all my favorite blog sites and many new ones I'm discovering along the way.

Since the 'weekly top 5 blog posts for writers' has missed a few weeks, I thought I'd double up this week...

1. Find The Perfect Image For Any Project In 5 Steps

2. Dead Simple Guide to Beating Procrastination

3. Three Grammar Rules You Can (And Should) Break

4. 5 Tricks for Tracking Down an Editor

5. Home-Schooled: 20 Books To Build Your Freelance Life Upon

6. How to Make Your Articles, Pitches, and Writing Memorable

7. Social media 101 for small business

8. 7 Easy Ways to Energize Your Creative Writing Powers

9. Ten Great Ways to Promote your Book

10. Seven Productivity Tips For People That Hate GTD

Travel Writing Miscellanea...

As travel writers, we need to be able to take a good photo. But if you're really good at photography, it could easily become a separate income stream. Find out how Online photo services can give shutterbug lucrative outlet.

The Vancouver Sun talks with Rick Steves.

In honor of Woman's History Month, World Hum writes about Six Great Women Travelers in Asia.

Bookride reviews a classic - The Road to Oxiana

Intelligent Travel offers the inside scoop on bookstores in Berlin.

Technical Problems Plaguing Write to Travel...

Regular readers will have noticed that there have been less and less regular posts here at Write to Travel lately. It's mostly because of technical problems - the computer slowed down and started doing crazy things so in the end I had to resort to a complete restore back to it's pristine factory condition.

Which means, unfortunately, that I have lost all of my RSS feeds as I never got around to using google reader or anything similar to keep track. I only ever clicked on the RSS feed button on my toolbar which, somehow, magically, kept listing all my favorite blogs at the left side of my screen.

But now they are all gone and I have to start again so it might take a few days to get back to the 'Weekly 5 Top Blog Posts for Writers' etc.

Think you've got a blog that should be on my RSS feed then leave a comment with the URL and I'll check it out...

Guest Post: Travel Writing Tips by Sybil Baker

Write to Travel is the latest stop in Sybil Baker's Blog Tour with WOW (Women on Writing). Sybil Baker, a lifelong traveler, has combined her love of travel and her interest in the allure and alienation of American travelers and expatriates into contemporary Women's Fiction/Chick-Lit novel that asks 'What would you do if your carefully planned life was falling apart?'.

Entitled The Life Plan, it carries the lead character around the world, from the offices of Washington,DC, to the gritty streets of Bangkok and the mountain region of Chiang Mai. You can read the first chapter of The Life Plan here.

During her blog tour to promote her book, Sybil has been stopping off at various writer's blogs and providing interesting guest posts. Earlier in the week she was over at The Urban Muse discussing 'steps to organizing your writing time' and at bleeding expresso analysing 'the Expatriate Writer in the Post Millennium'.

Today, at Write to Travel, Sybil offers some Travel Writing Tips.

I don’t consider myself a travel writer, but I am a person who loves to travel and often writes about the places I’ve traveled to. What’s the difference? For me, a travel writer is someone who writes about a place as information for other tourists, while my writing is not about which restaurant to eat at or hotel to stay in, but rather about the mark a place has left on me. For my essays, I use travel as a way for me to think about my own preconceived notions about myself or other cultures. For my fiction, the places I’ve visited often serve as settings that compete with or intensify the conflicts within the main character.

In that sense, I recommend writing about travel as way to expand your personal and artistic comfort zones. Travel allows you to see the world and your writing in a different way. For writers who would like to try out travel writing, whether as essays, articles, or fiction, I have a few tips to get started.

1. Expand your definition of travel. You don’t have to travel to the other side of the world to use travel in your writing. Find the out-of-the way places in your own town, go to neighborhoods that are in a different economic condition than your own, attend a meeting or gathering that you normally wouldn’t. If you can go somewhere that is new and different to you, you’ll be able to observe the setting, people, and interactions with a fresh perspective.

2. Start small. I did not even have a passport until I was thirty, partly because I was intimidated by going even to Europe, although I dreamed of traveling. My first trip abroad was for a week in Paris and Barcelona, and I remember thinking that even though I didn’t know the languages well, traveling was not as hard as I thought it would be. A year later, I’d moved to South Korea and from there got the courage to go to Japan for a long weekend. After I survived that, I went to Thailand, and from there Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. By the time I’d made it to Indonesia a few years later, I’d learned that traveling to most places, while challenging, is doable with a little planning and patience.

3. Travel cheap. If you stay at the Hyatt, eat at tourist restaurants, and take only packaged tours, you’ll be trapped in a tourist bubble that excludes you from the local culture. By eating at local restaurants, exploring neighborhoods on your own, and staying at hostels, guesthouses, and B&Bs, you’ll not only save money, but you’ll interact more with the locals and learn more about their culture. Decide what amenities you must have, but be willing to give up some comforts of home and embrace the local lifestyle.

4. Don’t try to do everything. Sometimes slowing down your pace and being open to the moment is the best way to enjoy travel and allow the best experiences to happen. You won’t be able to see every museum, church, or ruin, so try to make your travels one of quality rather than quantity.

5. Make sure you take time to write down your thoughts, feelings, impressions, and descriptions of the places you go. It’s easy to think you’ll remember everything, but when you get back home, you’ll be surprised at how many details you’ve forgotten. Don’t worry though about writing your essay or short story while traveling—sometimes you need time to absorb and digest all that you’ve experienced before you can write about.


6. Don’t write about experiences that millions of tourists before you have had and expect readers to care. Even though Venice may have been the most life changing travel experience for you, unless you have a personal story that is the main point of your essay or story and can bring a new perspective about the city, your thoughts on Venice will unfortunately probably not be of interest to most readers. If you have a story to tell that takes us on a journey off the beaten path, then we’ll be eager to read about your insights.

Remember, be adventurous and have fun! If you have other travel writing tips, I’d love to hear them.

Thanks Sybil and good luck with the blog book tour. We will be following your tour thanks to this handy events calender.

Who's Going to Win a Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Award?

Sure hope you were able to vote in the inaugural Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards.

There were plenty of deserving travel bloggers worth voting for in each category. I managed to get my votes in at the very last minute but it didn't seem to help my chosen travel blogs.

So far only the public vote has been tallied. From that we can see the leading leading travel blog in each category...

Go Visit Hawaii (Best Destination Blog)
Bearshapedsphere (Best Expat Blog)
Intelligent Travel Blog (Best Consumer Blog)
Windy Skies (Best Travelogue)
La Volta dels 25 ( Best Non-English Language Blog)
Churu y Marian en El Bolson (Best Spanish Language Blog)
World Signs (Best French Language Blog)
il reporter (Best Italian Language Blog)
soultravlers3 Twitter (Best Micro Blogging)
soultravelers3 You Tube (Best Video Blog)
soultravelers3 blog (Best Themed Blog)
Tacogirl's Travel Blog (Best Image Blog)
Spotted By Locals (Best Group Authored Blog)
Amateur Traveler (Best Podcast Blog)

Remember, though, that the public vote only accounts for 50% of the overall score. The remaining 50% scoring of each blog is up to the Lonely Planet judges.

The final results of the Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards will not be know until the 26th March, when they are announced at a party in San Francisco. It will be interesting to see if the public and the judges think the same.

Not being all that familiar for many of the leading travel blogs, I spent the rest of the morning visiting them (and all the other final nominees) to see what I had been missing. I hope you have time to do the same.

(originally posted at Perceptive Travel blog)

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Advice For Part Time Bloggers Juggling Blogging with Work, Family and Other Commitments

2. Business Advice for the Business-phobe

3. What Makes a Good Job Candidate? A Recruiter Answers This Question

4. 25 Tax Resources for Freelance Writers

5. How to Plan a Freelancer Vacation So You Can Refuel

Blog Highway Twitter Transcript Available at...

Did you catch the Blog Highway seminar at twitter? If not, do not fear. The transcript remains for those of us who missed the live action to get a replay.

To read it in order, though, you have to start at the end and at the bottom of each page. Once you've finished a page, then click on newer and you'll be able to follow the whole show.

So here's the link to the live twitter sessionstarting from the beginning of the sesssion.

I'm off now to read it myself...

Winner of The Writer Mama book giveaway is...

Hi everyone. Hope you enjoyed Christine Katz's (aka Writer Mama)take on finding an agent. It was definitely food for thought. Must admit, thinking about an agent isn't on my agenda at the present time, but it's good to know what to consider when I come to that crossroad in my writing career.

Now, don't forget that you can continue to follow The Writer Mama blog tour by checking in here for daily locations.

Meanwhile, the winner of The Writer Mama book, thanks to my trusty random number selector, is...

rightonmom

Congrats. If you could email me (kiwiwriter at xtra.co.nz)with your email and postal address, I'll send that on to Christine who will send you out your very own copy of The Writer Mama.

Follow 'Blog Highways' Session at SXSW Live on Twitter Tomorrow...

Good news for those of us who won't be in Austin, Tx tomorrow for Sheila and Pam's Blog Highways: Travel Blogging for the Wanderer session (Saturday, March 14 3:30 - 4:30 Central time) at SXSW. It's going to be live twittered by the following:

Shannon Hurst Lane of Traveling Mamas and Kelly Goodman of Travellious.

Others to follow include Sheila from Family Travel Logue, Pam from Nerd's Eye View and Wendy Perrin from The Perrin Report.

Maybe I'll see you in twitterville...

The Writer Mama Blog Tour and Giveaway arrives at Write to Travel.

As I mentioned the other day, Christine Katz (aka The Writer Mama) is on a blog tour celebrating the two year anniversary of her online growth at The Writer Mama and Writers on the Rise online community, plus the publication of her book The Writer Mama.

Today, we're lucky to have Christine stop by and write a little about the mystery behind getting an agent.


Your Agent, Your Partner by Christine Katz

One thing I am always emphasizing to writers when they attend a writer’s conference in hopes of impressing an agent is this: you are looking for a partner, not hoping to be discovered. An agent is not a magician. She can’t wave her magic pen and get you a deal unless you are completely capable and you can prove it on paper. (As we’ve already covered in the posts on book proposals.)

I have been extremely fortunate when it comes to partnering with an agent because I already had an offer before I went looking. In fact, Jane Frideman referred me to my agent, Rita Rosenkranz of Rita Rosenkranz Literary Agency, and I haven’t looked back since. Rita has decades of experience in the publishing industry and did an excellent job negotiating my contract and filling me in on all the newbie writer things I didn't understand. My head still spins when I look at my contracts. And it’s reassuring to know that I can always call on Rita to answer a question or check up on something that might have been overlooked.

Of course, before asking Rita to represent me, I’d either met or had phone discussions with several agents. I was impressed with Rita’s depth of knowledge, patience, and straightforwardness. If you don’t have an agent and you are planning on pitching a book, I highly recommend that you get one. Not only can an agent negotiate a better contract for you than you can negotiate on your own, she can also advise you through the first-book process and help you envision a future writing career.

Just remember, like writers, agents are a diverse bunch. I know many writers who have “broken up” with their agents for a variety of reasons. And I don’t recommend that writers sign lengthy or excessively over-committed contracts. I like the arrangement I have with my agent. We work on one book at a time and if we both want to work with each other again, it’s our choice, not our obligation, to do so.

A few things to keep in mind: Just because an agent is the right agent for a writer friend, she may not be the right one for you. She might. But then again, she might not. Be sure to interview both your friend and her agent to determine if she is a fit for your project and personality.

Be sure you interact with as many agents as possible when it’s time to select one. Be selective and check references. This is not the time to take risks. Publishing is risky enough. Your agent should be rock solid.

Don’t expect your agent to be your mother or your buddy. She is your business partner and if you are going to develop a deeper friendship, it will happen over time. Trust your instincts. Getting out of an agent agreement is possible but, of course, it’s a hassle you’d rather avoid.

.......


Today's Book Drawing: To enter to win a signed, numbered copy of Writer Mama, answer the following question in this blog's comments:

Sometimes the perfect agent isn't someone with a personality just like yours. It's the person with the opposite personality because then you make a more balanced team. Briefly describe your personality and then describe the personality that you think would compliment yours in an agent (doesn't have to be your opposite, but this is a good opportunity for self-reflection).

Thanks for participating! Only US residents, or folks with a US mailing address can participate in the drawing. Please only enter once per day.

Where will the drawing be tomorrow?

Visit http://thewritermama.wordpress.com/ to continue reading the rest of the Writer Mama story throughout March 2009!


About the book:

Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids by Christina Katz (Writer's Digest Books 2007)

Kids change your life, but they don't necessarily have to end your career. Stay-at-home moms will love this handy guide to rearing a successful writing career while raising their children. The busy mom's guide to writing life, this book gives stay-at-moms the encouragement and advice they need including everything from getting started and finding ideas to actually finding time to do the work - something not easy to do with the pitter-patter of little feet. With advice on how to network and form a a business, this nurturing guide covers everything a writer mama needs to succeed at her second job.

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. How to Squeeze Writing Inspiration from Every Experience

2. How To Avoid Monumental Screw Ups When Working On Projects

3. How to NOT get Hired for a Blogging Job

4. 10 Ways to get Fit WHILE Blogging

5. The Art of Generating Buzz

Writer Mama's Anniversary Blog Tour Giveaway Visiting Write To Travel...

Write to Travel has been chosen to be a stop on The Writer Mama Anniversary Blog tour Giveaway.

The blog tour kicked off at the beginning of March and has been visiting blogs around the world ever since.

The first stop, at Writing the Poetic Way, explained how author Christine Katz (aka Writer Mama) planned on visiting a different writing blog each day to share a consecutive installment of The Writer Mama Story.

Christine, by the way, is also the founder of Writers on the Rise, a active and informative online writing community for writers whatever their level of expertise.

Follow Christine's blog tour journey from day to day and don't forget to stop back here on Friday the 13th to visit with Christine and to enter for your chance to win a copy of The Writer Mama, the definitive guide that provides the knowledge, tools and inspiration to launch and develop a successful freelance writing career.

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. How To Set Your Freelance Rates (An Overview)

2. Luck, Accidents, and the (Mistaken) Sense of Control

3. 7 Tips to Make Sure You Get Paid by Clients

4. 5 Excuses That Undermine Writing Success

5. How to Write Quality Posts When You Have a Day Job

Upcoming Conferences and Events for Travel Bloggers and Travel Writers....

Here's a list of some of the conferences, events, and workshops happenng in the next few months that sound interesting.

Unfortunately, I can't make any of them, but you might be able to...

March 10th 2009 San Francisco, CA

Travel Blog Meet-up sponsored by Roots Restaurant, Frommers.com and UpTake.com - an informal meet-up for travel bloggers and the travel industry but you'll need to RSVP as the room's only big enough for 20.

March 14th 2009 Austin, TX

Blog Highways: Travel Blogging for the Wanderer workshop at South by Southwest Conference 2009 - listen to Sheila Scarborough (my co-blogger at Perceptive Travel)and Pam Mandel (Nerd's Eye View) discuss how to create a sense of place and build a community of fellow travelers.

July 25, 2009 Chicago, IL

The BlogHer conference finally has a travel blogging panel - Identity/Passions: TravelBloggers as Boundary-Breaking Evangelists with panelists A. L. Venable (Portland place-blogger), Pam Mandel (globetrotter and field trip enthusiast), Nancy Brown (travel writer), and Rosalind Cummings-Yeates (cultural TravelBlogger) who discuss how they close the gap between their front door and the rest of the world.

July 26, 2009 Chicago, IL

TravelBlog Exchange is hosting a Travel Blogger MeetUp with Wendy Perrin, Craig Martin, Christopher Elliot, Jen Leo and a whole heap more speakers during the BlogHer Conference. All travel bloggers are welcome and the event will be free of charge to all attendees.

Have I missed any??? Let me know...

Winners of the Intrepid Travel Writers Contest Announced...

Last month I mentioned that I had entered a travel writing contest over at Wanderlust and Lipstick. Well, the winners were announced today and unfortunately, I wasn't one of them.

But that's okay. After reading all the winning articles, I can see why they were chosen. Check them out for yourself.

Grand Prize Winner was Ylli’s Gifts by Jann Huizenga

The eight 'Best in Category' winners were...

Lost and Found by Shelley Seale

Memento Mori by Charlotte Chester

Anatomy of a Bribe by Antonio Sanchez

Commiserating with Camels by Alexis Wolff

Shangri-La by Tom Czaban

The Calcutta Railway Riot by Vicki Flier Hudson

Check, Please
by Kay Vail-Hayden

Riding the 341 by Mara Gorman

Make some time to read these fine travel articles. I promise that they will not only entertain you but also make you look at how you craft and create your own travel articles.

After reading them all, I realized that in order to improve my own travel writing, I need to...

- add more local color to my writing.
- add more local characters to my writing.

...and I think I'll start by revising the article that I submitted.

Top Photojournalist offers Top Tips for Great Travel Photos...

Galavanting interviews Photojournalist Peter McBride...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

I'm back. Sorry about the brief interval between posts but you know, there really are only so many hours in a day. The fact that I'm so busy is good. But the being so busy also means not being able to do everything I want to do, like posting here at Write To Travel every day. So I'm just going to take things one day at a time and not get stressed if I can't do it all.

Now on to this week's 'top 5 blog posts for writers'...

1. 5 Prescriptions for Tenacity

2. 7 Reasons to include humor in your work

3. How to Dominate Your Niche

4. What To Do When You Don’t Get The Job

5. 5 Q's with Wendy Burt-Thomas

2007 Writer's Symposium by the Sea: Anne Lamott...

A Conversation with writer Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird) at the Writer's Symposium By the Sea 2007



(found via Brett Oppegaard)

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Why Freelancing is Awesome

2. Rediscovering Your Freelance Fire

3. Top 100 Books for Freelance Writers

4. Think Laterally

5. 2008 Top Ten Best Newspaper Websites

TED Video: NTG Editor Keith Bellows Talks About the Camel...

Keith Bellow, National Geographic Traveler Editor-in-Chief talks about the camel, who he calls 'the SUV of the desert' in this TED talk...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. How to Become an Expert on Nearly Any Subject

2. Naked Mind: Writing as Spiritual Practice

3. 6 Ways to Kick the Freelance Fear

4. 10 Tax Deductions Freelancers Can Make

5. Score high paying online writing and blogging gigs

Authors@Google: Paul Hudson.

Paul Hudson discusses his self-published book "Prelude to Tomorrow: A Collection of Travel Stories".

Last Chance to Enter Travel Writing Contest...

I've entered the Wanderlust & Lipstick travel writing contest.

Have you?

There's only one day left(closes 31st January) for entries in one of the eight categories...

Adventure
Family Fun
Food & Drink
Local Culture
Solo Travel
Spiritual
Wit & Wander
Women’s Travel

Submission guidelines here.

There's a great first prize - win a 15-day trip to the Sacred Land of the Incaswith Intrepid Journeys - as well as numerous smaller prizes all worth winner.

Plus there's a chance that your entry might be included in a book anthology of travel writing. Those chosen will be paid $50 and have a byline in a travel book.

So why not give it a go...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...Take Two.

1. How to Create a Blogging Plan and Actually Reach Your Goals This Year

2. 14 Golden Tips for Beating the Freelancer Blues

3. Life Lessons of the Dread Pirate Roberts

4. Finding the Perfect Office Chair

5. 50 Ways for Writers to Find Article Ideas

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. 5 Ways Blogging Can Make You a Better Writer

2. The Great Debate — How Much Should A Writer Charge?

3. Don’t Panic: What to do when you’re in over your head

4. Travel Stories: Knowing When to Pitch to an Editor and When to Blog

5. 10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

Video: Don George Talks About Good Travel Writing...

A National Geographic Traveler interview with Don George, NGT's online Trip Lit editor...

Travel Writing Miscellanea...

Roff Potts was interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News. And for more on Roff, check out 2008: The year in Rolf over at Vagabonding.

Vogageek has an interview up with Kim Mance from TravelBlogExchange.com and Galavanting.

Almost Fearless writes about Becoming a Digital Nomad: Options for Working Remotely from Anywhere

Tips from the T List's latest 10 Questions is with Nancy D Brown from What a Trip and Uptake's Lodging Blog.

Tips from the T List also has a list of who they consider the Top 5 Independent Travel Blogs

Top 5 Weekly Blog Posts for Writers

Thanks to a tip by Andrew, you'll now be able to open up these links in a new window so you won't lose your place here while you are there...

1. How do you find sources for an article?

2. Going Freelance: Six things that need to be on your legal checklist

3. That’s Not What I Thought I Wrote!

4. Back to basics: Ten mistakes to avoid when writing a news story

5. The Power of Intentional Attention


plus...

Do You Write for Cheap? Read This.

Why Magazines Suck

The Socratic Method To Great Living (5 Simple Steps)

Wanderlust and Lipstick Joins with Intrepid Travel to Sponsor Travel Writing Contest...

Here's a chance to sharpen your writing skills and maybe even win a 15 Day Trip with Intrepid to Discover the Sacred Land of the Incas. Other prizes include 5 travel bags from Timbuk2 and 3 SteriPEN Travelers, plus a chance to be published in a travel writing anthology.

All you have to do is write a travel story and impress this line up of judges...


* Nancy Brown, Travel Writer, What a Trip
* Amanda Castleman, Adventure and Travel Writer
* Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Travel Writer
* Greg Hubbs, Editor, Transitions Abroad
* Tim Leffel, Editor, Perceptive Travel
* Pam Mandel, Freelance Writer

Deadline is 31 January 2009 so you'd better get writing.

iWend Travel Writing Contest ends on Friday

It's not too late to enter iWend's “Traveling By Alternative Transportation” Essay Contest.

“The author of the best story is going to get to build their own Timbuk2 bag – meaning you get to choose the colors and fabrics! – and we’re also throwing in some cool stuff from Planet Bike.


How to enter?

1. Write a story no longer than 1000 words.
2. Submit it to contest[at]wendmag[dot]com.
3. Deadline for submissions is January 23, 2008.

Full details here

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Blog editor Camilla Chafer shares her top tips on making your site really fly

2. Earn money writing for websites? Can you? Really? (the comments are definitely worth a read)

3. Q&A with author of How to Write a Non-fiction Book in 60 Days

4. Become a Career Renegade: Interview with Career Expert Jonathan Fields (click here to read the first chapter of Jonathan's book)

5. 47 Ways Copyblogger Can Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

By the way, does anyone know how to posts links on blogger so that the link opens in a new window?

They're Talking Travel Blogging at the BlogHer 2009 and SWSX Conferences.

Not only are travel bloggers finally being recognized by the Weblog Awards, they are also, finally, finding a voice at some of the larger blog-focused conferences.

Here's the scope...

Sheila Scarborough from Family Travel Logue (and my co-blogger at Perceptive Travel blog) will be hosting “Core Conversation” about travelblogging alongside Pam Mandel from Nerd's Eye View at SWSX 09 this March in Austin.

And in July, at the BlogHer conference in Chicago, there will be a session devoted to travel blogging. Debbie from Delicious Baby and Kim Mance from Galavanting are also organizing a half-day meetup for travel bloggers.

Sure would like to go to these but that won't be happening. I just hope there will be some videos / podcasts / live twitter of these events for those of us who won't be able to make either of these conferences.

Travel Blogger Awards.

Travel bloggers are mostly ignored when it comes to award season. But not this year. This year, there are two travel blogger awards on offer.

For the very first time, the Weblog Awards have a 'best travel blog' category.



After a short nominating period, the finalists have been listed. They are...

MyKugelhopf
Folie a Deux
The Asian Traveler
Curious Expeditions
Notes from the Road
The Lost Girls
LL World Tour
Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide
Intelligent Traveler
The Cranky Flier

There's a few of my favorites there, as well as some I can see I'll be spending some time at getting to know in the future.

It's great to see fellow travel bloggers getting acknowledged and recognized, so get out and vote. I have but I'm not going to tell you who for.

But wait, there's more...

Caitlin from Roaming Tales gave me a heads up on the first every Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards.. She even voted for Write to Travel in the themed blog category (thanks Caitlin)




The Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards have 11 categories and the nominations are now open, so head on over and start nominating.

• Best Destination Blog


• Best Expat Blog


• Best Travelogue


• Best Consumer Travel Blog


• Best non-English language Blog


• Best Video Blog (including YouTube Channels)


• Best Micro-Blogging (twitter etc)


• Best Image Blog


• Best Themed Blog (trekking etc)


• Best Group Authored Blog


• Best Podcast

The nominations will remain open until sometime in Febuary, then voting will take place.

Galavanting Video Interview with Travel Writer Eva Holland...

Good news for those of you who enjoyed Write to Travel's 'Interview with a Travel Writer' series - Galavanting, the online Women's Travel Magazine and Community, is planning on running regular video interviews with travel writers.

Here's their first one with Eva Holland...

Weekly Top 6 Blog Posts for Writers...

1. Should you have to audition to get a writing gig?

2. Freelancing on the move: 3 essential tools for roaming freelancers

3. Two Freelancing Myths and The Need For Self-Discipline

4. The Six People You Meet In Freelance Internet Writing Hell

5. 5 Steps for Planning the Direction of Your Blog in 2009

6. 3 Easy Ways to Write with Style