Well this website is now represented on Facebook.com and I think that is a great way to network with fellow travelers and writers. Having a presence on Facebook is something I believe all writers should consider establishing. Not only can you showcase your work but more importantly you can network with others.

I have heard that many publishers will not even consider looking at your writing without some sort of social media presense. This is probably because of the high cost of advertising and if you can prove you already have a fan base then these publishers are more likely to look at you. It is expensive to publish any book or magazine article and some sort of viral self promotion can go a long way in helping your writing to be known to a wider audience.

If you wish to follow along on Facebook please go to:

http://www.facebook.com/travelwritingrevealed

I hope to see you there and hope you will join me in the discussion.

I know of at least several people on the Internet who harps on and on about “Personal Branding” yourself as a travel writer. But I have to wonder if this is really all that neccessary. In fact I believe that if you produce high quality articles that people actually want to read then you are working on your “Personal Branding.”

I am a firm believer that good results only follows hard work. Therefore I strive to produce the best possible blog posts, articles or even tweets that would add meaning to my audience. I value my audience’s time so therefore I do not want to waste any time promoting anything that I deem to be unworthy.

You establish yourself in this field by every article you publish and every blog post that you submit. With each article and blog post you are establishing yourself and you are starting to work on your reputation. This is your personal brand. Of course you can help this along by having  a twitter, facebook, myspace and various other social media accounts but ultimately it all boils down to the work that you produce. if you produce crap and make yourself widely known then you make yourself famous for producing crap. This is not what you want to do obviously.

This was one of the best questions I have ever been asked by actually someone I can not remember. However, fundamentally this does boil down a fundamental aspact of the field of travel writing. You see there are many people out there who consider themselves to be “travel writers” but what is this exactly? I mean can you really put yourself in that narrow of a category and still consider your work to be any good?  Some of the best writers that have been published had their work published in a variety of publications many of which had nothing to do with travel.

You see I believe myself to be a  writer who travels and will occasionally use the title of Travel Writer when it suits me. I believe that in order to really write high quality articles I must be open to write and be knowledgeable on a vast array of subjects. If I were to write about my travels to Haiti after the earthquake then some medical writing or knowledge would have come in handy in that situation. This knowledge would have made me feel more comfortable talking to the various Doctors and Nurses who were volunteering their time there.

Another example would be the emerging travel market of Northern Iraq. While this is still a very dangerous country to visit had I had some knowledge and writing skill on politics and religious studies I would be able to give my article far more depth then most others. It is the curiosity for knowing about the world that makes a travel writer deliever stellar articles.

So continue to be a travel writer if that is the title you wish to call yourself but try to expand into other areas where you may be able to add depth to your articles.

Should a Travel Writer have a blog? Well if you are writer then you know the answer to this. As any writer you are compelled to write something every day.  A blog that you own is a perfect avenue for you to share this urge on a daily basis and be absolutely sure that you will be published. After all if you are the owner/editor of your own blog then you know your work will be seen by at least someone. But is this a good thing? Do you really want your work to be seen by so many people? Yes you do!

Let me explain why owning a travel blog is ideal for any budding travel writer. First of all this gives you an opportunity to showcase your work to other publishers on a daily basis. This also allows you to come up with your own “voice” that really only develops after some serious writing time. The best way to get good at travel writing or writing in general is to practice this craft every day. Perhaps one day you produce something that you believe to be sub-par to your skills. Then you can use this one example of your writing to help motivate yourself to produce something better. It is the desire to produce high quality work that will drive your success.

In fact just owning one travel blog may not be enough. Perhaps you would prefer to write on a variety of subjects. Is there one country you particularly enjoy visiting? Then pick two or three cities to write about in that country and get to work. This also would allow you to establish relationships with other writers who publish stories on these same cities. After a while you will gain a reputation as being an authority on those cities and recieve the ever so coveted press passes that many of us so desire.

So if you want to be a travel writer or writer at all then get to work WRITING. You will not be able to get a start until you seize the day and take control over what you do everyday.Now is the time to get started!

Getting started in any writing can be very difficult. Without a journalism degree this can be near almost impossible for some to accomplish. The reason is that if you are just starting out you have no stories published yet. However, in order to get published in any newspaper you will need to have some clips of some published stories just to get the editors attention. So in order to get published you need to have been published before. It is a paradox that many cannot overcome. However, there are some interesting techniques you can use in order to help you break into this career.

The first tip I would give out is to offer to write the first five or six stories for free in order to get your published stories file full of example pieces of your writing. In order to do this would require establishing some rapport with the editor in charge of your local paper’s travel section. Approach any editor with some knowledge of the target audience of the paper and how you may be able to help him or her out. Also keep in mind that in the newspaper industry that deadlines are pretty much every day and it is a good idea to make sure that when you are talking to the editor that they are not under pressure and can talk freely.

When you just are starting out the best place to publish your first pieces of writing is with local papers. This need not be your own local paper but those of surrounding cities as well. If you have some college towns then be sure to write some samples that would also appeal to that age group. If you already have some sample stories written up before you contact the editor and some backup ideas thought up then it is far more likely to gain the respect of such a seasoned writer. Just be prepared and make sure everything is up to snuff.

The second tip to getting started in travel writing is to get published on the web on either the free travel websites or even those that may pay a small amount. Those that pay a small amount are sometimes, although not always, more respected then a free website that does not pay for submissions.

Eventually when you have a bunch of stories published say around thirty or forty then it can be time to approach some of the larger markets. This can include some national papers such as the New York Times or some nationally known magazines. Again be very familiar with their target demographic and how your story ideas may interest their readers.