Joanne, author of guidebooks such as Pennsylvania
Handbook (Moon Press) and Best Places in Marin,
told us about travel writing.
Tourism is the number one growth industry and
travel writing fuels it. Almost every magazine from general
interest magazines to the internet and ad agencies have articles
about travel. Some are subject specific like food magazines,
and some are area specific like the travel sections in newspapers.
But if you want to do travel writing, you must write for the
joy of it because you'll rarely get rich. The average pay for
an article is $250, and 20 queries per week may produce eight
articles a month. On the other hand, most expenses are tax deductible,
and, once you have that al-important letter of assignment from
your editor/publisher, free or at least discounted transportation,
meals and accommodations follow. After all, your writing is
advertising.
It is hard to break into the field so Joanne
recommended starting out with articles in local, small papers
so you can accumulate clips showing your writing ability. Keep
your reviews positive as well: stories about rats in the bedroom
and snarly waiters don't sell. Although the industry is moving
more in this direction, work-for-hire is not good for the writer:
pay is for a product, and, while the product requirements may
change, there is no increase in remuneration for the author.
Finally, Joanne said that guidebook writing is the "Cadillac"
of the industry and learning photography pays off here too.
For those interested in more information on the
field, Joanne suggested The Travel Writer's Guide, The Travel
Writer's Handbook, contacting Bay Area Travel Writers at 415-267-6176
(they are professional Bay Area writers), and checking www.travelwriters.com.
Joanne has written for the guidebook market
for nearly ten years, since a story of hers was published in
"Travel Holiday." She parlayed that initial small
sail into the Pennsylvania Handbook, the Maryland-Delaware Handbook
and Best Places Marin. In addition to travel, Joanne has authored
interviews with Isabel Allende, Arthur Golden, Caroline Alexander,
former President Jimmy Carter, and others for "Writer's
Market," "Novel & Short Story Writer's Market,"
the "Los Angeles Times" and other publications. She
was one of 30 writers in attendance at the Spoleto (Italy) Writers
Symposium. She is currently at work on a novel set around the
1906 San Francisco earthquake and a non-fiction book on friendship
and the building of a personal community.
