TRAVEL WRITER
by Gary Crucefix

I'm sure you've been told to "write what you know?" Travel writing is no different, you should try to recreate the world you travelled through as seen through your eyes rather than simply telling us what you saw.

It occurred to me that I could write a travel piece based on my working experience's looking after commercial buildings in London's, historic West End. Never having considered this style before, I rummaged about the Net for inspiration

RESOURCES

My quest commenced at Fiction House's resources http://www.fictionhouse.com/Resources/resources.html A couple of clicks brought me to the Travelwriters Page http://travelwriter.homepage.com/index.html a useful refuge for the beginner travel writer - someone like me.

Durant Imboden's 'Travel Writing for Pleasure and Profit' http://www.writing.org/html/a_travel_writing_1.htm is listed. >From the man resembling a sea dog comes an irresistible offering that will not only appeal to travel writers, but the inveterate plagiarist, too. In part one Durant summarises the market, in part two, he competently guides the reader through the subgenes of travel writing, Web based references, markets and practical examples.

Other writer's listed at Travelwriters are Tom Brosnahan, Lori Beattie and Phil Philcox.

Tom's article 'Is Guidebook Writing Worth the Money' http://www.infoexchange.com/Author%20Table%20Pages/netfee.html offers serious advice that will help you predict the success or failure of your project.

Lori, a director of Artistic Adventures a company dedicated to teaching the art of documenting travel, shares her travel writing know-how by offering '10 Terrific Travel Writing Tips' http://www.journeywoman.com/traveltales/topten.html

Phil's article at Writer's Write, 'Travel Writing for Fun and Profit' http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/aug98/philcox.htm suggests "...only a few fortunate writers get to travel on expense-paid adventures and earn enough to wander around the globe and pay their bills while away from home. However, there are magazines out there that rarely use travel articles but might be interested in you as a 'travelling writer'...."

For a genuine inspirational approach to travel writing read 'In Search of Elusive Metaphors: The Art of Travel Writing' http://www.samexplo.org/mardon.htm by Mark Mardon.

MARKETS

Reading all this lore brought the inevitable agony of inspiration. It took a trip along the river Thames with City Cruises http://www.citycruises.com during a business visit to London's Millennium Dome http://www.dome2000.co.uk to organise my thoughts.

I could write a guidebook, or humorous travel narrative focusing on commuting to London http://www.londontown.com from my hometown Stevenage http://www.stevenage.gov.uk and my portfolio of buildings. A secondary income may be possible by writing fillers and factual articles.

Using Durant Imboden subgenes I considered the various markets.

Guidebooks

On the surface this market appears tougher than Vinnie Jones http://www.vinniejones.co.uk simply because there are more guidebooks than buyers. Focusing on a niche topic may give you the edge with major publishers, or self-publishing in smaller markets. For example, 'London Lunchtime Walks' and 'Streets of London' are two ideas that would make ideal guides for tourists, assuming these ideas are usable.

Travel Narrative

To score in this market you need an interesting topic that reads like a novel. 'A Year in Provence' by Peter Mayle is a good example of travel narrative. With this in mind I would prepare a synopsis with a blurb that reads something like this: Ex-soldier inherits a portfolio of forbidding properties in historic London. Over the course of the year, our hero battles against tenants, contractors, terrorists, local bureaucrats, The Mayor of London and his employers until finally he succeeds in earning their respect.

Magazines & Newspapers

The magazine market is competitive with top magazines assigning work to experienced writers, for qualified work they may accept the work of less experienced writers. Newspapers on the other hand, can be a good market for freelancers who offer unique angles of already burgeoning destinations or under hyped locations. Pay though, is usually low.

Here I would consider a piece on 'Commuting' or 'London Lunchtime Walks' as a regular feature, and fillers. For an example of a filler:

Traffic on London's river Thames was brought to a standstill today. A family of ducks, which included three young ducklings all paddling in single file, crossed the Thames from Bermondsey Dock to St. Katherine's Dock. Tourists aboard Millennium Dawn, a passenger ferry service operating between the London Eye and Millennium Dome turned their cameras away from Tower Bridge to capture the unique moment...

Advertising and corporate work

This is an unusual market, but, by all accounts, one worth pursuing. In fact, all some clients will want is traditional material whether it's for a brochure, script for a video or client newsletter. Others will allow you to express yourself. Whether they do or not, try slipping in the occasional comment that suggest local knowledge. For example:

In the 1960's the now legendary Carnaby Street http://www.carnaby.co.uk became the focal point for a popular youth culture. It now lives on its reputation and has become a tourist attraction in its own right. However, avoid lunching about its northern intersection with Gt. Marlborough Street at midday, which is besieged by courier riders taking a breather.

SUBMISSIONS

Before jumping in with both feet take a look at the tip sheet produced by the editor of Travel Publications Update http://www.travelwriters.com/site/travel_publications/tpu.asp. This editor has the ear of hundreds of editors of travel magazines and newspapers and has produced a summary of what they are looking for in a well-executed query and a well- written feature http://www.travelwriters.com/site/tips/index.asp.

WHERE TO SUBMIT

For information on suitable markets that may accept your work, spend some time exploring the following links:

*Travelwriter: http://travelwriter.homepage.com/markets.html

*Travel Writing for Pleasure and Profit http://www.writing.org/html/a_travel_writing_1b.htm

*Writers.org, market information: http://www.writing.org/html/a_travel_writing_3.htm

*The Writers Place http://www.awoc.com/Guidelines.cfm

*Writers Digest Top 100 Markets: http://www.writersdigest.com/hotlist/index.htm

*Publishers Catalogues: http://www.lights.com/publisher

The following UK magazines are worth a mention, but you will need to telephone for guidelines:

*Active Life: a lively magazine for 50+. Editor: Elaine Hodge. Tel: +44 (0) 207 253 5775 Fax: +44 (0) 207 253 5676

*Goldlife: a lively magazine for 50+. Editor: Nimita Parmar. Tel: +44 (0) 207 251 5489 Fax: +44 90) 207 251 5490

*Home & Country: Journal of the National Federation of Women's Institutes. Editor: Ambverr Tokeley. Tel: +44 (0) 207 731 5777 Fax: +44 (0) 207 736 4061.

*The Lady: affluent 40+. Editor:Arline Usden. Tel: +44 (0) 207 379 4717 Fax: +44 (0) 207 836 4620

*Prima: aimed at women of all ages. Editor: Lindsay Nicholson. Tel: +44 (0) 207 5195500.

Author's Name: Gary Crucefix
Email: editor@fictionhouse.com
Autoresponder: travelwriter@sendfree.com
Date of Article: July 2000

Gary Crucefix is founding editor of Fiction House a guide to writing and getting published, designed to put you in touch with what's new and exciting in Fiction throughout the Internet. Every month we guarantee to supply you with more proven, practical and profitable leads than you'll know what to do with.