{"id":4833,"date":"2018-01-26T06:28:52","date_gmt":"2018-01-26T14:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/?p=4833"},"modified":"2018-03-27T08:15:04","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T15:15:04","slug":"how-i-earn-1-per-word-as-a-travel-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freedomwithwriting.com\/freedom\/uncategorized\/how-i-earn-1-per-word-as-a-travel-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Earn $1 Per Word as a Travel Writer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elen Turner<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve been traveling my whole life and writing almost as long, it has only been in the last few years that I have started to make money as a \u2018travel writer\u2019. Copywriting for tour companies and hotels, writing itineraries, branded content for travel-related companies, literary travel essays, memoir-style pieces, listicles, travel advice\u2026 if it\u2019s travel-related, I\u2019ve written it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not exactly what you\u2019d call a \u2018seasoned pro\u2019 of the travel writing world, in that I haven\u2019t been doing this very long, I haven\u2019t written any major guidebooks, and I\u2019m not on the road full-time. But, I have been paid that magic number–$1 per word–for my work. Not all of my work by any means, but enough to know that well-paying jobs are out there for writers with the right skills, experience and networking prowess. Here\u2019s how I got there.<\/p>\n

First, I identified my niche\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve traveled all over the world (40 countries) and have written about destinations from North America to Europe to East Asia, I have a more specific niche. I divide my time between Nepal and New Zealand, so these two places are where I focus my travel writing energy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s somewhat of a misconception that travel writers spend their whole lives jet-setting around the world to new destinations. A few operate that way, but they\u2019re the definite minority. Most travel writers focus on places a bit closer to home, wherever that may be. While choosing a tiny niche can be limiting (both Nepal and New Zealand are small countries), it has also put me in an excellent position to claim all the work that comes along on these places.<\/p>\n

Focusing on a niche near where you live is not only a way to develop expertise (because you\u2019re bound to know more about a place that you\u2019re close to than one you only visit for a week)–it\u2019s also cheaper. Most writers can\u2019t afford to be traveling internationally all the time, and press trips that cover expenses are not that easy for beginner writers to get in on. Hence the importance of specializing in a convenient region if you want to make any money from your travel writing.<\/p>\n

\u2026and set up a website<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have an author website, which started off life more as a blog while I was honing my niche. After a while I decided I didn\u2019t want to be a blogger per se. This was largely because I didn\u2019t want to be giving away all of my good ideas and advice for free on my blog! I wanted other publications to pay me for my work. It\u2019s true that some bloggers make money from their blogs, but they tend to be all-round business people who are good at everything from social media to photography. I was really only interested in writing.<\/p>\n

All writers should have a website that showcases their niche and their work. I can\u2019t stress that enough. All writers should have a website that showcases their niche and their work.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once I\u2019d identified my niche, had a few articles published with low-paying publications and set up a blog\/website, word seemed to get out that I was a travel writing professional. I started to get offers of work through my website. Legitimate <\/em>offers of work, with clients all over the world. Some have been ongoing, others one-off jobs, but all (that I have accepted) have been interesting and worthwhile.<\/p>\n

But none of them have offered me $1 per word (yet)\u2026.<\/p>\n

The step up to $0.50 per word<\/strong><\/p>\n

After I\u2019d been at it for a couple of years, a large travel insurance company who were growing their travel information pages put out a call across social media for Nepal specialists to write content for their site. As well as seeing this call myself and deciding to apply, at least half a dozen friends and acquaintances forwarded it to me, as they knew of my specialization.<\/p>\n

I applied and was (one of several) people selected to do that work. The editor I worked with acknowledged that I was an expert on travel in Nepal. This probably wouldn\u2019t have happened if I\u2019d tried to stay broad in my career as a travel writer, rather than choose a niche.<\/p>\n

The short articles I wrote for them paid 50 cents (Australian) per word, which was the highest per-word fee I\u2019d received for any writing at that time. I made around AU$2000 for that job. Further, when opportunities arose to write further guides to India and New Zealand a few months later, I was already on the editor\u2019s radar and I picked up more work on those projects.<\/p>\n

This was awesome, but it wasn\u2019t yet $1 per word. So how did I hit that next target?<\/p>\n

Hitting $1 per word<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earning $1 per word certainly isn\u2019t the highest fee in the travel writing world\u2014I\u2019ve heard rumours of $1.50-2 per word, but have yet to see them. $1 per word is a figure that newer writers are thrilled to receive, and veteran writers will comfortably accept. It\u2019s a very respectable rate.<\/p>\n

I broke through this barrier with a short 250-word piece on travel in New Zealand for an Australian airline magazine (so, you guessed it, I was paid AU$250). Airline magazines tend to pay very well, so most travel writers aim to be published in them. They can, however, be pretty hard nuts to crack. They have high standards, very specific requirements, and plenty of people vying to write for them.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a travel media website that many travel writers and industry professionals sign up to, called TravMedia. It\u2019s sort of like LinkedIn for travel media people; it sends out bulletins once a day, and alerts when editors post calls for pitches. I had heard mixed things about its usefulness, but as it\u2019s easy to sign up and be sent updates, I thought it would be worth sticking with.<\/p>\n

It was. My $1 per word assignment came from answering a call relating to a very specific topic about travel in New Zealand, which I happened to know about. I responded to the call saying that I had first-hand knowledge of the topic, and included links to a selection of my previous articles that were on a similar topic, to show my style and experience.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t be certain what my role my travel writing experience played in being commissioned this, as I think having first-hand experience with the topic was more useful. But still, the fact that I could point to my articles in numerous places must have helped, and made me seem more professional.<\/p>\n

So far, this has been my only assignment that has paid so well. But as I said, I haven\u2019t been in this field all that long, so I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n

Summary of tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n