Talking Travel Writing

There’s a snobbery around travel copywriting. Much like there’s snobbery around service journalism (like listicles or simple destination guides and tips articles). It’s not ‘real travel writing’. It’s not cool. This comment from last week’s newsletter is proof that so many of us dismiss copywriting because it doesn’t suit the narrative we want to tell about our work. We’re storytellers of people and place, not just keyboard jockeys bashing out boring words.

A little like travel writing, travel copywriting is something of a mysterious beast. It’s an industry without an obvious way in, and even among us — travel writers and editors — it can seem like a confusing and closed-off sector. I’ve been dabbling in copywriting for most of my career. As a staffer at Rough Guides and Love Inc, I took on side copywriting gigs for tour operators and cruise lines to bolster my income.

Yesterday we sent an email about our next Residential Travel Writing Course, taking place in November, but the payment plan details were incorrect where it suggested 1 July and 1 September for additional instalments. See below for an updated version: Cost | £795 for three nights accommodation, learning and some food. A £260 deposit secures your spot now, with two further instalments due by 31 July and 1 September.

Our hugely successful travel writing course is coming to the Cotswolds this November, and if you book it before 10 July we’ll throw in three months’ access to our Travel Pitching Index (worth £59.99) to help you kickstart your career. This four-day residential course will help you work through the framework that’s led our past attendees to landing bylines in The Telegraph, The Independent, BBC Travel and Wanderlust. Expect a small group, hands-on learning and zero fluff.

After more than three decades at The Independent as a roving travel reporter, ‘the man who pays his way’ Simon Calder has started a new role at The Telegraph’s travel desk. He’s got the sort of job most of us travel writers can only dream of: while not on the staff, he is paid a retainer that provides regular income and the opportunity to travel as much as is necessary to bring readers the best holiday inspiration and information. But how does that work? How did he get the job in the first place?

Last week, I conducted a not-so-scientific poll in a WhatsApp group, where I asked freelancers how often they attend networking events. Of those living outside of London, practically none make it to even just one event per month (and for some, it’s just one per year). Less surprisingly, the London set get themselves in front of PRs and their travel writ…

Fancy adding another income stream to your portfolio? We have just the thing for you! We're about to launch a new travel copywriting course aimed at travel writers. It'll help you convert your skills into copy that could earn you 10x the fees you'd get writing editorial, and is led by a freelance copywriter with 16+ years’ experience under her belt.

I have written before on how important social media has been for my career: I’ve had commissions, bolstered my profile, and even made new revenue streams from my social media presence. It’s a form of networking in my view, and it has been instrumental for my career. But many bemoan the tedium of it all, especially when social media is used as a place fo…

I have been incredibly lazy in recent years. My portfolio — this very outdated website — has been left to rot in the servers of Squarespace and it no longer encapsulates everything I’ve done, do or am trying to achieve. It doesn’t list any of my recent work; it seems I stopped updating that in 2022, and so anyone looking me up there right now will think I’ve been on a four-year career break. It has outdated descriptions of what I am doing with my life and career. And the photos are old.

Whether you take press trips or not (here’s some interesting intel from a writer who doesn’t), relationships with PRs are important — not least to keep abreast of the latest news in the areas you cover. But building and keeping those relationships can be a challenge for anyone — our inboxes are full and messy, our time is limited, and opportunities to meet PRs are often London-centric.