Travel Writer Job Description
A travel writer specializes in bringing tourist destinations to life through descriptions of the sights and sounds of various locations. A travel writer usually works freelance, contributing to multiple publications, but they might work for a travel publication or company. Although some travel writers work for print or online media outlets, others combine the two or may contribute to guidebooks such as the Lonely Planet series.
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Writing Copy
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A travel writer spends much of his time working on articles and guides in a range of styles and for different audiences. As the writer travels, he will need to constantly make notes, recording details such as fragments of conversations or impressions of a place, which he’ll later use in his copy.
A travel writer is expected to meet deadlines, which can be quite tough in some cases, as the British Guild of Travel Writers website points out, since the nature of travel writing means there’s little chance for deadline extensions.
Traveling
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A travel writer is expected to travel frequently, as the name implies. The writer may develop a number of articles per destination she visits, or she may be sent by her editor to a certain destination in order to write a specific piece. Though the amount a writer travels varies, she might be required to travel to and from multiple destinations in a short period of time, according to the British Guild of Travel Writers website.
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Research
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A travel writer needs a solid knowledge base to provide context and information readers will require. Although some of this knowledge will be picked up as part of a trip to a destination, the writer also may need to do some background reading to find out contact phone numbers for hotels or restaurants she wishes to mention in her article, for instance.
Qualifications
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Some editors may look for a travel writer to have a degree in English or journalism, but much more attractive is previous experience of writing for a travel audience. Candidates should attempt to acquire "clippings" of their work, which can be accumulated from a variety of publications, in order to stand the best chance of landing a job.
Salary
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The salary for a travel writer depends on how they are employed. A travel writer working freelance might earn $10,000 to $30,000 for putting a new guidebook together, or $10 to $1,000 (if she has significant experience) for an article, according to the Transitions Abroad website. Meanwhile, a staff writer will earn about the same as an average journalist, which is $25,702 to $42,398 a year, according to the PayScale website.
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References
- Photo Credit travel image by Oleg Leshchev from Fotolia.com
