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Travel Writing 101, Part II

© Kim Applegate

In this week's article, Gary Crucefix, explores travel markets including writing guidebooks and magazine articles. If you missed the first part of Gary's article, you can read it here.

Travel Writer
by Gary Crucefix

Markets

Reading all this lore brought the inevitable agony of inspiration. It took a trip along the river Thames with City Cruises during a business visit to London's Millennium Dome to organise my thoughts.

I could write a guidebook, or humorous travel narrative focusing on commuting to London from my hometown Stevenage 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 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...