By Roadjunky, Posted Dec 04, 2006
Sections: Travel Writing Intro Writing Tips Travelogues Travel Magazines Writing for the Internet Guide Books Self Publishing Your Travel Website Travel Writing Scams Greatest Travel Books
“No man is content with his fortune but all are happy with their wit.”
“No man is content with his fortune but all are happy with their wit.”
Email, blogs and sites that accept content regardless of the quality (Hi Bootsnall!) have spawned a new generation of travel writers, each of them fancying themselves as the hottest gonzo journalist to hit the world since poor old Hunter bit the dust.
One of the most salient points to note about the internet is that it doesn’t cost anything to publish. Beyond the overheads of server space and bandwidth, an internet site is infinite and so no publisher loses all that much by posting your travel piece. There are any number of travel sites that are dying for content, have no money whatsoever to reimburse the writer but will give him the ego trip of seeing his name in bright lights. 3 links away from the home page.
Most writers are aware in their hearts that they can’t write for toffee but fortunately on the internet that doesn’t really matter. If the material is on topic then it will be found by the search engines and the site that publishes makes a few cents from ads. Everyone’s happy except for the travel writer who wants to get paid for his work.
However, there also exist some sites which only feature quality writing and which are successful enough to pay. Finding which they are takes absolutely ages and endless emailing and checking of internet writing resources, not all of which are free.
On the bright side getting your travel writing published on the net does mean that someone somewhere might read it and say, ‘hey, this one can really write!’ Or so you’d like to dream.
At the least it’s a showcase for your work and a possible reference when you solicit an editor (but only if it’s a site known for good, selective writing). It’s a joke among writers though that ‘you can die from too much exposure’.
Still, with some of your work on the net you increase the chances that someone will actually read your work and of course that’s what being a writer is all about, remember?
Of course you can always make your own travel website..
