You’d think a passport would be pretty essential to writing travel articles, but you’d be wrong! In fact, you don’t have to go anywhere to write great travel articles – you can produce them from the comfort of your own home. Well, you might need to drag yourself outside to take some photos, and once you realise how much they can improve your chances of getting published I’m sure you’ll want to do that. But, essentially, that’s as far as you’ll need to go. And that’s great news now when there are so many travel restrictions and social distancing makes ‘normal’ life increasingly difficult.
It sounds so obvious, but most people don’t realise that they don’t have to be on holiday somewhere exotic in order to write a great travel piece. For instance, I could write an article about Manchester and its attractions. As a resident of the city I have significant advantages over a tourist because I know where the:
• best bars and restaurants are located
• coolest bands are playing
• hidden cultural gems can be found
• quirky, alternative places are to shop
• best cafe for yummy homemade cake is hiding
I can also advise on local transport links and hotels for any budget, plus a whole host of other things quickly and easily. And, even if I don’t know which tram will take me to the city art gallery in the quickest time, I have a distinct advantage in finding that information quickly, because I know where to look. I hope you can see the advantages of this? It means you spend much less time researching your article.
But it’s essential to keep your article interesting. You must try to find an angle, something that other people haven’t written about, if you want to sell your work. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to find a new place to visit or review the latest five-star restaurant – you could simply show people what to do in the wintertime, or give them an idea of what they can do on a really tight budget. You could also target your article at a niche market – for example, you could write an article for beer lovers, pointing out all the best pubs and breweries in Manchester. (Or gin lovers, as this seems to be the spirit of the moment.) How about a tour of the best cafes, bars and restaurants for people to frequent who don’t drink? Places to eat out if you’re a vegetarian or vegan? There are lots of different angles you can take if you just think imaginatively.
Whatever you choose to write about, take your notebook and phone/camera with you everywhere! You don’t want to be left with no way of noting things down if you come across a real gem. And, it doesn’t have to be a physical notebook these days; you can use your mobile phone if you prefer. It goes without saying that publishers will expect you to provide lots of great quality images to go with your article. There’s simply no point describing how wonderful the Christmas lights look if you have no picture to accompany it!
Once you’ve got your article idea in mind, but before you write it, think about who might like to publish it. You can approach publications in your own country, but it might be wise to look a little further afield too. For example, if you know that your town or city has tourists from overseas, why not approach publishers in those countries? Your article could be like an insider’s guide, giving people who are thinking of visiting the low-down on the city before they arrive.
So, whether you live in Nairobi or Nottingham, Kingston or Lagos, writing travel articles is not necessarily about jetting off to exotic locations; it’s about realising that where you live may be just as interesting as any of the great tourist destinations of the world!
And if you want to know more about enrolling on courses that will help you to write articles – including travel pieces – then why not visit our sister college The Writers Bureau?
Author: Diana Nadin
