Taking your first steps on the road to travel writing

Let’s face it, Rolf has the perfect life. Who wouldn’t want to Drive Around the World in a Land Rover, take a sailing trip through the Greek isles, or maybe study a little tantric sex in India, and get to write about it all?

While that might sound like the dream job, travel writing is not always such a picture-perfect adventure. As Rolf has said before, the travel writer’s life is not as glamorous as we might imagine it to be. It can be an arduous road, and getting started on the right path may be the most difficult step.

But if you agree that Rolf’s career is about as good as it gets, and you want to give it a try yourself, I recommend starting with as many jumping off points as possible. Check first with Rolf’s “Travel Writing Tips” page, which offers a straightforward how-to list on getting started with travel writing, along with useful resources such as Written Road, which offers all kinds of tips on market leads, job openings, travel writing contests, workshops, and conferences.

And if you’re serious about travel writing, join the club, literally. Check out the International Travel Writing Society website, where you can browse through their advice on becoming a travel writer, and sign up to receive their monthly newsletter. The ITSW is dedicated not only to the practice of travel writing, but also to the study of travel literature and review of current travel books.

Finally, as Rolf advises: Read a lot – you can’t write good travel stuff unless you read good travel stuff.

Related: Rolf is also teaching a travel-writing course in St. Petersburg, Russia this summer, in addition to his annual Paris Writing Workshop.