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Editorial

Most contemporary travel writers write travel memoirs because having a personal anthology is considered a rite of passage. It gives us some sort of credibility, status, and bragging rights within our field.

Unfortunately, the majority of travel memoir authors make very little money for their efforts.

Very few travel writing authors ever make it BIG. At the top of the pyramid are writers like Bill Bryson, Paul Theroux, Ernest Hemingway, Pico Iyer, Mark Twain, and a few dozen others.

Your chances, realistically, of making this notable list are slim. There are, literally, thousands of travel writers who've published travel memoirs or anthologies. Most would be thrilled to have sold 100 copies. If you’ve sold 1,000 copies you’ve done extremely well.

Travel writing has never sold particularly well. It has always ranked low in the non-fiction categories. According to Reedsy.com, travel literature ranks 23rd out of the 24 main non-fiction genres. (https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/nonfiction/)

If you want to sell a substantial number of books, you really need to be a well-known — or at least a well-published — freelance travel writer before you publish your travel memoir or travelogue.  How can you become well-known or well-published? You can establish your travel writing reputation first by getting published in magazines, travel websites, or travel blogs. Eventually This way, you’ll have name recognition and (hopefully) an established following when you eventually publish your anthology. 

There is one other huge benefit to having your stories published in popular print media. With assignments in hand, you're eligible to politely request complimentary travel assistance from the destination marketing organizations (DMOs) at your destinations.

I've had 200+ press trips or "Familiarization Tours" in 25 countries around the world, with most—and sometimes all—expenses paid by the local or national Destination Marketing Organizations. These perks usually include airfare, ground transport, accommodations, meals, tours and guides, complimentary entry to tourist attractions and museums, etc. Travel is expensive these days and I could not even begin to calculate how much these "comps" have saved me, not to mention receiving VIP treatment at my destinations.

If you want to sell thousands of your travel memoirs, you'll need name recognition. But you’ll also need outstanding sales, marketing and self-promotion skills. And you'd have to treat it like a full-time job.

I'm currently assembling a personal travelogue. I've been in the game for 17 years and have more than 1,000 articles under my belt. Selecting 50+ stories from this crop is a breeze. They're already written! Plus, I've already been paid for these stories by the magazines, so even if I don't sell many books, I've already been paid for writing each article. I also have a sizable following through social media and this travel writing newsletter — many of whom will buy my anthology based on my reputation as an established freelance travel writer.

In summary, if you’re contemplating writing your own travel memoir, get your stories published in print or online first. Make yourself known to as many people and groups as possible. Then write your memoir and get to work marketing it to your audience. It’s a big task. No wonder people brag about it when they’ve done it!

500 Print Magazines - Current Customers

Also, if you find any links that aren't working or any magazines that are no longer published, please let us know so we can get the word out to everyone.

For those of you who have all 10 issues, make sure you've downloaded the latest Revisions list. We've also included an alphabetical listing of all 500+ magazines to use as a cross-reference for your convenience.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you about which magazines you’ve pitched successfully and what stories you've sold to the magazines on these lists.

Have You Written a Travel Memoir?

Featured Post

Travel Guidebooks versus the Internet

But with so much information available on the Internet these days, are travel guidebooks necessary?

There are advantages and shortcomings to both sources of information. Here’s how I use guidebook travel information - or ignore it - while researching story ideas and planning my travel itineraries:

READ THE ARTICLE

Upcoming Posts

Inspirational Travel Quote

Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links About Researching Your Travel Destinations

But it’s more likely that you just need to do a little work to discover what’s so interesting about a place and to clarify your unique story angle.
Travel Story Idea Troubleshooting Guide

What does it take to sell your travel articles? In simplest terms, my sales process starts with pitching a story idea. Here's my sales process in a little more detail. This process has worked for me over and over again.
My 5-Step Sales Process

“Hi Roy - I'm wondering how you gather the information about any given destination? Do you use an audio recorder or take written notes, or what?”

I fielded this email a while back, and would like to share my strategies for gathering information about my destinations. Here are 5 ways to research your destination. How many of these do you use?
Researching Your Destination

MORE RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERS

Featured Book: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your Travel Articles

My manual, The Complete Guide to Marketing and Selling Your Travel Articles tells you how to select sellable story ideas, how to write first class query letters and pitch your ideas the right way. It’s my marketing “bible.”

This comprehensive manual shows you how to find magazines that will be interested in buying your story, and how you can start selling your travel articles to magazines immediately and reap the fantastic travel benefits, while being paid for your work.

“Roy, although I’ve been contributing to magazines, newspapers, TV and radio for nearly 20 years, your book, The Complete Guide To Marketing & Selling Your Travel Articles is an invaluable tool regardless of one’s level of experience dealing with & contributing to various outlets. Your book is written in a clear, understandable manner that gives concrete examples. Most importantly, it’s enormously informative & helpful.

As I shared with you, in one month I took a brutal hit and my 3 biggest outlets no longer exist or have ceased generating content. So it was back to square one for me - having to reach out and pitch editors and find new outlets. 

The query letter section in The Complete Guide To Marketing & Selling Your Travel Articles is an enormous help; it is packed with useful, practical information and not a bunch of fluff.

Thanks once again for generously sharing all of your tips and info that you’ve acquired over the years.”

Best Regards, 
Michelle Newman

For the next 30 days you can get 20% off this eBook when you use PROMO code: mm20j24 (expires July 17th at midnight)

LEARN MORE AND BUY THE BOOK

Free Travel Guides

Here’s a link to five websites where you can download Free Travel Guides

Our aim is to provide you with practical, nitty gritty information to help you gain entry into the travel writing realm and all the enjoyment that comes with it. 

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HERE.

Awards and Accolades

This listing helps match up travel journalists with magazine editors who are looking for specific stories.

Here’s the link to the download: PRontheGo Pitching Guide

Our website was selected for the 2024 Writer’s Digest Magazine’s “101 Best Websites For Writers” in the June issue. We’ve previously been chosen for Writer’s Digest Magazine’s 101 Best Websites For Writers in 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. WD doesn’t bestow these awards lightly. We’re the only travel writing website on the lists!

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Roy Stevenson
Pitch Travel Write
www.pitchtravelwrite.com