I enjoy blogging about travel. My usual theme is family travel since we have two young children, although I do write about romantic travel at times as well. When I came across The Travel Writer’s Handbook, I was intrigued. It promises to teach How to Write and Sell Your Own Travel Experiences and does so in practical ways from how to organize a trip, to how to really experience the destination, to how to pitch it to various places of distribution.
The Travel Writer’s Handbook Review
The Travel Writer’s Handbook by Jacqueline Harmon Butler and Louise Purwin Zobel is a bestselling handbook for the aspiring travel writer. The handbook really helps the writer learn how to write and sell your own travel experiences by expanding your reach. For instance, one trip need not be exclusive to one writing outlet, nor one theme. For the travel writer, this gives them the opportunity to sell their story and photos to outlets with multiple reaches and readers. For me, as a blogger, it doesn’t apply so much, however I learned so much from this book.
Knowing about the destination by researching beforehand will allow you to really experience the destination and interview the locals in an educated way – thus producing a more interesting and appealing story. Finding the off-the-beaten path destinations, lodging, and restaurant can sometimes give a more authentic experience for the reader as well. My family strives to do this with most of our travels, we like to experience the destination as the locals do. There is a reason why they live there and love it and we aim to find that out.
The Travel Writer’s Handbook goes on to explain how to interview, the proper equipment to bring, how to use new technology to capture more, how to take notes, and how to sell your stories. A common theme throughout the book is to be open minded. Even if you plan a story with a particular slant, there are many more outlets to cover if you plan ahead, do your homework, and submit your story to various outlets.
As I said, I’m a blogger that blogs about travel. I enjoy it. This book has given me inspiration to not just tell you about what is on the menu at the restaurant I am reviewing but how it felt to be there, who else was dining there and why. The story of an experience is more than facts, it about sharing with the reader how it felt and why they should visit as well. Hopefully this book will improve my approach in travel writing, to make my travel stories more interesting and beneficial to both the reader and the companies I partner with.
Buy The Travel Writer’s Handbook
You can buy The Travel Writer’s Handbook on Amazon.com.
This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Agate Publishing who provided me with the product for review.
