My year of getting published

Travel blogger takeaways from TBEX 12

2012-06-17T18:56:00.000+12:00

Sadly, there's no travel in the horizon for me this year. But not traveling does mean I have plenty of time to wander through cyberspace, reading, listening, and watching others on their journeys throughout the world.

Such is the case with TBEX 12, billed as 'the world's largest gathering travel bloggers, writers, and new media content creators'. I may not be there physically but I'm there virtually, chasing around the internet, tracking down posts about the conference.

Thanks to Travelllll.com, who are providing video coverage, a chatroom, and streaming updates, I've just been watching Rand Fishkin's informative talk on SEO Without Selling Your Soul (see video and also slide presentation)

Rand talks about how 'branding is key', even for travel bloggers and that you need to start thinking of your travel blog as a brand.

This TBEX presentation led me to Rand Fishkin's SEOMOZ website and his extremely detailed SEO 101 for Travel Bloggers, a must read for anyone serious about travel blogging.

Video: Travel Writer Lee Foster talks...

2012-05-12T12:50:00.000+12:00

Travel Writer Lee Foster talks at the April 2012 meeting of the Bay Area Travel Writers organization.

The video quality isn't great and the first 4-6 minutes are full of introductions and meeting formalities but if you skip forward to Lee's talk you might find some helpful tips on getting published as a travel writer

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

2012-04-08T11:41:00.000+12:00

1. 7 Ways a Freelance Writer Can Create Retirement Income

2. 5 Harsh Realities of Making a Living Online

3. 4 Ways To Hack Into Your Mind And Become Infinitely More Creative

4. The hardest part of blogging

5. Six Freelancing Tips from Hans Solo

The search is on for England's biggest fan...

2012-03-31T20:13:00.000+13:00

VisitEngland.com is searching for a budding travel writer / broadcaster / social networker to take an all-expenses paid 70 day trip around England.

The chosen 'biggest fan' will take a trip around England in a van, following on the heels of the Olympic Torch Relay

Requirements for the position are simple - you have to be a real England enthusiast who would be able to entertain England with videos, photos, blog posts, facebook and twitter updates.

According to the enjoyEngland website, the perfect fan is...

is a go-getter who instinctively knows where the action is, and uncovers the best stories
can write like a dream. All the better to blog with…
has an mean eye for photography
is charismatic, with a great sense of humour when things don’t go to plan…
is utterly engaged with the task, and engaging by nature
has a full, clean UK driving licence
is over 21 years of age
is available for adventures countrywide between 14 May – 27 July

Interested?

All you need to do is send VisitEngland 100 words on your favorite place in England along with a photograph by April 9th.

'The Next Great Storyteller' Competition closes soon...

2012-03-29T04:00:00.000+13:00

National Geographic and Matador Network have teamed up in a competition to find 'The Next Great Storyteller.'

Think you have what it takes to a great travel storyteller?

Can you move, touch, surprise, and entertain with your stories?

Then this is the competition for you.

Here's what you have to do.

Submit a story in any of these four categories by March 31st...

Blog (300 words or less)Magazine Article (700 words or less)Video (No more than 3 minutes)Photo Essay (5 photos or less on a single subject)

The First Prize winner in each category will be...

"...invited to a “Storytellers’ Day” with the National Geographic Traveler editorial staff at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, DC. Airfare from any location in the US and one night in a hotel will be paid for by NGS for each winner. Each winner will also receive a one-year subscription to National Geographic Traveler magazine."

There's not much time left.

To find out more and to enter, head over The Next Great Storyteller page.

A conference for family travel bloggers...

2012-03-28T21:49:00.000+13:00

Family travel bloggers might want to check out this dual Family Travel Expo and Conference being held in NYC on 6th and 7th of May 2012.

According to the official website, the schedule is as follows...

Day 1 - Sunday May 6, features a family travel expo (bring the kids) with exhibits from fabulous resorts, tips from experts, and chances to win dream vacations! Discover amazing travel experiences, take advantage of great offers and deals, win trips and prizes, and more. You’ll hear travel tips from experts, learn about great new products, and discover how you can make your dream vacation a reality.

Day 2 - Monday May 7, kicks off an amazing day of keynotes, seminars, networking events and more for established and aspiring family travel bloggers. With content designed specifically for travel bloggers, attendees will take part in sessions on topics such as resort-blogger relations, blog design, pitching resorts & products, photography, building your readership and more.

For more information head over to the Macaroni Kid's Family Expo and Conference page.

Overnight Buses Travel Magazine looking for submissions....

2012-03-26T19:33:00.000+13:00

Overnight Buses, a App based magazine is looking for submissions

To find out what they are looking for, download the Overnight Buses Travel Magazine App for iPad. There's some great featured essays by award winning travel writers such as Michael Shapiro, Marcia DeSanctis, Nathan Comp, and Ayun Halliday in the first issue.

According to their guidelines, they want...

"...travel essays, literature, travel journalism and personal narratives; the stories of your adventures in far-off places that changed you in ways you didn’t expect. We’re looking for the stuff that will make our readers laugh, cry, shout and say “Damn! That was a darn good read.” We take pride in the fact that we publish the articles that other magazines don't. The gritty stories, the trips to the middle of nowhere, the personal narratives that really make you think, the hard-hitting journalism. If you've got it, we want it.

Articles should be in English, with American spellings (color, not colour). Non-fiction, obviously. 1000 words or more in PDF or Word format (.doc, .pdf). 4000 words is the sweet spot, long enough to draw our readers in, short enough to read in an hour."

Send submissions via email to Tom at submissions [at] overnightbuses.com

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

2012-03-26T01:00:00.000+13:00

1. How to Create a Successful Editorial Calendar

2. Tips for Writing Productivity – The Star Freelancer Guide

3. How to blog on an iPad

4. Branding for Writers: An Essential Step to Building Your Author Platform

5. 7 Pages Your Freelance Web-Writing Website Must Have By Christina Gillick

Video: Dr. Seuss’s ‘Oh, the Places You'll' at Burning Man...

2012-03-25T13:26:00.001+13:00

“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”

– Dr. Seuss in Oh, the Places You’ll Go

Here's an amazingly unique presentation of Dr. Seuss’s famous graduation present book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! . It incorporates the strange but happy weirdness of Burning Man while reminding everyone that you are free to go in any direction you choose...

This video by Tedshots

(via Flavorwire)

Photo Friday: Christchurch Cathedral

2012-03-23T08:55:00.004+13:00

The iconic Christchurch Cathedral, once the centerpiece of the city, lies in ruins and is soon to be deconstructed.

Check out Delicious Baby Journal for more interesting photo fridays from around the world.

Go with Oh Travel Blogger competition...

2012-03-21T20:21:00.000+13:00

Imagine free accommodation for a month in four European cities.

Sounds a lot like an impossible dream.

But the folks over at Go with Oh, a holiday accommodation site, is going to make this dream happen for some lucky blogger.

Interested?

All you have to do to enter is write a blog post about 5 things you'd most like to do in one of Go with Oh's accommodation destinations.

It shouldn't be to hard to do, given that their destinations are Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Vienna, Prague, Venice, Dublin, and Florence.

In fact, the only hard part would be decided which destination to write about.

Check out Go with Oh's Blogger Competition page for more information on how to enter this amazing competition.

Are you in?

52 Perfect Days Food and Wine Travel Writing Contest...

2012-03-21T13:17:00.001+13:00

52 Perfect Days fourth annual travel writing contest is now open for submissions.

The topic this year is Culinary or Wine Tourism.

Submission guidelines...

* article no more than 1,000 words on your perfect experience with Wine or Culinary tourism

* detail how to spend a perfect day, evening, weekend, or week focusing on one of the following: wineries, tastings and tours, culinary explorations including culinary schools, foodie tours, B7Bs well known for their food or pairings, and food movements in particular cities. Or share a day of exploring the best restaurants, food carts, wine bars that a particular location has to offer.

* the travel story must be not only unique, engaging, and exciting to the reader and but also well-crafted and well edited.

* send the completed article and photographs to this email

The four best entries as chosen by the 52 Perfect Days editors, will wine one of these prizes

- a trip to Calistoga in Napa Valley Wine Country

- a trip to Valle de Guadalupe in Baja Wine Country

- a WordPress website by ZDDesign

- a BottleWise Rollup wine travel case

Interested?

Then read the full submission guidelines and get writing.

Deadline for submissions is November 31, 2012

Wanderlust Magazine's travel writing advice...

2012-03-19T17:00:00.000+13:00

Travel magazine Wanderlust has published a few online articles focusing on travel writing...

Peter Moore, Wanderlust's associate web editor and author of six travel narratives, provides tips on How to convince a publisher to put out your travel book.

Peter Whitfield, author of Travel: A Literary History, offers 7 top tips to be a better travel writer

Book editor Jennifer Barclay gives the inside scoop on how to get your travel book published

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

2012-03-19T00:30:00.000+13:00

Photo Friday: New Zealand's quirky coffee culture

2012-03-17T19:09:00.000+13:00

Over a hill, through a tunnel, on the side of a road by the sea, this quirky van advertises a small cafe onboard Jaques Cousteau's old French built vessel the 'Physalle' that is now docked in Golden Bay.

If you're a fan of coffee, you'll love New Zealand's coffee culture.

Part of the Delicious Baby photo friday network

(photo credit: Liz Lewis)

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

2012-03-12T15:29:00.002+13:00

1. Enhance Your Freelance Writing Career with These 5 Tips

2. The Author’s Guide to Social Media: How to build your media empire and take over the internet.

3. Freelance Focus: How to Pitch a Column, Part 1

4. 18 Online Tools for Freelance Writers that Help Boost Productivity [Part 2]

5. Build Your Arsenal to Better Promote Your Freelance Writing

Photo Friday: Port-a-loos in the Gardens

2012-03-10T08:17:00.001+13:00

Not exactly what you'd expect to see in when wandering through a city's botanic gardens. But in Christchurch, New Zealand, nothing is as you expect it these days.

To find out the story behind the photos, head over to Perceptive Travel Blog.

Part of the Delicious Baby photo friday network

image credit: Liz Lewis

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

2012-03-05T18:21:00.000+13:00

1. Tips for Turning Online Procrastination Time into Writing Research Time

2. Five apps to simplify your writing projects

3. 29 Ways to Beat Procrastination Once and For All

4. Your Clutter is Killing Your Creativity

5. Improve Your Writing By Reading Like a Fiend

Travelllll.com is hiring writers...

2012-02-01T08:33:00.000+13:00

Travelllll.com, a travel blogging and media news site, is looking for a few good writers to provide content on travel blogging trends and the latest trends, news, and products in the online travel market.

What they are looking for...

People who are passionate about the travel industry. We’re looking for two people who are on the bubble when it comes to the latest trends, news, and products in the online travel market.

Good writers. We’re looking for people who can craft some English prose. You don’t have to be Shakespeare. But you should feel pretty comfortable with your abilities.

Social media enthusiasts. We write about the online travel industry, not the destinations. You’ve got to have an interest in how travel as a whole is evolving online, not just pretty beaches and where to get the best Margarita.

If that sounds like you, head on over to Travelllll.com to find out how to apply.

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

2012-01-30T01:00:00.000+13:00

1. How to Instantly Transform Your Landing Page Images from Good to Great

2. 10 Ways Multi-blog Authors Can Stay Creative and Generate Great Posts

3. Having Trouble Getting Yourself To Write? 9 Tips

4. 8 ways freelance writers earn more by setting their sights higher

5. Are you afraid to pitch to editors? this is the reason you shouldn't be

2012-01-22T19:39:00.000+13:00

The British Guild of Travel Writers, in association with Traveller magazine, is holding their third annual travel writing competition for new writers.

Only those who have not been published in the travel field are eligible to enter.

Entrants are advised to submit an 800-word article with the theme A Revealing Journey.

"It could be about the journey itself, or being in a destination, that awakened your senses and emotions. Alternatively it could be about your travels as a reflection of a personal journey you have made. Either way, make travel in a destination, or the journey to get there, central to your story."

For full terms and conditions, head over to the British Guild of Travel Writers' site.

TripShock.com Seeks Travel Bloggers...

2012-01-21T19:29:00.000+13:00

Travel website TripShock.com plans on promoting the Gulf Coast by sending established travel bloggers and reporters down there to experience for themselves.

From the press release...

The company (TripShock.com) plans to bring down up to five different travel writers or bloggers and offer them complimentary lodging, dining, and tours in the Destin-Panama City Beach region. The dates for this offer will start as early as March of 2012 and go through November.

Any travel writers that are interested must contact Greg Fisher at gfisher[at]tripshock[dot]com for more information and details. Candidates must include their website, articles, experience, and anything else that will make them a best choice for this opportunity.

Green Travel Writer wanted...

2012-01-20T09:47:00.005+13:00

Go Green Travel Green (GGTG) is a leading travel website dedicated to making sustainable travel accessible for everyone. We’re growing and looking for a stellar writer to contribute 4-8 blog posts per month. Each post will pertain to travel, environmentalism, and/or intersection between the two.

Qualifications

Excellent writing skills
Ability to write in an engaging voice
Experience writing for an online audience (blogging experience preferred)
Ability to meet deadlines and develop and manage an editorial calendar
Knowledge of basic HTML
Fluent in English
Passion for travel and/or environment a plus

How to Apply

To apply, submit:

- your resume,
- writing sample (or link to a writing sample)
- brief statement of interest to gogreentravelgreen [at] gmail [dot] com and put “Writer Position” in the subject line.

Please include your desired rate per article with your application.

This is a contract position and pay is on a per-article basis. It will start out as a three-month contract with the possibility of extending the contract at the end of three months. This is not a ghostwriter position; you will be credited for your work.

Remember 2011...

2012-01-05T08:21:00.000+13:00

My year of getting published

Travel blogger takeaways from TBEX 12

Top 5 Weekly Blog Posts for Writers...

Video: Travel Writer Lee Foster talks...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

The search is on for England's biggest fan...

'The Next Great Storyteller' Competition closes soon...

A conference for family travel bloggers...

Overnight Buses Travel Magazine looking for submissions....

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

Video: Dr. Seuss’s ‘Oh, the Places You'll' at Burning Man...

Photo Friday: Christchurch Cathedral

Go with Oh Travel Blogger competition...

52 Perfect Days Food and Wine Travel Writing Contest...

Wanderlust Magazine's travel writing advice...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

Photo Friday: New Zealand's quirky coffee culture

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

Photo Friday: Port-a-loos in the Gardens

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

Travelllll.com is hiring writers...

Weekly Top 5 Blog Posts for Writers...

TripShock.com Seeks Travel Bloggers...

Green Travel Writer wanted...

Remember 2011...