Category Archives: travel

advice, Business, editorial, featured, Interviews, reading, resources, travel

Interview With…Tim Leffel, Travel Writer And Editor

Today we are lucky enough to have with us Tim Leffel, an experienced travel writer and editor. Tim has just put out a new book that may be of interest to Freelance-Zone readers who want to know more about travel writing, and he also offers some good advice here…enjoy!     – Catherine 
Tim Leffel
Tim Leffel

1. Can you tell readers about your writing journey and how you came to be involved with travel writing?

I worked at RCA Records for seven years in marketing and did a lot of writing there as a part of my job. When my now-wife and I started preparing to go backpacking around the world long-term, the obvious money-making paths for me seemed to be teaching English and travel writing. So I did both. The stories I got published were just a trickle at first, but over time I got more assignments and eventually I was able to dispatch stories and hotel reviews from five different continents. I worked part-time for many, many years before I made the leap to this being a full-time job. For me, things really started to take off when I put out a book that sold well and started a blog to go with it. 

2. You have a new book coming out soon…would you share a bit about that with Freelance-Zone readers? 

It’s hitting the virtual shelves now, so you can get it at the usual online shops, at Booklocker.com, and soon at the Apple iBookstore. It’s called Travel Writing 2.0: Earning money from your travels in the new media landscape. This is the first guide I know of to address how to actually earn money at this in this time of transition between print and digital media. Besides my own hard-won advice, the book has lots of nuggets from 52 other travel writers and a group of editors and publishers.

3. In your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes writers make when it comes to travel writing?

Trying to publish broad stories about places instead of spending time finding unique angles that have not been covered before. Sure, you read plenty of ho-hum destination stories in magazines that follow a similar script, but what editors really want from new freelancers are unique angles, especially ones that can fit onto a page or less in the print world. The same concept applies to blogging as well: if what you’re writing is not noticeably different from everything else out there, why do readers need you? We’re already drowning in average prose from average writers.

The other big mistake is not having the long-term vision and persistence required to succeed at what is a very competitive field. It can take years to get established as a travel writer, whether on the old print path or a new digital one, so choose opportunities based on what it will do for you long-term, not how big that single check may or may not be.

4. Would you share a career highlight with us?

I can’t pick one because the highlights are two-fold. First, I’ve taken some mind-blowing, amazing trips that either paid for themselves from articles sold or were covered by someone else paying the expenses and to me that’s the real payoff of this job. Writing assignments have taken me to the Galapagos, Peru, Panama, Iceland, Botswana, Hungary, Nepal—and plenty more places. Winning a Grand Prize from the North American Travel Journalists Association was nice. Selling Italian rights to The World’s Cheapest Destinations was pretty cool. But probably the greatest highlight was being able to reach the point where I could pay the bills and support my family as a writer/editor/blogger. I’m proud that I’ve accomplished this mostly because of websites and blogs I’ve created myself from scratch, not from pleading with rotating gatekeepers over and over.

5. What is the best piece of writing advice you have ever received?

One of my high school English teachers told me not to use 20 words when 10 will say it just as well—or better. What’s made me a good writer, more than anything I think, is being good at brutal self-editing.

leffel_monkey200BIO: Tim Leffel is a full-time freelance writer and the author of several books, including the new Travel Writing 2.0 and The World’s Cheapest Destinations, now in its third edition. He is the editor of the narrative webzine Perceptive Travel, the CheapestDestinations Blog, and the Practical Travel Gear Blog.

editorial, lifestyle, travel

The Benefits of A Writer’s Getaway

hotel providence in Rhode Island

Transparency: The “And The Plot Thickens” novel-writing workshop at the Hotel Providence in Rhode Island is a Freelance-Zone sponsor. That said, we really think writers can get a lot out of this type of retreat, so we’re not hawking something here we don’t believe in. Travel broadens the mind!

A lot has been made about the profession of writing as a solitary endeavor. There’s a romantic image of the writer locked away in a room somewhere banging away on a keyboard safe from intrusions from the outside world…until the writer is in need of some inspiration, of course.

What happens when you get stuck and decide your book, article, or even a blog post needs something more than it’s got? That’s when the notion of the solitary writer goes right out the window. Writers NEED human interaction to get the job done, whether in the form of an interview, inspiration from overhearing a random conversation on the train or bus, even just looking up a literary reference is still going back to the well, so to speak, of the shared human experience.

I said all that to say the writer’s retreat, conference, or workshop is a pretty valuable thing. It’s easy to get married to that lone writer stereotype, but how do you know if your ideas are any good? How do you get confidence in your work?

You might think I’m telling people to go out in search of validation through the approval of people at these writing workshops—far from it. Rather than attending them looking for someone to affirm your basic genius, you should go to a writer’s retreat or conference looking for ways to overcome your shortfalls as a writer, to learn why your strengths work like they do and to undo bad habits that only come to light when you’re working under scrutiny.

You know the habits I mean—the ones you can’t help noticing when somebody else reads your material in front of you. “Wow, I DO have a set of crutch words!” It’s embarrassing at first, but realizing that every writer makes some of the same mistakes can actually help motivate you to be more vigilant.

A writer’s workshop like And The Plot Thickens is also helpful for another reason. Some writers don’t realize they’re toiling away at one type of writing when they could be more adept in a different area. Are you dreaming of shifting gears to a different sort of work?

If you’ve got a novel in you but don’t know how to get it out, this type of weekend workshop could be the way to unlock those particular doors. The same goes for any other type of writing—a novelist would do well to attend a blogger conference, a fiction writer could get a taste of straight journalism, etc. There’s also a lot to be said for getting away, spending a weekend at a place like the Hotel Providence in Rhode Island, and experiencing a complete change of scenery.

It’s never a bad thing to try something new, and those who have already committed to a novel, blog, or straight non-fiction format should give serious thought to spending time with colleagues and peers in environments like this. It’s good for you.

(For more information about the various “Discover Your Passion” workshops, visit the Hotel Providence on the web.)

–Joe Wallace

Image courtesy of Rhode Island Roads.

lifestyle, travel

The Library Hotel

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Lobby

by Catherine L. Tully

Writers love to read. Those words are the inspiration behind this travel destination for writers—the Library Hotel in New York. This property has ten floors which reflect ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System. Choose from: technology, social sciences, literature, languages, math & science, history, the arts, religion, philosophy and general knowledge. Better yet—each floor has a variety of subcategories which focus in on a section of the main theme. Each room features themed art and provides guests with a hand-picked selection of books that are related to the subject…

Continue reading The Library Hotel →

resources, travel

Guide Gecko

geckoby Catherine L. Tully

Need a travel guide book? Don’t want to pay through the nose at the bookstore? Check out Guide Gecko, a site that sells PDFs and books to the public at reasonable prices.

Another cool feature is the publishing wizard offered which enables authors to create their own guidebook and sell it on the site. Authors receive a percentage of the profit, as well as a visible platform to sell their work. Interesting concept.

I’m always fascinated to see what people are coming up with out there, and I thought this was a creative site that FZ readers might want to check out. Enjoy!

travel

Hemingway’s Birthplace

Hemingway

by Catherine L. Tully

Oak Park, Illinois is the village where famed author Ernest Hemingway was born. His “birthplace home” and The Hemingway Museum are two local stops that offer writers an opportunity to learn more about the author in his formative years. Located on Oak Park Avenue, admission to one buys you a visit to both places. Begin at the museum where you will find Hemingway’s childhood diary, along with some rare photographs and other artifacts. Take your time and browse the exhibits, and if you are the type of person that enjoys a good souvenir, be sure to stop at the little gift shop that is tucked off to the side of the main area. There are some unique items for sale that would make good gifts for any serious Hemingway aficionado. Just down the street is the Hemingway Birthplace Home, an attractive Queen Anne Victorian that has been recently restored. The author’s maternal grandparents built the home and Hemingway was born on the second floor in 1899. For more information on admission and hours, visit the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park.

editorial, reading, travel

To Japan With Love Has Arrived!

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tojapanby Catherine L. Tully

The wait is finally over. Joe and I were both recently published in the book To Japan With Love, and today I received my complimentary copies of the book in a box–all the way from Hong Kong.

It was a cool moment–I have to admit.

Being published in a travel book is a big deal in the writing world, and I am just thrilled to have two stories in this guidebook. It is my second time getting published in a book, and it is just as neat the second time. Every once in a while it is just fun to share an accomplishment with FZ readers. Thanks for being there…and keep working toward your dreams…they really can come true! (* And special thanks to Celeste Heiter for her great work editing this book–you are terrific!)