is new. But that doesn’t mean we’re too small to compete with other travel magazines for readers.
Our writers, many already-trained by Great Escape Publishing, have enjoyed free stays in exchange for their travel stories that range from an $8,000-a-night penthouse atop the Ritz Carlton to an artist-designed, airy, walk-out basement apartment in St. Augustine, Florida.
One writer brought her extended family and dog to a unique treehouse-inspired home on a river in Oregon. And I, personally, was able to stay in a “14th Century Contemporary Castle” in San Miguel de Allende—free. A price that’s normally $1,000 a night and worth every penny.
The truth is, with an estimated 6 million vacation rentals around the world, Vacation Rental Travels should grow pretty fast. You can spin the globe and pick your next assignment.
And, as much as I’d love to spend my time traveling the planet staying in every one of them, I can’t do it alone.
Craft trumps credits, I say. Gone are the days when editors like me care about whether or not you’ve been published before. Sure, maybe the biggest of big magazines care. But for me, I just want a brilliant piece that will make people feel like they’ve been there, and keep them reading until the end — that’s better than a list of previously published bylines.
I’m also happy to help people who have taken the time to help themselves. I can’t teach you how to write — that’s what Great Escape Publishing’s programs are for. But, if you’ve taken any of them and you apply what you learn inside them, I can work with you.
I’ll be at the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in San Diego next month. You’ll find me in the audience, taking notes. (Yes, the information is that good.) But I’ll also be one of the editors at the job fair/Publication Expo on Saturday (participants get a free ticket when they’re enrolled in the workshop itself).
I’m hoping to come away with the names of a lot of new travel writers.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up today here and we’ll send you a report, Get Paid to Travel as a Travel Writer, completely FREE.]