The travel writer's life is a very busy one. First there is the travel itself, going off to all the fascinating places you wanted to see and visit all your life. But, being a travel writer means that you do not want to keep it all to yourself, you have the urge to share with others and, hopefully, to inspire them to go too and enjoy as much as you did.
So, next you put finger to keyboard and write your stories, add your pictures and submit your finished product to either the sites which already publish you or to pitch to new venues. But, the best story does no good if nobody reads it or knows about it. Hence, you have to get it out there by making use of social networks like FB, twitter, TBE, tripatini, linkedin...to name but a few. Which leads me to the subject of this post. The choice is endless and adding your work isn't all. You need not only to promote yourself but others too who in turn might or might not return the favor.
Then you start reading other travel writer's stories, get carried away and before you know it, your fingers cramp, your eyes close and its midnight!
This whole situation, rewarding and interesting as it is, can be confusing at times, so your life needs streamlining and you need to strike a balance between your own productivity and the promotion and enjoyment of other people's work.
I have decided to dedicate two days a week which I call 'mutual promotion and admiration days' where I do nothing else but socialise in cyberspace. Any thoughts of my own writing are put out of my mind and I can fully concentrate on that task alone. The days of the week vary, depending on looming dead lines or a trip I just HAVE to take, but on the whole it's a system that works for me and brings results.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Striking a balance
The travel writer's life is a very busy one. First there is the travel itself, going off to all the fascinating places you wanted to see and visit all your life. But, being a travel writer means that you do not want to keep it all to yourself, you have the urge to share with others and, hopefully, to inspire them to go too and enjoy as much as you did.
So, next you put finger to keyboard and write your stories, add your pictures and submit your finished product to either the sites which already publish you or to pitch to new venues. But, the best story does no good if nobody reads it or knows about it. Hence, you have to get it out there by making use of social networks like FB, twitter, TBE, tripatini, linkedin...to name but a few. Which leads me to the subject of this post. The choice is endless and adding your work isn't all. You need not only to promote yourself but others too who in turn might or might not return the favor.
Then you start reading other travel writer's stories, get carried away and before you know it, your fingers cramp, your eyes close and its midnight!
This whole situation, rewarding and interesting as it is, can be confusing at times, so your life needs streamlining and you need to strike a balance between your own productivity and the promotion and enjoyment of other people's work.
I have decided to dedicate two days a week which I call 'mutual promotion and admiration days' where I do nothing else but socialise in cyberspace. Any thoughts of my own writing are put out of my mind and I can fully concentrate on that task alone. The days of the week vary, depending on looming dead lines or a trip I just HAVE to take, but on the whole it's a system that works for me and brings results.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
And then, like me, you have to make time for instructing classes, writing other stuff (like finishing a historical fiction novel) and writing up tons of travel stories that you've had on the back-burner for ages and ages. It's not 'easy' work, believe me!
ReplyDeleteYou've got a point there about not only promoting yourself but being part of a greater travel blog community. Good tip: putting aside time to "socialise". Have fun blogging!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip about setting aside a couple of days. I tend to get carried away reading all the other blogs out there and don't spend as much time on my own.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best I have ever read on blog. Thanks for sharing the blog. I am also writing the blog on travelling and photography if you want read then please visit my blog. Mr Shamim Akhtar.
ReplyDelete