How do you make money as a travel writer during a pandemic?
As soon as the sh*t got serious in the UK back in March, my income dropped off a cliff. I was on the cusp of having my best year yet financially, and then 99% of my work fell apart overnight. Trips were cancelled, contracts were cut short and commissions fell through. I lost almost Ā£20,000 of planned income. Iām sure it was a similar situation for many of you, too.
Five months later, itās still pretty dire out there. While July saw little green shoots of potential as the government lifted travel restrictions and the media scrambled to cover the resumption of summer holidays, the continuing flip-flopping over quarantine rules and travel ban exemptions is still damaging an already fragile industry. Itās easy to have no hope.
There are, simply put, not enough opportunities out there for all of us right now ā and thatās a scary thing. It means weāve got to work harder than ever, probably for less money than ever, to try and do a job we were doing six months ago without half as much effort. All in all, itās pretty bleak.
Thatās why some of us have had to diversify over the last few months. I, for example, have been selling my good health for stories, after signing up to the coronavirus vaccine trial in Oxford and writing patient diaries for The Telegraph (look out for my next instalment in this weekās health pages). And Steph has been using her creative prowess to write sales pages about the female anatomy for a healthcare company. Her finest achievement? Getting the phrase āIf you wouldnāt put it in your mouth, then donāt put it in your vaginaā onto their website.
And lots of you have been creative about the way youāre making money. Lynn Houghton told me sheās been expanding into other areas of journalism, getting commissions on foraging and the climate crisis for non-travel publications, while Kat Barber said she has started teaching English online. My favourite pivot, though, is Tracey Daviesā new career in delivering eggs and other delicious things with her daughter, all for the very punny Sussex Organic Eggspress.
But what now? With the second SEISS grant hitting bank accounts this week, many will need to think about what theyāre going to do when the cash runs out. And lots of us arenāt eligible for much, or anything at all, so weāre already quietly wondering how autumn is going to pan out. I say quietly, because so many of us in this industry present a picture of busyness to show just how successful we are ā success breeds success, after all, and so the busier you look, the more work you get (or so goes the theory).
Iām guilty of this, and some of you are probably too. But itās not always to our advantage. Right now, so many of us have taken knocks, financial and emotional. Both Steph and I have discussed our waning self-confidence in the wake of this pandemic, and I know so many of my friends in this industry are feeling it too. Weāre scared, stressed, and possibly feeling a bit worthless. āWhatās the point?ā is the question on many a mind. Can we even make money as travel writers during a bloody pandemic?
The answer is: yes, but it comes with a caveat. Yes you can make money as a travel writer right now, but probably not as much as youād like (or need). And yes, you can make money as a travel writer right now, but itās absolutely fine if you donāt want to try. Itās hard bloody work ā harder than before ā often deeply demoralising, and for many of us, trying isnāt a viable option when youāve got rent/bills/a mortgage to pay.
I recently asked my travel writer Twitter following how theyāve reacted during this crisis, and the results overwhelmingly pointed towards a shift away from travel writing. Well over half said they were trying to pivot away from it, largely without success so far. Itās hard, but donāt forget, you are a remarkably skilled human being. Travel writing encompasses so many talents (storytelling, negotiation, interviewing, time management, effective communication), so youāre not as boxed in as you might feel.
Iām in that ātried to pivot but failed so farā camp. Iāve been pitching non-travel stuff for months with little success, and have even applied for some incredibly random jobs in fear that my mortgage wonāt get paid if I donāt. Iāve still not had any luck, but I have managed to keep up with a little travel writing here and there.
In fact, in July I had my best COVID-era month and scraped together just over Ā£2,300 in revenue. I donāt tell you this to brag ā I just want to be transparent, because I believe open and honest conversations like this help everybody. So in the interest of being open, hereās how July broke down for me, and how each of my commissions came about.
- Ā£466 ā Overseas trip with a day-rate, feature commission and some expenses paid; editor I know well approached me for the job.
- Ā£395 ā two blog posts for two different commercial clients, one of which approached me out of the blue thanks to our interactions on Twitter, and the other I pitched.
- Ā£157 ā BBC Radio 4 piece for From Our Own Correspondent; story pitched by me (had previously worked with the programme, but not this producer).
- Ā£625 ā Writing, image sourcing and uploading for a regular editorial client; they approached me with the work after I tweeted saying I was twiddling my thumbs.
- Ā£400 ā two UK-focused travel stories; I pitched these to editors at a national paper.
- Ā£175 ā Last-minute newsy commission from a publication Iāve not worked with before; editor approached me as we met on a press trip three years ago (!) and she knew I had the connections for the piece.
So, even while it feels like the entire travel industry and media is on fire, there are still things we can do to proactively seek out income ā be it pitching, hitting up old contacts, or simply being a bit honest on Twitter about having no work.
If youāve got the energy, Steph and I have put together our top tips and best resources for finding work below.
Good luck and godspeed, travel friends.
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