Travel writers have an awesome job. I mean, really, getting paid to travel the world, see cool stuff, eat delicious local foods, etc. Awesome!
If you’ve always wanted to become a travel writer but aren’t sure how to get started, there’s a new online course available to help you get your feet wet. The Matador Network, which bills itself as the world’s largest independent travel magazine, is offering a program called MatadorU aimed at teaching aspiring travel writers the tricks of the trade.
According to this review of the course on the Sharing Experiences website, for $225 you’ll get professional critiques of your work to help you improve your writing style, information on how to pitch articles and how to find job leads, and information on how to build your career using tools like social media.
In addition to tips from industry insiders, the MatadorU course also comes with a guarantee-if you don’t like it, you can cancel within 3 weeks to get your money back. All in all, it doesn’t seem like a bad deal-especially compared to learning the craft of travel writing the traditional way, through the school of hard knocks!
Of course, for an aspiring travel writer, there are a few accessories that you absolutely won’t be able to go without. Obviously, you’ll need either a laptop, or a pen and paper if you’re old-fashioned. You’ll also need a valid US passport.
Since many countries require your passport to be valid for at least 6 months after your trip, you should renew your passport well before it expires. In most cases, you can renew your passport by mail- see Passport Renewal or a New Passport? to see if you will be eligible for passport renewal by mail.
Remember, it can take at least 6 weeks to renew your passport using normal processing, and at least 3 weeks if you use the government’s expedited processing. If you need your passport renewed more quickly, an expediting agency is the easiest and fastest way to go. With RushMyPassport.com, y0u could have your passport renewal processed in as little as 24 hours!