Freelancers trying to break into travel writing can feel stymied. How can you write about an exotic location until you get a publication that wants to send you there? (That's not usually how it works anyway.) A great way to get your foot in the door of travel writing is writing about your town, from a tourist's perspective. I asked travel writer JoAnn Milivojevic for some advice on how to see and write about your town with new eyes.
Once I get a gig, what editors want runs the gamut from the typical tourists sights to some unusual finds. I try to include "insiders" views on whatever I write about Chicago-wise because I think that is valued by editors and readers too. So for example, when writing about Oak Street shopping there are of course the typical designer boutiques but I also wrote about a really cool button shop around the corner on Rush St; and a lesser known Italian bistro called Pane Caldo where you can get a elegant lunch and a glass of wine from their extensive by the glass wine list.
When I wrote about how business and other travelers can stay fit while in Chicago for Continental magazine, I recommended local stuff - mostly on the lake front cause that's what we do all summer long. We bike, kayak the river/lake, play volleyball, and maybe do some yoga or spinning at the heathclub on the lake near North Ave beach. Of course, all the reporting and service went along with the piece.
So, I suppose, the best advice I can give is pitch what you know, pitch what you love to do.
What's seductive about travel writing is the exploration part. You can do that anywhere. For example, I just starting a walking routine where I walk 30-minutes from my house in any direction. I explore then walk back home. I discovered more about Mexican culture when I talked to the fruit vendor on Clark and Morse (they sprinkle homemade pepper on their fresh mixed fruit cups with mango, pineapple, and papaya) I got fantastic fresh wheat roles at a Mexican bakery for 30 cents each! There were so many unusal pasteries in that shop that I will go back and talk with baker to find what they are. These two experiences alone can easily be spun into a pitch on authentic Mexican eats in Rogers Park.
