When I was growing up, my grandparents encouraged only two things: travel and writing. They would save me travel clippings from The Telegraph, and I would read them and write my own stories, sometimes entering them in the paper's Just Back travel competition — without much success. As a student, I wrote blogs about my travels, but this hobby quickly disappeared when I started working.
Despite building a career in football and B2B content writing over the next decade, I never considered travel as a niche to pursue until recently. For some reason, the industry felt like an elusive club, and I lacked the knowledge and confidence to find a way in. I knew I could write good stories, but I had no idea how to get started.
That's when I decided to sign up for The Ultimate Travel Journalism Course. I had been through plenty of free online resources, but the accountability of completing assignments and access to course tutors made it more than worth the investment.
As well as building a portfolio of work, the course takes you through the basics of travel writing, how to develop compelling stories and write pitches that sell, how to travel 'like a writer' and much more. Even as a writer with some experience, I found the lessons from the various professional contributors of the course so valuable. In addition to making me a better travel writer, the course has also made me a more observant and mindful traveller.
Above all, it has given me the confidence to put myself out there, pitch without fear of rejection, and finally turn a hobby into a career. I was delighted to earn my first commission for BBC Travel while I was completing the course, so the financial investment in the course has already paid for itself.
Now, I'm working hard to land that all-important second story and see where the journey takes me. I couldn't have done it without the course and the guidance of my tutor, Daniel.
