Postcard from an Aspiring Travel Writer

As you might know, I’ve written a few books. Not many, not widely read, but there it is. So I’m a professional writer. Not full time, not widely read, but heh. I like to write and get paid to do so.

My wife and I also like to travel. We don’t get paid to do that. Yet! So I thought I’d try my hand at travel writing. Recently, I composed a 600 word article about a day trip we took to western Kansas.

And it was just accepted by a small town newspaper in the area. So I’m happy to announce that I am now a professional travel writer! When the story goes online, I’ll update this blog post with a link.

But for now, I’ll just share a picture or two and a few words about our day trip to Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park.

Did you know Kansas has badlands? Not as extensive as the national park in South Dakota, but still worth seeing. Just north of Scott City, KS, there are about 200 acres of rugged and barren landscape that is starkly beautiful.

The article I wrote focused on the health benefit of “day hiking” – a fancy term for walking outdoors! There are dozens of trails in Kansas (maybe hundreds? who knows?) and we’ve hiked a number of them.

My thought was to write a few travelogues about our adventures, tying together nature and exercise. Day hiking is a low-impact, high-satisfaction hobby that boosts the body and soul. Nice tagline, I should trademark that!

Anyway, I wrote this article and sent it out to ten or twelve small town newspapers and one finally responded. (Like I mentioned above, once it goes online, I’ll link it here.)

So I got stoked and wrote another 600 word travelogue about our day hiking experience at Mushroom Rock State Park. Sent that out to ten or twelve papers. So far, no bites or nibbles.

(And yes, we have rocks that look like mushrooms here in Kansas. It’s a beautiful state. You should come visit! Visit the KansasDepartment of Wildlife and Parks at ksoutdoors.com to sample some of the sites.)

Bottom line, I’m not being paid to travel yet. But I did join a few Facebook groups for travel writing tips. It’s all good. As this hobby develops I’ll share more of my experiences of being a professional travel writer.

Where have you traveled recently that combined beautiful scenery, adventure, and exercise? Any favorite hikes you'd recommend? Doesn't have to be in Kansas! Comment below.  

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"Tip a buck, get a book."

(via PayPal.Me - an e-book from Tule Fog Press.) 

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