The Art (and Hustle) of the Travelling Writer: 25 Ways to Fund the Journey
Write Your Way Around The World: Helping You Thrive Through Story
If you’re new here, every week I share tips, insights and actionable ideas on writing, travel writing and green travel through the lens of a novelist and travel writer (Lonely Planet, DK Travel, etc.) in three newsletters: Storycraft, Write Your Way Around the World and The Green Travel Guide. Welcome, and thanks for coming on the journey!
In this week’s Write Your Way Around The World:
25 Proven Ways to Earn Income from Writing While Travelling
Travel Journal Club
Free Mini-Guide to Green Adventures: Canary Islands
Weekly Round-up
What I’ve loved on Substack this week
Can You Really Make Money as a Traveling Writer?
25 Proven Ways to Turn Wanderlust into Income
Almost all writers (apart from a lucky wealthy few) have always been concerned with how to make a living through their words. For many writing was always a ‘side hustle’ - at least in the beginning.
Dervla Murphy took on temporary teaching jobs and lived frugally in order to be able to travel for long periods of time. Paul Theroux was an English teacher and Peace Corps volunteer early on. Both Jan Morris and Bill Bryson used journalism as a way into travel writing, Bryson copy editing with national newspapers, honing his writing craft.
Patrick Leigh Fermor used private tutoring as a way to help pay the bills, and George Orwell was both teacher, bookseller (and in Burma, a police officer) for a time. Faulkner was a postmaster for a university (until he got fired for reading on the job!). Jack London went the creative route of oyster pirate and gold prospector (until scurvy put an end to that short-lived career) and Haruki Murakami ran a jazz bar in the 1970s Tokyo called Peter Cat before turning to writing full-time.
All this to say - if you’re passionate enough about writing and travel, you can find a way to build a career (and life) doing what you love.
The truth? You can make money writing and traveling — but it takes a bit of creativity.
To help you get started, here are 25 proven ways to earn income while exploring the world. Why not choose 3 - 5 that resonate the most with you (with your skills, experience and interests) and focus there to begin.
There are five key areas to consider:
1. Freelance Travel Writing
Pitch stories to travel magazines, online publications, travel publishers, and lifestyle brands. Editors are always keen to discover fresh, local insights. Make sure you research properly first. Read the publications. Understand their ‘voice’ and what types of articles they publish.
Think about trends that are in demand — like “slow travel” or “digital detox retreats.”
Here are five freelance travel writing ways to earn income:
Write travel magazine features
Travel guides (Lonely Planet, DK Travel, Bradt etc.)
Hotel or resort copywriting
Food & culture essays
SEO article writing for travel sites
2. Content Writing for Travel Brands
Beyond the travel publications think more broadly about the travel ecosystem: hotels, tour companies, and tourism boards all need writers for blogs, newsletters, and social media. Build a small portfolio of sample posts and outreach directly — you’ll be surprised how many say yes.
Here are five content writing for travel brands ways to earn income:
Blog posts for tour companies
Destination marketing copy for local DMOs (Destination Marketing Organisations)
Website copy for boutique hotels
Writing branded itineraries
Writing press releases for travel PR firms
3. Create a Travel Newsletter or Blog
Share your journey, build an audience, and monetise through subscriptions, affiliate links, or sponsorships. Are you on a really interesting travel journey (has it a theme, a key challenge, a frame you can use for your storytelling)? Do you focus on a particular type of travel (house-sitting; weekend breaks; travel and books; travel and food; travel and music; travel and curious history stories, etc.) - what’s your storytelling superpower?
Consistency wins. Publish weekly, and make every post either useful or take your readers on a journey. Build your own community of readers.
Here are five content creation ways to earn income through travel and writing:
Substack or paid newsletter
Personal travel blog (ads, affiliates, sponsorships)
YouTube travel channel as a marketing channel to sell your travel writing books/offers
Branded partnerships or sponsored posts
Offering trip-planning or itinerary consultation
4. Teach or Coach Online
If you’re good at things like SEO, editing or travel photography, why not consider turning your skills into an online course or 1:1 coaching. Combine travel content knowledge with advice and how-tos - share your journey, experience and knowledge.
Here are five ways to earn income through knowledge share:
Run workshops (SEO, travel photography, micro-storytelling)
One-on-one travel writing coaching
Teaching English or creative writing abroad
Consulting for tourism brands or new travel blogs
Running writing retreats, host mini-groups in interesting locations (as their travel guide)
5. Write and (Self-)Publish Travel Books
From travel memoirs to niche guides, publishing, whether the traditional or indie route, can become both income and legacy. Keep your notes organised when you travel (make sure you’re capturing those travel moments and memories as those journal entries might be chapters later).
Here are five ways to earn income through writing and publishing travel books:
Publishing travel memoirs or travel narrative books (either traditional or indie routes)
Writing niche digital travel guides
Licensing your travel writing or photography to apps, travel publishers or educational platforms
Building a royalty income from books and audiobooks
Writing for travel-based online courses or platforms
These are just a few suggestions to help you think about the different ways in which your writing can sustain your travels, and vice versa. If you’re already earning income from your travels and writing, why not share here what works for you. You might inspire others on their own journey.
If you find this kind of article sparks your creativity, you might also enjoy these from Write Your Way Around The World:
5 Ways to Get Paid Travel Writing
How to Find Dozens of Travel Writing Stories in Every Trip
How to Diversify Your Writing Career
Develop Your Travel Writing Skills
And if you want to build your travel writing knowledge, skills and understanding for your travel writing journey, then grab your copy of the Travel Writer’s Starter Kit + Pitch Pack here.
Travel Journal Club
For everyone travel journaling this week, here’s the weekly prompt to inspire you:
“The Moment I Felt Most Far From Home”
Write about a moment when you suddenly realised how far you were - physically, culturally, or emotionally - from what’s familiar.
What triggered that realisation?
How did it make you feel — disoriented, free, lonely, exhilarated?
What did you learn about yourself or the place?
How do we define “home” when we’re on the move? Let me know your thoughts in the comments ❤️
Also this week:
I shared a free mini-green to green adventures in the Canary Islands via The Green Travel Guide. If you’re looking for green travel ideas and exploring the islands’ wilder side - grab your copy here. (Also has a discount code for the full guide - coming soon with where to eat/sleep/explore).
This Week’s The Green Travel Guide went to Italy - for Slow Autumnal Stays with an Italian reading list for slow travel days.
In Storycraft, the Mini-Series on Lessons from Great Writing continues, with Virginia Woolf on musicality, time & memory in writing this week.
And there’s a new section on the Substack homepage now - The Writer’s Toolkit - where you’ll find all the resources and programmes on offer to help with your writing journey.
Things I loved on Substack This Week
I enjoyed Michael’s take on Iceland in You are Ruining Iceland - an honest look at the impacts of tourism, and how to be a good traveller.
Our kitchen garden experiment is growing apace - and Sailee’s terrace garden, and Pratibha Singh’s garden inspo, stopped the scroll for me. Sailee usually writes on climate - recommend giving her a read.
Here’s a peek at how our seedlings are coming on:
JL Orr’s article, taking in Northern Ireland (my home) on travelling ‘with our eyes open’, understanding the realities and context through which we travel, is a thoughtful read.
Loved the photography from The Birthmarked Traveller in Cairo and Richard Philion’s mountain photography (as I start work on a new book in a mountain setting).
And many, many more… Thank you so much to all who have read, commented, subbed, liked, shared and restacked. Greatly appreciated! ❤️
If you’re new to Write Your Way Around The World a good place to start is Think You’re Not a Travel Writer? Think Again and download your free masterclass on breaking into travel writing here.
What You’ll Learn Here — Every Tuesday
Every Tuesday in Write Your Way Around The World, I share:
Practical guidance on writing craft, pitching, editing, and freelancing
Encouragement for staying resilient and consistent as a writer
Real talk about money, mindset, rejection, and career-building
Inspiration from great travel writing and emerging trends
Resources to help you go further, faster
Future weeks will dig deep into how to make a living doing this, how to get published, how to find your niche/s or not (just write what you love), how to turn your travel notes into paid work. Let me know which topics you would like to know more about.
Happy writing!
Laura
Laura McVeigh
Author, Travel Writer, Storytelling Coach
lauramcveigh.com | lauramcveightravel.com | travel-writing.com | greentravelguides.world
Laura McVeigh is an internationally bestselling Northern Irish novelist and travel writer. Her work is widely translated. Her latest novel Lenny is set between Libya and Louisiana. She has authored books for Lonely Planet, DK Travel, bylines in the Irish Times, Irish Independent, featured by the BBC, Newsweek, New Internationalist & many more. A former CEO for a global writers’ organisation, working with writers from 145 countries, she is founder of Travel-Writing.Com and Green Travel Guides. Laura writes on storytelling, travel writing and mindful travel on Substack.
This was such a treasure trove, Laura — part inspiration, part roadmap. I love how you root the romance of travel writing in practical pathways (and the lineage of those who did it before us). As someone who writes while slow-traveling with my husband, I especially connected with your reminder that creativity and sustainability can coexist. Adding your Travel Writer’s Starter Kit to my weekend reading list! -Kelly
Beautiful read 👏🏽