"Some people travel and write - they are called bloggers, and then there are writers who travel and they are travel writers".
This was the advice given to me by the editor of Wanderlust Magazine when I met her last week and it struck a point with me "if you want to be a writer then research, plan and write - don't let the passion for what you have disappear, but if you want to have thousands of social media followers then stick to writing things like hotel reviews and lists".
And to be fair I recently wrote an article from the heart which was read over 1000 times in a week so it does make a difference.
So recently I made a huge decision in my life: to quit my stable job, leave behind my steady income and...drum roll please...go travelling!
I had been toying with the the idea for ages. It's always something I have wanted to do, and regardless of all the people saying "what about your CV?" And "you might not get another job" and everything negative that could have been said, I adopted the 'you only live once' attitude and did it anyway!
The challenge however, was finding a way to keep geting my writing out there, so I did my research and that's how I came across Internations, an online community for expats and where I got my second piece up.
It seemed to me that people were interested in this style of writing, and off the back of this I had pieces published by Xpatlink, Travel Trail and the Telegraph.
Even though I have been writing all the time I wasn't been paid for any of it and so I thought I must be missing a trick somewhere. With that in mind and before heading off on my travels I decided to enroll in a travel writing course run by Peter Carty, a successful travel writer. Since doing that I feel as if I am now ready to take on the world of writing and loads of ideas to keep me going.
I'll be updating my blog as I go travelling so stay tuned!
Until next time
X
Expat Diaires
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| The call of Africa is too much to ignore sometimes |
I had been toying with the the idea for ages. It's always something I have wanted to do, and regardless of all the people saying "what about your CV?" And "you might not get another job" and everything negative that could have been said, I adopted the 'you only live once' attitude and did it anyway!
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| Someone was intent on coming with me |
Generally speaking, I'm not one for planning things out - I tend to just go and hope for the best, however the one thing that's always been a constant for me is writing. Whether it's my blog, guest blogs, writing for various websites or planning my book. We have all heard before that being a writer is a hard and competitive market, that it's not easy to get you foot in the door and to get a book published? Completely impossible!
First lesson I learnt - start small and find your niche. For me, my niche was simple enough - life in Kenya, it's the reason I started blogging in the first place and provides me with endless material. But getting you foot in the door is the first step, so that's what I did.
My next hurdle was getting it to a wider audience, so I pitched and pitched and then I got my first published piece in Global Living Magazine!
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| No - he really didn't want me to go :( |
First lesson I learnt - start small and find your niche. For me, my niche was simple enough - life in Kenya, it's the reason I started blogging in the first place and provides me with endless material. But getting you foot in the door is the first step, so that's what I did.
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| Not a bad spot to write a few lines |
My next hurdle was getting it to a wider audience, so I pitched and pitched and then I got my first published piece in Global Living Magazine!
Although a small community they provided me with a lot of helpful information and put up a member q and a to help others understand why I am writing, and bring together expats from across the globe. They mentioned me as being the 'Top Expat blog for Kenya' which gave me the confidence to keep going.
Even though I have been writing all the time I wasn't been paid for any of it and so I thought I must be missing a trick somewhere. With that in mind and before heading off on my travels I decided to enroll in a travel writing course run by Peter Carty, a successful travel writer. Since doing that I feel as if I am now ready to take on the world of writing and loads of ideas to keep me going.
I'll be updating my blog as I go travelling so stay tuned!
Until next time
X
Expat Diaires
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