One Compelling Reason to Write About Your Travels — It Pays

And 4 more reasons it’s worth your time and energy

There is an awesome bookshop in Sauchie Hall Street, Glasgow. Three floors of every kind of book you can imagine and it smells of coffee.

The mahogany staircase descends to the basement where you can buy a cappuccino and cake. Comfy sofas, free newspapers, and everywhere you look, shelves upon shelves of books.

The largest section in the store, taking up an alcove of its own, is the travel section. Bookcases stuffed with maps and guides, bucket list destinations, and unforgettable journeys.

• Why you should go and what to see.
• Where to stay and what to eat.
• When to avoid the schnitzel.

From Tomintoul to Timbuctoo. Sunsets. Seashores. Dastardly dens on dingy docks. There is everything you could need to entice you to take that trip.

But you aren’t interested in where everyone else has been — you are only interested in where you are going.

People buy a guidebook and read the bits that are relevant to their journey.

Can you name a travel writer?

Other than Bill Bryson, I’d have to go way back to Mark Twain or Jack Kerouac — and Kerouac wasn’t really a travel writer.

It must be tough being a travel writer.

You can write the most magnificent piece of descriptive narration. You can be eloquent, moving, sincere, and you can bring your reader to a pitch of intense interest.

You could write something so irresistible you send them off to the airport the moment they finish reading your climax.

But, the reader isn’t looking to go where you have been. It is sheer luck if they stumble upon your writing.

Don’t let that put your face in a gurn.

Would you like to get paid to travel?

Nobody says you need to write a book. Nobody is forcing you to write a Google review. You don’t have to blog about your trip to Blackpool, but you could and you should.

You will wonder why you didn’t think of it before.

I added travel writing to my CV and didn’t realise how profitable it would be until I popped my expenses onto my tax return.

Add travel writing to your list and every trip becomes tax-deductible. Even if nobody reads your work, it can set your costs against your other earnings.

I self-published, and that is a lot of work — you don’t have to. You can be a travel writer if you only post the occasional blog.

I am going on the trip of a lifetime this summer.

Last week, I paid £1,852 for a return flight to the other side of the world. I’m going to write about it. The cost of the flight, my hotels, food, petrol, entertainment — it’s all tax-deductible.

I don’t need you to read tales of my travels. Although it would be nice if you did, I’m still going to offset my expenses. And the same applies to you.

Anticipation is part of the fun

Do you turn up at your destination and wing it?

When you write about your travels, you do more research. You look for interesting places to visit and unusual sights to see. You set yourself a goal.

Having background knowledge helps you make the most of your trip.

Prime example:

My brother spent a weekend at the Barony Castle Hotel in Scotland.

“How was your weekend?”

“Yeah, fine. We had a good time.”

“What did you think of the Great Polish Map of Scotland?”

“The what?

The Great Polish Map of Scotland sits on the grounds of Barony Castle. He never knew it existed.

They laid the first stone in 1974, and it took the sweat of a small group of Polish students six summers to build.

Left untended for years, The Great Polish Map of Scotland was only recently rediscovered and renovated.

Starting at the Firth of Forth, I careered up the east coast, past St. Andrews to Aberdeen, and rounded John O’Groats at top speed. I switched into fifth gear.

I barrelled my way past the Outer Hebrides and galloped down the west coast by the Mull of Kintyre before rounding the Solway Firth, where I bumped into two bemused women in duffle coats walking in the opposite direction.

Puffed out but proud, I now hold the record for running around Scotland — 53 seconds. No one else would be daft enough to do this.

Doing your homework increases your chances of having a good time. As a dog salivates over its food, anticipation helps you savour the journey.

It’s absorbing

Travel becomes something more than finding a different place to sit. Writing requires you to convert sights, sounds, and smells into words. And that means firing up your synapses, you become more engaged with your surroundings.

“They say travel broadens the mind, but you must have the mind.” — G. K. Chesterton.

Writing about your travels concentrates your experience. If you are curious about the places you go and the people you meet, life takes on new meaning.

I will never understand those people who want to go abroad so they can sleep by a pool — save your money and go to bed.

Gain a new audience for your writing

Everyone’s experiences are unique. Your experience is not my experience. Our travel blogs, books, and stories won’t be the same. We all have our own writing styles.

I like to add a little humour to the proceedings. Others tell of Derring-Do or disasters.

Not everyone can find the time or money to travel to all the places they want to go. Your travel piece can bring the world alive.

By sharing your experiences, other people can see the beauty in places they might never visit. And it introduces them to you and your other writings.

You’ll have better anecdotes

My parent’s generation used to hold post-holiday yawn fests where they invited friends to their house to look at pictures of their sandcastles and their amateur photos of the sunset.

Thankfully, social media has made those evenings redundant. We can flick through their holiday snaps on Instagram and Facebook in the comfort of our own homes and in the time we take to do a poo.

But, occasionally, one kid will put their holiday videos and pictures to music and entertain us with their trials and tribulations. They make it fun, exciting, or both.

That is what should you do when you write. Turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, the simple into the sensational.

Promotions and freebies

I wrote about my trip to Mull, one of my favourite places in all of Scotland.

After publishing, Sir Lachlan Hector Charles MacLean, the 28th chief of the Scottish clan and 12th Baronet of Morvern got in touch.

I’d written about his ancestral home, Duart Castle on Mull, and now my book is for sale in their gift shop.

Tell people you are a ‘travel writer’ — I’ve been upgraded rooms and been given free goodies. Those strawberries dipped in chocolate were scrumptious.

I’ve been asked to try out brand new lodges.

The little Hobbit Lodges are Hagrid’s luxury homes. Truly exceptional. Sitting in a hot tub looking across the water to Ailsa Craig and Arran with a glass of champagne in hand is just the best.

Time to go home

There is more to travel writing than saving a fortune in tax. It enhances your travel experiences. You will look forward to trips with relish.

The world is opening up, people are looking for information on their next trip. Start putting pen to paper and please let me know how you get on.

If it’s Medium you’re doing, read Malky McEwan.

Read and learn, write and earn.