Hi there and thanks for visiting. I’m a former editor for CNN Travel, and having worked with hundreds of freelance writers and a few bloggers over the last decade, decided to write a short ebook to answer some of the most common questions that wannabe travel writers have.

The book will focus primarily on pitching your story ideas in ways that will maximise your chances of scoring a commission. There are thousands of books already on the subject of writing, so I will touch on it only briefly and sporadically. Pitching however, is the less glamorous side of travel writing, or indeed any kind of freelance writing, and attracts far less attention.

But it should!

Without a great pitch, you may as well have no story. Too many writers consider the pitch a chore; an annoying requirement that just needs to be done, with little attention to detail, before their amazing work of artistry and insight makes it to the pages of the published world.

That’s a mistake this book will address and correct.

Importantly, I’m addressing these issues as an editor. There are many books and blogs out there from other successful freelance writers, but very few (if any) from the editor’s side of the email divide. I want to give you these answers and insights from the horse’s mouth.

I’ll also share some of my experiences working in a huge media megalith like CNN, as well as some anecdotes about arriving in Hong Kong, a fresh-faced editor – and how long that ‘freshness’ lasted!

I plan to launch the book on all good Amazon stores near you in June. In the meantime this blog will provide updates on progress, my thoughts on pitching and travel writing, excerpts from the book pre-publish and finally will announce when it’s ready for download. If you’re interested in hearing about these things, please pass your email along in the form above and you’ll be among the first to know.

Many thanks, and happy traveling and writing!

James Durston