Member Success Stories

From Wisconsin to Utah and Australia to Mexico City:
What Some of Our Members Are Up To

Brian Norris

Brian Norris just landed a new column with a local paper. The column will do a new human interest piece each week – each story will focus on someone in the tourist industry. His in with the editor? His ITWPA credentials.

This new column isn't Brian's first success. He's had dozens of articles published, including bylines in International Living, The Traveler, Australia Home Page, Get Up & Go, and Islands.

The most important lesson he learned – the one that changed his writing – was to let go of all the writing rules and regulations, to use small words and powerful verbs to really weave a story for the reader.

Currently his favorite traveling tool – and one that helps him to get plenty of leads for stories – is his ITWPA badge that identifies him as a professional travel writer. This badge has rolled out red carpets for him right and left from a free weekend getaway on tropical island to free spa treatments to free eco tours to other free or discounted adventures. All these freebies provide great article ideas, which in turn end up bringing great publicity for the places he goes. Everybody wins.

Mike Slagle

Mike Slagle just got back from Key West with a stack of notes to work on and he's already gearing up for his next trip to Italy.

"It's looking as if I'll have a commitment upfront from an editor for an article from this trip that'll be a milestone for me."

With bylines in The Traveler, Dream of Italy, Latitudes & Attitudes, and Freebird, Mike has a lot of success under his belt and he's gearing up for more.

"I'll be writing a short monthly travel column for Freebird this year and my other goal for this year is to get one feature article and two or more short articles accepted for publication each month."

Before taking the travel-writing program, Mike's successes were pretty slim – his articles didn't have the depth they needed to sell. But that's all changed now.

"Once I stuffed my guidebook into my day pack and just started poking around places, talking with the locals, paying attention to smells and sounds, as well as sights, I began to see places in a whole new light."

Mike's new eyes come through in his writing, too. His articles grab readers and hold their attention, now – something that editors love.

Mike doesn't stop at one article for a story either. He's working on boosting his income by re-slanting his pieces and selling them to new markets – a trick he also learned from the program. All in all, he's looking forward to a very good year as a travel writer.

Wendy Van Hatten

Wendy Van Hatten enjoys a jet-set lifestyle. In the course of seven months, she's been to North Carolina, San Felipe Mexico, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Chicago, San Diego (twice), and Scottsdale Arizona.

She's been putting her travels to good use, too. Her writing has been featured in Marco Polo, International Living, The Traveler, SiouxLand Lifestyle, 21st Century Adventures, Trips & Journeys, Inside Out, Go Nomad, Travelwise, Traveler's Tales, and Road & Travel.

And she isn't stopping there. Currently, Wendy's working on articles for Country Discoveries, enRoute, Spirit Magazine, Drive Magazine, and Wave Magazine.

All of these articles are inspired by her frequent travels. Traveling for Wendy has been getting easier, too. As a published travel writer she's been given some special attention at her destinations. In North Carolina, she received complimentary passes to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. In San Diego the Wild Animal Park gave her complimentary passes, too. In Scottsdale, the 4 Peaks Mine gave her an interview and special access to information about the mine. And in San Felipe, her hotel gave her one free night.

When asked what it was that really helped her writing career soar, Wendy relays a simple message that was really brought home to her at the Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshopshe attended.

"It was the message to 'keep at it.' You need to keep writing, trying, editing, submitting, and writing some more in order to be a success."

Wendy also mentions that the ongoing support from workshop experts like Jen Stevens and Lori Appling has been a big help in her success.

Barbara Bode

Barbara Bode now lives in Malta, a Mediterranean paradise. She first attended our Paris program and got two articles in print immediately afterwards. Now she writes a regular column for In Touch – and she has published an article about her move from Washington to Malta in Transitions Abroad.

Then, because she wanted some fun – but also because she wanted a "refresher" – she joined us on our cruise down the Pacific coast of Mexico.

While on board, she wrote a piece about swimming with dolphins and sold it to yet another publication. Now she's writing regularly for the local Maltese newspaper, too.

She is still fairly new to the scene in Malta, but already her name is starting to be known … in Malta as well as in North America.

Her stuff is now highly illustrated with 15-20 of her own pictures and generally gets the centerfold two page spread. She writes …

"For Easter Sunday I did a big double page EXCLUSIVE interview with the nifty new Bishop of Gozo. He refused every one else. Now I've been assigned to cover him as he travels to meet & greet in NYC & DC. I'll be given a press card – good for two years. Aren't you pleased that you guys turned me into a productive – albeit somewhat nicey, nicey – journalist? Wowza!

See photo – I just learned to milk a sheep. – BB”

Murray Friedman

Murray Friedman attended our Workshop in San Miguel, Mexico in 2003

"I registered for the travel writing course specifically because it was being held in San Miguel. For several years I had been subscribing to International Living researching places to move to that offered a nice lifestyle, inexpensive cost of living, and decent health care. Early retirement with the idea of exploring my creative side was the goal. Travel has been a very enjoyable avocation for years. Exploring the travel writing field through the AWAI course in San Miguel was icing on the cake."

In addition to opening a B&B, Las Terrazas San Miguel, Murray's Mexican adventures were recently published in International Living.

Heidi Levy

Travel Writing isn't limited to magazine articles either! Heidi Levy has just finished her book Famous Wisconsin Artists and Architects. While the book is primarily about people, Heidi incorporated the skills she learned from our course to find hidden nuggets. She used her travel writing know-how to uncover unique places- all helping to paint a better picture of where these artists lived.

Eunice Traske

Eunice attended the live travel writing workshop on board Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas sailing around the Pacific Coast of Mexico and has achieved great success. She's been published in Trips and Journeys and is in Fiji researching her current project.

"All of this thanks to the Mexican cruise workshop and your follow-ups. Without all of you and the workshop, I would still be out there foundering amongst the hit and misses."

Loren Worthington

Loren Worthington was a novice before he signed up for the written program. Now he can boast several published articles and paychecks along with them! Plus he scored a "free ride"- literally! Loren experienced a complimentary, high speed run down the Olympic bobsled track in Utah. he's now working on an article about his "adrenalin travels."

Tom Colvin

Tom"s learned a few tricks of the trade splitting his time between Manila and Mexico

"I'm not yet making a fortune – but my earnings do nicely supplement my retirement income. And the perks – free dinners and concert tickets – aren't bad either"

Diane Joy

"I must tell you what the workshop meant to me. It opened doors on my possibility list, making two of my favorite things- travel and writing- a new lifestyle for me. Since I am retired and have no baggage to haul around the world (except one suitcase and my laptop!) I am good to go … good to write!"

Andrew Hawkins

Many people wish for a "portable career." Andrew Hawkins is a member of the written program and is about to get his wish. He plans to leave Canada for six months and travel around Europe with his wife. He hopes to use the skills learned in Passport to Romance to make his life dream come true.

Laura Gaff

Laura is a "trailing spouse" living with her husband in Switzerland. She's been traveling with a writer's eye during her four years abroad but never knew how to incorporate her observations into published pieces.

"The future I am hoping for is to be able to do something that I can take with me as a profession no matter where I live. Our plans to stay here in Europe living in our own properties in various countries may very well come to fruition. As long as I have a computer, I hope to be employable. "Have Computer Will Travel" will be my motto."

Denise Cullen

Denise moved to Malaysia with her fiance a few years ago but wasn't content with being a stay at home expat wife. After signing up for the program, she started exploring the area around her. Her Asian adventures have been published by several publications including United Airlines in flight magazine Hemispheres.

"The advantages? Working as a travel writer allowed me to more fully engage with the country and its people than I ever would have been able to as a tourist or "trailing spouse". My fiance and I travelled throughout Malaysia and other destinations in South East Asia at any opportunity and grew to love it so much we were eventually married in a lily-strewn ceremony on Langkawi Island."

Lee Harrison

Lee spent a recent week in the Bahamas. He was there for eight all-expenses-paid days, exploring three islands, enjoying what may well be the world's best beaches, diving, boating, and restaurants and of course he got paid to write about what he found.

Tom Schueneman

Tom was a sound engineer for bands. He'd never written an article before he signed up for Jen's program. Today he boasts by-lines in all sorts of publications and even publishes his own travel e-zine, which Writer's Weekly recently rated one of the best places for new writers to get published.

Last year, Tom took advantage of his travel-writer status and stayed for next-to-nothing at the luxurious Outrigger Hotel in Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii. This summer he's traveling to Botswana to take a first class safari at a deeply discounted rate. When he gets home, he'll sell a few articles about his trip. Plus he'll be able to take the lion's share of his expenses as tax deductions.

Duane and Harlene Harm

Retired television executive Duane Harm and his wife Harlene (just ordinary folks, bored with golf and looking for a sideline to keep them busy) spent a recent summer traveling across the western U.S. All told, they visited 23 different dude ranches in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana over a three-month period, staying for free an average of three days at each ranch. The total value of their summer stays? About $55,000 … and they didn't pay anything. Not one cent.

What's more, they wrote an article for Steamboat Magazine, a high-end coffee-table publication based in Steamboat Springs, CO that comes out twice a year. And they were paid for their work.

Mike Palmer

Mike Palmer planned a week-long vacation in Ecuador and wanted to spend a few days at an all-inclusive tropical rain forest lodge, reachable only by boat on the Napo River. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for the experience, Mike contacted the owner, introduced himself as a travel writer on assignment doing an adventure story, and he was offered the trip at no charge!

And that's only the beginning. As a travel writer, Mike has played golf, free, on some of Ireland's best links courses. He's taken all-expenses-paid trips all over the world – to places like Russia, Belgium, Panama, and Spain, just to name a few. And he's enjoyed complimentary meals as well as comped tickets to theatre productions, movies, sporting events, and more

Daryl Emerson

Daryl planned to write an article about a few places in the Caribbean. So he contacted several hotels in Bonaire and Belize and was offered a free week's stay in both locations. And it didn't stop there – the manager of the hotel in Bonaire even invited him to stay an extra week at their resort in Curacao.

Larry Sugarland

Larry received his first by-line and the paycheck to match before completing The Ultimate Travel Writers Program.

"The information and examples included in your Travel Writers program were so good that I've landed an assignment with an international travel magazine even before completing all the program elements … I largely credit the program material for putting me firmly on the path to success in travel writing."

Tim O'Rielly

Tim is a freelance photographer who travels regularly. He was looking for a way to get more mileage (and more money) out of his journeys, and travel writing seemed a good fit.

So he put what he learned in the program to the test. Just two months after he completed the program, his first full-length feature article about travels in the Mayan World appeared in Vision Magazine. Since then, he's written two more cover stories for that publication (and sold his photos along with the stories).

Laura Gagnon

Laura, based in New York, has been successful, too. A bass player in a band by trade, she travels the world on tour and was looking for a way to spend her daytime, off-the-stage hours more productively.

She signed up for The Ultimate Travel Writer's Live Workshop in Paris and now she has had two restaurant/lounge reviews published in an online guide to nightlife in New York and LA. They were works-for-hire, so she wasn't credited for each review. But her name appears on the contributor list in the print edition of the guide. And she said the editor was great to work with … and paid promptly.

Peter H.

Peter attended our live workshop in Paris 2003.

"I've had two bits published by, guess who? International Living! It's a good system to subsidize the program fee! And clip-generating, of course."

Faith LaRosse

Faith is planning a motorcycle ride with her husband and his parents down the eastern seaboard to the "Autotrain" or what she calls the "motorcycle train". She writes:

"I have always been a 'writer.' By that, I mean I've always journaled, scribbled and jotted as second nature. It comes easily to me and I love it. But, until I ordered your program, I never actually believed I could consider myself a 'professional' writer.

"I sent a query to the publisher of a small local magazine regarding an idea for an article about a trip that I will be taking in the end of September. I called the story "Bikes on trains!" The magazine focuses on local motorcycle "flavor" and the publisher loved the idea and agreed to publish the story! I just wanted to say thank you for your program. It has given me new confidence in myself!"

Dave Wilson

“My Editor emailed me to tell he got my 'Snaggin' story and pics, and he 'loved both', and he was glad that I went ahead and sent them in early. He said the lessons that I learned from my first article edit to this one were very good, and that I had come a long way in just two submittals.

I'm getting better at newspaper-ese, and being precise and to-the-point in as few words as possible, so they won't chop so much out …  …

That's two in my first week! Hot Dawg! Yep, I'm jacked up!!! Also got big props from my 'snaggin' buddies from work for gettin' their names in the paper. Will have extra copies for this one as well (Mom, Joy, Nancy).

I have the Caribbean Nights Art Show this Saturday, so send me those good vibes as I do my first public showing of my photography work. Hope to network, make some more contacts, and gain exposure and experience.

Alot hap'nin' in my new career at the start fo sho', and it is just that:the start---with much more to follow. Remember, there is a dream out there with your name written all over it, all you have to do is get after it!

Make it Happen!!!

I WILL …

Once again, many thanks to Steenie for professional advice most extraordinary …  …”

Steve Perry

“I subscribed to the Ultimate Travel Writer's Program a couple of years ago. I have to admit that I have not yet worked all of the way through, but as a result of the encouragement of the program, I have realized my goal of launching my "retirement" business that involves writing stories about traveling and driving the back roads of America in search of great scenic areas.

Thank you for the encouragement to get out there and realize my goals." (www.backroadstraveler.com)

Charles Belitz

Charles Belitz is proof that once you have learned the techniques provided in the Travel Writing program, one article can bring many benefits:

“In June 2005, I had a 1700 word travel article with two photos published in the newspaper. This month (June 2006), that article won first prize for published newspaper articles at the Southern Christian Writers Conference in Tuscaloosa, AL.”

And Read Over 200 Testimonials by clicking here!

MORE TESTIMONIALS

"I finished The Ultimate Travel Writer's Program a few months ago and have since been published three times in a local magazine in Nagoya, Japan (where I live). My online serial tale, Vin, is also being published with a worldwide audience (it's not travel-writing but I've been able to use what I learned in the program in many different ways). With what I learned in the program my writing has improved tenfold and I'd like to say thank you to you and Ms. Jen Stevens." -- Rob Dupuis

"I've been comped four nights at a deluxe resort on Oahu after advising them of my plans. I wrote a letter explaining that I am a 'freelance travel writer' intending on writing an article on 'Hawaii's Most Romantic Room Views.'

"Although I won't be on 'assignment,' I've gotten some pretty good feedback from a couple of newspapers … so wish me luck!! I've got another idea, too. Something about 'Affordable Luxury in Paradise … Off-season in Hawaii.' I'm sorry to ramble on and on, but I'm pretty excited!

"This could be the start of something BIG! Thanks a million!" -- Alice C.

"Loved the opportunity to write creatively again. Absolutely I would recommend this course … I've been a copywriter for 30 years and feel like I've been reborn. Thank you."
" Kathryn L.

"I got a huge amount out of the program! In fact, IL has very kindly published an e-postcard. "An Oxford Afternoon" already. It is definitely a psycological kick-start for me, so I'll keep going. I'm enjoying this so much." – Jean F.

"Jen is absolutely wonderful"there is an astounding amount of information." -- Amanda S.

"Thank you for providing not only a marvelous array of speakers and events, but excellent textbook materials that will be a tremendous resource I will turn to often. Classes were to the point, inclusive of our individual needs and concerns, and covered an exhaustive array of valuable tools and tips. I have been telling everyone who will listen what a great experience I had. Thank you." --Colleen A. Quill

"Many thanks for the wonderful seminar. It was most worthwhile from all aspects and we would attend another in a heartbeat. Material covered was extensive but well presented. We were impressed by our well qualified and informed instructors." --Duane and Harlene Harm

"It was more than I expected, and I learned more than I can put to use in a lifetime. The travel arrangements were perfect, economical, no hidden costs to surprise me, and since I was traveling alone, it was surprisingly easy to negotiate. Thanks for making my first trip out to the city of lights so pleasurable … and you can quote me." --Constance Daley – American Reporter Correspondent

"Enthusiastic and well-presented! You all really do want to share and I think you stimulated everyone to rush out and try their hand." --Bobbie Hamilton

"John gets the info across with humor. It"s entertaining and painless. I'm really impressed with both the schedule and coordination of this workshop." --Laura Gagnon

"Let us know what's next – Let's do a follow up to Program 1; Loved it!" -- S. Thomas

"Definitely, this workshop gives you a tool box of skills: information, writer"s secrets and how-to"s for writing. The completeness of the workshop"s travel writing "helps" surprisingly works for any articles, not just for travel writing. A college course packed into 3 days which I'd recommend to any aspiring writer." -"Judith Allred

"Yes, the program is thorough and well-organized offering valuable, useful information as learned and presented by actual working professional writers. I am somewhat astonished by their generosity in imparting their hard-earned knowledge." --Carol Delgado

"Yes, powerful tool in improving one"s writing and it gives insight into what is required." --Rick Terry

"Best workshop I've attended in many, many years-focused, practical tools and templates for successful travel writing plus the nuts and bolts of how to get published." -Nadia Beiser

"This excellent, realistic and easy to follow workshop provides a step by step guide to becoming a travel writer. There is no better way to absorb the culture of another country then to write about it." -Dale Gaber

"Excellent orientation for people who are interested in writing for a living- but who need a little push or some encouragement to do so." -Ruth Ann Green