Travel Writing Family Style

I can be a strange but wonderful thing to see your son’s byline. It recently was checking out GoNOMAD after a few weeks on the road in Italy and Brazil and there it was, Colorado by Chance St John. I actually was just reading the story and liking it when I saw it was by Chance, I forgot he went, my schedule is tough enough to follow. He has done several other pieces for us at GN but I really thought this his best. He will soon be done with college and I often wonder what road he will take. I smile thinking that it was my dad and his love of traveling that was past on to me. I guess that those trips to Mexico when Chance was a little tyke may have kept the shuffling feet moving. I also love that Max’s daughter, Kate and Steve’s daughter Sarah also do pieces for us. There really is a family feeling at GoNOMAD and that goes for all of the steady writers and bloggers. I hope that someday I will see another St John getting bylines perhaps for generations.

Kharma and it's Part in Travel Writing

I try to remember that kharma plays a big part of my travel writing and good things do happen unplanned. I love it when I am invited on a press trip because I was recommended by someone that either was on a trip with me or a PR firm that though enough of my work and actions to share my name. The King of Travel, Johnny Jet and my good friends from Spring O’Brien come to mind. Many Thanks Nora!

In fact my association with GoNOMAD came about with a phone call way back in 1999 from Lauryn Axelrod with an invitation to join the team, she found me by word of mouth. I often wonder what happened to the other six originals. Fate again played a part when Max Hartshorne bought GoNOMAD, I had worked on articles as contributing editor for Transitions Abroad where he served several stints as managing editor but we had never met in person. I decided to go up to his home to meet him in person and found a highly motivated guy that also happened to be fun to chat with, I found a home at GoNOMAD there and then. My travel column in the Lincoln Eagle also came about via a unexpected phone call.

Word of mouth over the years still plays a big part of my writing career I was recently asked to send a tape to Stone Entertainment for a possible host gig on a Travel Channel Show all because someone recommended me, I have no clue who. I most likely will not get the job but it was nice to be asked. Recently thanks to my friends at France’s Tourism office in NYC Katherine and Jessie I am writing a piece for their 2008 France Guide, a beautiful glossy that will be distributed around the world. I do not discount hard work and its part in travel writing success however a little good kharma never hurts.

Travel Writing, Those in Waiting

I was honored recently when a friend of my son asked if he could send me some questions and be his topic for a journalism class in college. I still am of the school that thinks travel writing is separate from journalism, but I was curious what he would ask. Steve is a great kid with a very clever mind and has been emptying my fridge with Chance’s other buddies through high school and now on college breaks. When I read his piece I really got a glimpse into my life from a younger guy, I was flattered! Here is some of what he wrote; this kid will be a journalist;

Stephen Richards
Profile on Kent St. John

Walking into the house, if you look carefully and put things together, you might guess that Kent St. John is a travel writer. Scented in foreign incense and cigarettes, the two-level brown townhouse in the middle of small-town Cottekill is, to say the least, very comfortable. Laced with foreign masks, original and purchased framed photographs from different countries and nearly every room in the house littered with back issues of Travel Magazine, walking into the house itself is like walking into a different country. Not, however, a country you may have seen on a globe or in a movie. No, this is Kent St. John country.
Kent can usually be found rear-end grafted to his computer chair, fingers blazing across the keyboard, and cigarette in mouth: true journalism at its best.

Blogging & Travel Writing

When Max started blogging I didn't get it, seemed like just a waste of time. Once I started doing it it became something I really enjoyed. Now on GoNOMAD we have ten blogs all active and filled with thoughts. One thing I really like was that I could use my blogs like notes, I can now look back to when and where I was at a certain time. I got an email today from a friend who heads up some major PR jobs for many tourism boards. Here was his response about blogs:

Yes, blogging is definitely the way to go. I was at a meeting a few weeks ago with PR managers for other National Tourist Offices, and they all agreed that blogs are the new way. Keep up the good work and I will keep you posted on the next trip!

Without a blog I couldn't' pass that info on!

The Future of Travel Writing

I seem to be hearing about the shrinking of newspaper travel coverage just about every place I go. Yesterday in Boston, today on Travel Writers and emails from friends the cuts and closings are talked about. I have heard the rumblings for a long time but never like this.

What I am also hearing is that the PR and Tourism Boards are not quite sure what to do about it. All know that online is where most people go now to plan their trips, it is how to judge what sites are the ones to send on junkets and are going to keep their clients and bosses happy. A new way to judge the value is what is needed; fortunately we at GoNOMAD have been in the game a long time and Max has kept up with the trends.