It’s frustrating because the fate of your writing career is in the hands of a seemingly fickle editor who has his or her own tastes when it comes to the written word.

No doubt they have spent the better part of the day sifting through the mountain of submissions known as “the slush pile.”

They are probably mildly distracted, perhaps nursing a case of the common cold or daydreaming about the chicken dinner that awaits them at home.

Once it reaches the editor’s desk, the fate of your article is beyond your control. What can you do?

Work on that which is under your control: your craft. Because it’s also a rule that good writing will eventually get noticed.

The Road To Better Writing

What is good writing? Many “experts” will be happy to listen to themselves dish out advice. Many books promise to train you to pen nothing less than literary magic.

However, writing is a very personal endeavor. Another person’s ideas cannot make you a complete writer.

You might learn ways that change your approach to your work, but the personal element, the You, is still the biggest influence on your words.

According to William Zinsser, one of the better teachers of writing around, the personal element is indispensable.

“Writing is an act of ego, and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.”

“Ego” is no less than a swear word in many circles, but I think Zinsser is right. The mere fact that you are writing to share your experiences and your ideas with others proves this point.

No matter how hard you try, your view of the destinations you visit is going to be different that everyone else’s. And you are going to convey those ideas in a unique way, no matter how hard you try not to. So the first piece of advice for aspiring travels writers: be yourself and trust the way you see things.

This doesn’t mean that the best writing is unedited, stream of thought. (Not many want to read that kind of writing). Zinsser points out that the trust of self is an “attitude.”

It is a way to approach the craft of writing. It is not a substitute for craft.

Of Pen And Paper

So what is “craft?”

It is the ability to communicate through the written word. In terms of travel writing, it might mean communicating a sense of place or the feeling of experience.

However, words are an imperfect medium. How can they be used to communicate the visual and visceral? My man Zinsser has an answer: simplicity.

Instead of trying to force images into your readers’ minds with adjectives and oh-so-clever wordplay, strive for straightforwardness. After all, you are trying to communicate something, not show everyone that you can use a thesaurus.

Craft is stripping away the superfluous from your work so that what is left is as concise as possible.

Don’t Stop Writing

So how do you get better at it? My personal advice: Write.

Setting up a blog these days is easier than brushing your teeth. There are ready-made travel communities that offer blog hosting. Others will see your writing and perhaps you’ll start earning feedback.

You can even ask other readers what they think about your writing style, the content, etc. I’ve found that some readers are happy to oblige you with some constructive criticisms.

Send In Your Work

Submit, too. A writing teacher of mine once compared the process of submitting articles to initiating a conversation with a stranger.

Sure, you’ll get rejected. Perhaps even embarrassed. But occasionally, an editor will take some time to let you know why your work wasn’t accepted.

Take this as constructive criticism, no matter what the tone of the advice is. This “conversation” with editors, if taken in the right way, can help you to hone your craft.

Take Notes

Some writers take notes while actually on the road. Others wait until they have returned to their guesthouse for the day. Others wait until the trip is over.

Once again, it is a matter of personal taste. Of course, you don’t want to forget any of the details you might want to include in a story.

At the same time, if a place did not find a place in your memory, is it really worth writing about?

Read Others

Finally, read great travel writers. You can learn a lot from taking the time to pick through a Pico Iyer essay or a chapter of a Norman Lewis book.

Their style may be different than yours, but perhaps you can garner something from the way they are able to communicate the feel of a given place so vividly.

Josh Lew has spent the better part of the last decade abroad. He pays his way by writing about travel and teaching English. When not traveling, he lives in world’s most non-exotic place: Minnesota.

Unless you’ve been gifted an inheritance or a lucky lotto ticket, chances are that someone wanting to join the expat community in a foreign country will have to find work there. Teaching English as a Second Language classes is, by far, the job of choice.

Not because of the perks, but simply because it is the easiest type of work to obtain. In my experience, it seems that simply standing upright and speaking several relatively coherent sentences in English is sufficient to land the job.

There are one-month courses (CELTA and TEFL) that offer certification. However, in most places, especially in the developing world, a college degree is more than enough.

But while ESL teaching is the easiest job to find, but there are others paths to consider.

Hit The Water

The tourism industry is invaluable to the local economies of many countries, so it’s doubtful you’d score a job working menial tasks at a resort.

However, there are other opportunities. In seaside locales, many resorts and dive shops hire dive instructors. Some of these same places offer courses and tests to become a certified instructor.

There also might be openings for people with skills in other water sports. Some resorts hire instructors for activities such as surfing and para gliding, though keep in mind the stiff competition. Most surf instructors in, say, Bali, are local residents. For this reasson, SCUBA companies are the best bet for foreigners.

Wield Your Pen

Those of the literary ilk might consider a job with an English language publication. Most countries have several newspapers or periodicals aimed at an English speaking audience.

Editors are not extremely well paid, but can get by. Their jobs usually include cleaning up pieces written by local writers and perhaps writing (or ghostwriting) the occasional article.

While these jobs are not glamorous, they can provide an atmosphere conducive to writing. Editing is a good job for those who have the desire to try writing as a profession.

For a job like this, attitude is important. Working for a newspaper can be a source of great anxiety or a invaluable learning experience, depending on outlook.

It’s All Perspective

For people with certain set of skills, a job in a foreign country can turn out to be quite lucrative. Experience in construction, in the oil fields, or the security business might be enough for an individual to land a lucrative consulting job. Sometimes, simply tailoring your resume to a specific strength will do the trick.

A friend of mine who had designed a simple personal website and taken a crash course in the local language was able to land a well-paying job as a creative director at an advertising firm in Jakarta.

The key, it seems, is not as much what you can do as how you present your skills to prospective employers. It might not hurt to look deeper into your past experience to see what might become useful.

That doesn’t mean that the high school essay you wrote about indigenous cultures in Peru makes you an expert in the country. But, at the same time, try to think of all relevant experience that you have had.

If you can talk intelligently and at length about your experiences, it might be worth including in a resume.

Finding a job in your dream city might not be as hard as you think.

Josh Lew has spent the better part of the last decade abroad. He pays his way by writing about travel and teaching English. When not traveling, he lives in world’s most non-exotic place: Minnesota.