The Secrets to Successful Travel Writing
A one-hour Tele-Class by authors
Mark McMahon and Christopher P. Baker
June 22nd, 6:00pm PST

How would you like to get paid to spend a month on the beach in Cancun?

Or enjoy six months in China knowing you’ll make a profit from the trip?

Imagine what it would be like if your job was to have fun…

If you saw this job advertised in the paper would you apply?

Help Wanted: Travel Writer for national publication.
Responsibilities include exploring beaches in Tahiti and eating at popular restaurants. Successful candidate will be able to join tour guides and local people to discover exciting things to do. Some nights at luxury hotels required. Flexible hours, no overtime, business attire unacceptable. Enthusiasm and desire more important than experience.

Of course you’d apply! Fun, freedom, travel, beautiful scenery, great food, and a nice paycheck? Pretty much every person dreams of a “job” like this. But it’s just a fantasy job, a silly dream, right?

Wrong! This is an actual job description – if you’re a travel writer.

Travel writers are in high demand.

Most people find it hard to believe they can make a living as a travel writer (probably because itsounds too good to be true!) But the truth of the matter is that the travel industry is booming all over the world, and publishing companies are getting rich selling guidebooks. There are countless magazines out there devoted to travel. Ecotourism in particular is growing, and countries that were previously overlooked as tourist destinations, like Costa Rica and Panama, are now opening up. This means publishers are scrambling for articles and guidebooks on these “hidden treasures.”

Even guidebooks to popular vacation spots like Tahiti need updates all the time. Hotels and restaurants change hands, new nature preserves are created, even roads change as highways are added or fall into disrepair. So the job description you read above is real – publishers desperately need good travel writers, and they’re willing to pay them. With some basic information, YOU can be on their payroll!

Make the most of your life – while you can.

So what did you do today? If you’re like most people, you got up before you were ready, scarfed down your breakfast, fought traffic, spent the day soaking in stress, ate lunch at your desk, fought traffic home, and either squeezed in some chores and family time or lost yourself in the TV. How much of your day did you actually spend doing something you enjoy? Did you experience any real exhilaration, or is your life just… okay. Nothing’s wrong exactly, but it seems like something’s missing. There’s a restlessness, a feeling that there MUST be more to life!

My name is Mark McMahon, and I used to feel like that. I had a successful dental practice and was creating a name for myself in cosmetic dentistry. I had gotten pretty good at making teeth straight and white. As satisfying as it was to improve someone’s life and have them to pay me handsomely for it, straight and white got to be too predictable for me.

Still, I was basically content. Yet something just wasn’t clicking. I couldn’t put my finger on it. There was just this vague feeling of restlessness. I was very passionate about traveling and taking photos. I took trips whenever I could. But the restless feeling would always creep back. I kept pushing it aside. Everyone would rather play than work, right? I had my own successful practice, I was lucky, we all have to work for a living…

Sound familiar?

Then in 1998, my Dad passed away from cancer.

“I’m gonna die, too!"

I can still remember exactly where I was when this realization came, that’s how hard it hit me. I was taking life for granted. And I wasn’t living to the fullest! I had to MAKE my happiness, not wait for it. And suddenly everything did click. I had to listen to my inner voice, not hush it.

I wanted to travel. It was crystal clear to me in that instant, like I had been trying all these years to see something through a fog and suddenly the fog lifted. POW. There was no question in my mind. I was going to travel and have adventures. I was going to write and take photographs. I was going to follow my heart’s path instead of my career path.

And I did it.

What it’s like to live the good life…

I sold my practice and started traveling. I’ve been all over the world – Cuba, Thailand, Brazil, Bali, Cancun… too many places to mention. I’ve explored the jungles of Costa Rica and spent weeks on exotic islands regular tourists never see. I’ve spent time with the Guaymi and Kuni Indians in Panama. I’ve been to spectacular nature reserves in Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Bolivia. If I want to stay in a place longer, I stay. When I’m ready to go, I move on to the next adventure! My life is basically a permanent vacation!

And I’ve learned a valuable lesson I want to share with you. If you love what you’re doing, you never have to go to work again. Work is a relative term. In one sense I “work” very hard. But it is a world away (in more ways than one!) from commuting to a cubicle forty hours a week! Passion turns work into play. You’ll know you’re doing the right thing when you’re having fun all the time!

Let me give you an example. I was traveling in Panajachel and was staying in a small pension just a few blocks from the lake. I got there at night and found the pension. But I was so excited to explore this little town and lake that I got up with the sunrise, grabbed my camera, and just started walking. Those moments of first light are truly mystical. Everything is fresh, pristine… reality is not quite open for business yet. Man and nature have not had time to put on the mask they show the world, and you meet them without pretense.

The light from this particular sunrise was amazing. Walls, boats, plants, mountains, people even… everything had that early morning golden glow. It was magical, and I took photograph after photograph. I was so completely absorbed I didn’t notice time passing. It wasn’t until the sun rose higher and the light changed, and my stomach started its lunch-time rumbling, that I slowly came out of the creative trance I was in. Hours had passed in the blink of an eye.

I found an open-air café overlooking the lake that had just four little tables. I had a great sampling of local cuisine and began taking notes about the places I’d seen, people I’d met, and the feeling I had that I was finally on my true path, that my spirit was at that moment completely free and connected with the world. I spent the rest of the afternoon writing, once again so absorbed with what I was doing that I didn’t notice the time passing. I finally returned to my hotel, re-organized my equipment and got ready for my next outing -- another exciting day lay before me, and I could hardly wait!

My point is that if you’re doing something exciting, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. No clock-watching, no feeling tired or anxious. No boredom. No day-dreaming even! There’s nothing to day-dream about because you’re LIVING the dream. You’re totally in it!

Listen. No one chooses a repetitive, stressful office job. No one wakes up and says, “I can’t wait to fight traffic and spend all day breathing recycled office air!” There’s not one single person who, given a choice, would rather be stifled than inspired.

But so many people stay stuck in that rut. They can’t see a way out. So they just give up. They let their worries and fears take over. They keep having one ordinary day after another. And those days do add up… They add up to an ordinary life. Don’t you want something better for yourself?

Wouldn’t you rather have an extraordinary life?

Lucky for you, if you’re reading this letter, YOU are not one of those people who stay stuck. You’re already a step ahead, a bit smarter. You know there is more to life, and you know there’s a better way. And now you’re on a new path to a more fulfilling life!

What’s also lucky is that you’ve already done most of the work. It’s true! There are three main things that have to happen before a person can really change their life:

1. Commit to making a change.
2. Choose a path.
3. Take action.

If you’re reading this, you already accomplished step one. You know you need to make a change and you’re actively exploring your options. You already accomplished step two as well – you want to see exciting places, stroll along pristine beaches, stay at luxury hotels, explore fascinating natural wonders like volcanoes and hot springs, meet new people, make lots of money… in short you want to become a successful travel writer! And step number three… well, that’s just a simple act away. All you have to do is sign up for our Tele-Class, get the information you need, and get going on your new adventure!

Don't want to wait another minute?

This Tele-Class will teach you what you need to know to get started
right away!

Here’s a taste of what you’ll learn:

· The booming markets that need travel writers
· What editors are looking for
· What type of travel writing is right for you
· How to find a good story angle
· How to sell and protect your work
· The right way to submit your articles
· How to write and sell a travel book
· Many ways you can multiply your income

These are just a few of the things we’ll cover. And if you want to explore something further or have another topic you want us to touch on, you’ll have a chance to ask questions. That’s the beauty of the Tele-class format – it’s like a big conference call where everyone gets a chance to talk, so the class can be custom-designed to the participants!

Can’t make the class? CLICK HERE to pre-order an audio version!

Get trained by two travel writing experts!

I already told you how I got started (and I sure wish I’d had a class like this then), now let me tell you about the success part! I started writing short stories along the way and publishing them on my own website. Then I got them onto a huge travel-oriented website. Then another, then another… I was asked to contribute to a guidebook on Bolivia. Then I wrote my own book, Driving to the End of the World, a travelogue based on the stories published on my website – the book is due out this summer, so watch for it!

Yes, I’ve been bragging about my expertise and accomplishments in travel writing. But my credits pale in comparison to my co-presenter and author/photographer, Christopher Baker. Just listen to this list!

He's written for numerous publications, including Newsweek, Elle, Islands, National Wildlife, Caribbean Travel & Life, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, National Geographic Traveler, the National Times, Caribbean Travel & Life, Discovery, the Robb Report, Travel Agent magazine, the New York Daily News, San Francisco Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald… I could go on! His books include a coffee table book: Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles, plus he’s written best-selling guidebooks to Cuba, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Bahamas and elsewhere for publishers like Avalon Travel Publishing, Frommer's, Lonely Planet, National Geographic Society, and Prentice Hall.

Wait, there’s more! Chris Baker is also the author of the best-selling literary book, Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba, which won the 2002 Lowell Thomas Award as "Travel Book of the Year" and was the Grand Prize winner in the North American Travel Journalist Association's Awards of Excellence. And his other awards include the Publisher’s Association of America “Benjamin Franklin Award,” and the Caribbean Tourism Organization's "Travel Journalist of the Year".

AND he teaches a Travel Writing course. As Chris told me in when I interviewed him recently (see interview on LiveYourAdventure.com) one of his students sold to Conde Nast Traveler six to eight weeks after graduating from Chris’ class, and he’d never been published before. Now the student has launched a full-time career.

If Chris Baker isn’t an expert on travel writing, no one is.

A Tele-Class is like chatting with friends!

So many people ask me, "Mark, what is a Tele-Class?" Well, basically it works like a conference call. Participants call in at the designated time, listen to the hosts speak about the topic, and then at the end everyone can join in the discussion! That's what makes it so much more valuable and rewarding than a big seminar. We've all been to those! Huge numbers of people scribbling down information -- there's no connection between the presenter and his or her audience! In a Tele-Class though, it's just like chatting with friends on the phone. Laughing, joking, sharing experiences and asking questions... it's an incredible feeling to be a part of a community of like-minded people.

Another thing I've noticed is that more people tend to speak up during a Tele-Class. There's something about being comfortable at home, kicked back in an armchair in a familiar environment, that lets people open up. In the traditional classroom you get either dead silence or someone might work up the courage to ask a shaky, self-conscious question. Not in a Tele-Class! The atmosphere is so relaxed that I've found most people feel an urge to speak up! It really gets the discussion going.

When you sign up for the Tele-Class, you'll get an email explaining how to participate. But if you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me at Mark@LiveYourAdventure.com and I'll get right back to you with an answer.

This Tele-Class is 100% guaranteed!

Chris and I are so confident that this class will launch your travel writing career, that I’m offering you a money-back guarantee. That’s right! If you take the class and feel it wasn’t helpful to you, I’ll refund your money. So what are you waiting for? This is a no-risk opportunity to make a real difference in the quality of your life. With the information you’ll get in this Tele-Class, you could be on the road in no time at all, exploring the world instead of watching it pass by! Please don’t wait. Reserve a line today and take the first step on your new path to freedom You have nothing to lose, and the World to gain.

Place your order today!

Option 1: Sign me up for the June 22nd Tele-class!
For just $29.95 you get to participate in the class, plus you’ll get a downloadable audio version once the class is over so you'll always have this valuable information at your fingertips!

Option 2: Can’t make the class? No problem. For the same low price of $29.95 you can get an real audio version to download to your computer.

Option 3: Want an audio CD? For $39.95 you can get a CD mailed to you, plus you’ll get the real audio version to download to your computer.

Great adventures await you!

I just know this class will help you start your new life as a travel writer. Enjoy your freedom and Live Your Adventure! Maybe we’ll meet on the road…

Mark McMahon