As the world of travel grinds to a halt with flights grounded, borders closed, and travel writing markets putting features on hold, it’s time to gather your writing skills, venture beyond your own travel writing borders, and cross into other niche markets of writing.
Parenting
This covers our paternal, maternal and even grandparenting skills.
There are so many topics that you could write about right now that can appeal to parents who suddenly find themselves at home seeking to entertain children 24/7, such as activities, cooking, books, and family life.
Get in touch with your local parenting publications such as Carolina Parent, Raising Arizona Kids, and Chicago Parent.
No matter where you live, you are almost guaranteed to have a publication like this for your area.
Then there are national publications like Today’s Parent in Canada or Your Teen, which is aimed at parents of teenagers. You can even pitch to grandparenting magazines and websites like GRAND Magazine.
The AARP website has a host of subject areas from food, health and fitness, to personal essays. Why not pitch a story about staying in touch with your grandchildren?
Pets
We’re all getting to spend a lot more time with our pets too, and there are many pet magazines out there with an open call for submissions.
With approximately 6.5 million pets in the U.S., if you are not a pet owner there’s a likelihood that someone you know is, which makes looking for a topic far easier.
Use your research skills, interview professionals, and write a compelling idea that will interest everyone.
Animal Wellness seeks holistic pet care articles, Catster magazine is interested in anything from cat care to product reviews to anything related to our feline friends, and Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine is a great choice for the aquarists among us.
No matter the type of pet you’re interested in, there is a publication out there with a desire for clear, precise, and fully researched articles.
Health and Fitness
Another thing people are trying to do while stuck at home is stay fit. Most of us have some knowledge of health and fitness, be it by our own experience or through someone we know.
Writing for this niche calls for research, statistics, and supportive quotes from professionals.
From lifestyle publications like Healthy Living to more workout-based offerings like Shape, there is no shortage of print and online markets to discuss health and fitness concerns.
Writing
You could also share your experience as a writer with one of the many magazines or websites that focus on writing itself.
There is The Writer magazine, where you can submit articles about writing in general or specifically about travel writing as part of its Market Focus or an Off the Cuff personal essay.
Writer’s Digest has similar areas where you can share your travel writing experience. There is also Writers Weekly which focuses on marketing secrets and ways to boost writers’ income.
This is just a selection of the many and varied publications out there that are hungry for submissions.
The skills you have been developing as a travel writer will work for these topics just as well. So, fine-tune all that the travel world has taught you and apply them to a new niche while travel is on pause.