Community over competition makes freelance travel writing better for all

Anna Prendergast has some advice for you.

This month’s series is all about community versus competition. The idea that when we come together to help one another, collaborate and share intel or contacts, we all benefit, not just those who are receiving the help in the moment. It’s something we’ve tried to foster through this newsletter, and it’s something Anna Prendergast has experienced first-hand through a WhatsApp group she created back in 2021.

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As a travel writer, being made redundant in the middle of a pandemic was far from ideal. The industry was on shaky ground as it was; rates plummeting, jobs dwindling, competition rising. So it was with no small amount of panic that I plunged headfirst into the deep end of freelancing. It was very much sink or swim, and I quickly realised I was probably not the only one treading water.

I reached out to a handful of fellow freelancing women — journalists I’d met on press trips, followed on Instagram or worked with previously — and asked how they were doing. My instinct was right: many of us were feeling isolated, not just by the pandemic but by the very nature of being a freelancer. So in June 2021, I set up a WhatsApp group called “Freelance friends”. The idea was simple: we are not each other’s competition, we are each other’s community. Freelance writing is a solitary career; there are few resources to support our growth, our mental health or our finances. Without a team to buoy you up on a bad day, or a system in place designed to support your success, it can be incredibly lonely.

In addition, there’s a culture in journalism of secrecy and scarcity — the idea that work is a zero-sum game proliferates. People who have worked their way up often pull the ladder up behind them; more insidiously, it can feel like a middle-class boys’ club. Particularly in travel and fashion, the attitude is often: you’re lucky to be here, and you’re disposable. I wanted the group to be an antidote to all of that.

Five years later, it’s still going strong, a tight group of 18 women who exchange advice, contacts and pitching tips, celebrate each other’s success and commiserate when invoices go unpaid. So it was only fitting that when the TTW team asked me to write this piece, I turned to the group itself.

“It’s so refreshing to find a space where advice, ideas and support are shared freely. There truly is space for us all, and we only win when we lift each other up,” one told me. Another added: “Being able to compare rates is invaluable — it bolsters my courage to ask for what I’m worth and chase payments.” One of our younger members added that “whilst it can be shocking how badly freelancers are treated, it’s also reassuring to know that it’s happening to everyone — even those with the best bylines.”

There’s a strong sense of camaraderie: we celebrate wins and share work we’re proud of. “The celebration of milestones is so great. [Without the group,] short of winning a Pulitzer, I would probably play down any successes and focus on shortcomings,” one adds. Several members have had commissions as a direct result of this group; others have done skill swaps at IRL meet-ups. It’s incredibly rewarding to be a part of.

In an industry where the odds can be stacked against women, I implore you to see them (us!) as your community, not your competition. Start small: reach out to someone you admire; it can feel vulnerable, but the rewards are far greater than the risks. There’s a lot of gatekeeping in the industry, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Sometimes, just knowing you’re in the same boat can feel like a life raft.

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Latin America Travel Festival discount

Bradt Guides, in partnership with Wanderlust, are running a Latin America Travel Festival (RGS, London, Saturday 8 November). Don’t miss:

• Mary Ellen Moriarty (Race across the World) and Rory Jackson (director, Tribe with Bruce Parry) sharing South American experiences

• Expert sessions on best Latin American rail trips, the South American Handbook, exploring Colombia’s Darien Gap and a travel health Q&A

• A photography competition — 1st prize is a year’s Royal Photographic Society membership

• Artisan producers of Latin American chocolate, homeware and more

Tickets are just £15 for TTW subscribers using code TTW15 (standard ticket £50).

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Post of the week

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Who to follow

Mary Novakovich recently won ANTOR’s Travel Writer of the Year award; go follow her work on Bluesky:

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Industry must-reads

There’s a consultation on the late payment of freelancers in the media and the NUJ is urging anyone in the profession to respond to it and to write to your MPs. It’s important as journalists that we highlight the deeply unfair payment-on-publication system that sees us doing work that goes unpaid for many months and sometimes years.

And in better news, two brilliant travel books came out in the last month: Moonlight Express by Monisha Rajesh, which is a masterclass in bringing readers along on your journey, and Jamie Lafferty’s An Inconvenience of Penguins, which is equal parts educational and hilarious, and has some damning words about the UK travel media machine.