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Become a Lonely Planet Author

Become a Lonely Planet Author
Guidebooks
We’re always on the lookout for new talent and we’re currently searching for freelance authors with specific regional knowledge and experience. If you think you’ve got what it takes then read on…

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/jobs/becomeauthor.cfm

Bare Necessities:

Specialised knowledge of a city, country or region listed below
Experienced traveller
Professional writing experience
Ability to write vibrantly, with authority and attitude
Excellent research and organisational skills
‘Tools of the trade’, eg computer hardware and software
Ability to work independently
Great resilience and tenacity
Good boots!

It’s a bonus if you also have:

Travel writing experience
Written or spoken foreign language skills (this is essential for some destinations)
Specific areas of expertise, such as art, music, wildlife, other cultures, food, languages, outdoor activities and other travel-related pursuits

All authors who work on our books are freelancers, hired on a contract-by-contract basis. We do not employ staff writers.

Expertise
At the moment, we’re looking for freelance authors for one or more of the following destinations:
Updated June 2008

Asia
Writers based in China, in particular:
Xinjiang experience who can speak Uighur
Kyoto (arts & culture specialist)
South-East Asia based writers, in particular:
Indonesia
Laos
Thailand
Vietnam
Australasia & the Pacific
Pacific-based writers, in particular:
Fiji
Indigenous Australian writers
Central & South America
Writers based in South America
Writers based in Central America
Writers based in Mexico
Europe
Amsterdam-based writer (Dutch resident preferred)
Portugal-based writer
Middle East
Writers with language skills and strong experience in the Middle East, in particular:

Dubai
Saudi Arabia
North America
Writers based in the following locations:

Atlanta
British Columbia
Charleston
Hawaii
Louisiana
Memphis
Nashville
New Brunswick
Newfoundland & Labrador
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Quebec (outside Montreal)
San Diego
Savannah
Toronto
Submitting an Application to be an Author
Before submitting, do your homework. Tell us exactly what you can offer Lonely Planet. Tell us about your travel experience. Are you interested in a certain part of the world, or a particular Lonely Planet series? Do you have an idea for a brand new book or series? Do you want to write a new guidebook or update an existing one? New authors are generally given a small project for their first contract and then take on bigger assignments from there.

If you want to know a bit more about being an Lonely Planet author, you can get up close and personal here where it's just you, them and thousands of kilobytes…

So do you fit the bill? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us a cover letter, your resume and two examples of your published writing work (preferably travel-related), including details on where and when they were published, to:

Publishing Administrator
Lonely Planet Publications
Locked Bag 1
Footscray VIC 3011
AUSTRALIA
Or email it to:
recruitingauthors at lonelyplanet.com.au

If we like what we see you’ll be contacted by our Author Recruitment & Placement Manager and asked to complete a writing task. This will require you to provide a sample of around 2000 words on a town or neighbourhood, specifically researched for this purpose and written in the style of a Lonely Planet guidebook. Guidelines are provided.

If we still like what we see, you'll be invited to join our pool of authors. But be warned - our requirements are strict, and the bar is set high. We receive a lot of writing samples every year, and many don’t make the grade. We must also emphasise that approved authors may still wait some time before being offered a project.

Please also note that continuous commissions are not guaranteed. Because LP authors work from contract to contract, there can sometimes be long gaps between gigs - especially if you have a specific area of expertise. Having said that, some of our highly skilled and adaptable authors have a broad range of expertise, and DO go virtually from project to project.

Good luck!

Book Proposals
Lonely Planet does not accept travel literature submissions. However we may call, from time to time, for stories along a particular theme, for possible inclusion in our annual travel writing anthology.

By sloopskipper on Jun 19, 2008, 12:05 in Friendly Talkzone.

Joel y Luza says on Jun 19, 2008, 12:07:

sounds like World Editor has been plying us for information, with his spring like cities posts, to work for Lonely Planet.. easier to write what other's say rather than travel there?

Just some thoughts

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sloopskipper says on Jun 19, 2008, 12:11:

LP has done it before,
and surely there are others.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sloopskipper says on Jun 19, 2008, 12:35:

Joel, it seems that your friend has left us in a huff!

"No such user"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Joel y Luza says on Jun 19, 2008, 12:41:

Dale

That is too funny!!!
I knew something was way too fishy about that guy!!!

muy mucho el payaso!!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sloopskipper says on Jun 19, 2008, 12:48:

I certainly hope you don't think I had an ulterior motive to posting that,
and these mods “ain’t stupid " ;o)

Like, "Peter Gunn"!

"Take that ya weasley wabbit"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Joel y Luza says on Jun 19, 2008, 12:59:

NAH!! you are a stand up guy! Thats why I think you are pretty cool in my book!!!

Geez! The dude tried to high jack the site ,and get people to write his book for him...You were right.. pretty slimy

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sloopskipper says on Jun 19, 2008, 13:08:

I think if they guy had been straight up and said what he was doing, even more people would have helped him (I would have, except he was a jack-***, also).

Like I told you, the only reason I looked at the friends, early on, was because several straight-shooters here seemed to think he was OK, so I thought maybe my impression was wrong.

But I did have ulterior motives for that post, as you can well imagine. But probably his exit was purely coincidental, and maybe his choice.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Joel y Luza says on Jun 19, 2008, 23:30:

I actually think that, some how, some way, Peter ought to find a way to copyright all of these posts and comments and that would stop that crap.. I kind of thought it was slimy how he was devisive and play people to suck info from them... I figure if you post or comment here, the rights to that post or comment should belong to PBH...

than Peter can write a book and get some cash off this beast he has created.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

huskie says on Jun 20, 2008, 06:37:

Very interesting post Sloop, world is full of crooks
Cheers

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds-"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sloopskipper says on Jun 20, 2008, 07:18:

yep, yep!

It was a LP writer recently busted for an article written about Colombia, and he never visited.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tejasmarcos says on Jun 20, 2008, 07:42:

so the guy was a fraudster?

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

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sloopskipper says on Jun 20, 2008, 08:12:

If you mean the LP writer, you probably could say that.

There was quite a lot in the news about it, maybe a month ago.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tejasmarcos says on Jun 20, 2008, 08:20:

i remember.

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gorgonabob says on Jun 21, 2008, 13:47:

you guys dont know much about the situation.

there were three writers for the Lonely Planet, 2006 Colombia guidebook. two had to visit the country and write and one stayed at home and wrote background info and history. ie... he DID NOT HAVE TO GO TO THE COUNTRY, actually he was told specifically to stay in the States and write that portion of the guidebook. I met the Lonely Planet author for Colombia as did many others.

the only reason all this was in the news is because the guy had written his own book and what better way to drum up some publicity

0 funny, 0 helpful.

tejasmarcos says on Jun 22, 2008, 07:24:

do you think it worked for him, bob? ie, more sales for the guy?

trying to walk a straight line on sour mash and cheap wine...

0 funny, 0 helpful.