Want to write about your travels? âď¸
For over 15 years, South East Asia Backpacker has been publishing travel stories and tips written by backpackers of all ages, travel styles and nationalities, making it a true âtravel diary for everyoneâ. By sharing your unique story, you will be adding your words to a legendary, one-of-a-kind collection of travelogues that will undoubtedly inspire other people to hitch on the backpack and explore the amazing region of Southeast Asia! What are you waiting for?
đŠđ˝âđť If we think that your writing shows potential, there may be the opportunity to become a regular paid writer for The Backpacker Network. That’s how our two current employees started out with us!
“When I was travelling Southeast Asia in 2015, I stumbled upon an old copy of South East Asia Backpacker (back when it was a magazine)! Rather fancying myself as a travel writer (I mean that’s the dream, right?) I wrote my first article and sent it over. Fast forward nearly a decade and I now work as editor for the website. Give it a go, you never know where it could lead!”
Sheree â Editor at South East Asia Backpacker.
How to Get Started as a Writer
Submit your article idea through the form below.
- Please provide a 150-word summary of what you plan to write about.
- Due to the number of submissions we receive, we can only contact successful applications. If you haven’t heard from us within two weeks, please assume that your submission has not been accepted this time.
- Too many ideas to choose from? You can submit up to three proposals, just be sure to fill out separate forms for each new idea.
Tip! Before submitting a travel guide or article, please search the site (see the search box top right) to check whether we already have an existing article on the same subject. If youâve seen something that already exists on the site that you feel you could improve dramatically, please tell us how you plan to do this in your proposal.
What Type of Articles Are We Looking for?
đ Travel Guides: We always want to add new travel guides to our website, particularly to destinations that are less-visited and off the beaten track. If you want to tell the world why we should visit your favourite hidden gem, or perhaps your hometown, we’ll help you spread the word. Additionally, if you see a travel guide on the site that you could improve or expand, let us know how.
đşď¸ Itineraries: Help other travellers plan the perfect route around a country, city or region. Aim to save readers money, fuel and time whilst showing them hidden gems and places they might have missed out on otherwise!
đ How-tos: Did you solve a problem that many backpackers struggle with? Can you write the guide that was impossible to find online? Be the change you want to see in the backpacking world!
đľââď¸ Activity Guides: Did you climb the most challenging mountain in X? Cycle the most dangerous road in Y? Dive among the submarine wrecks in Z? Tell others how to prepare themselves for this life-changing adventure.
Want to Write but Havenât Been to Southeast Asia Yet?
Donât worry – there are still opportunities for you! The Backpacker Network consists of three websites that cover budget travel on three of the best continents for backpackers in the world. You can submit a story for any or all of the following websitesâŚ
Writer FAQs
If my article is published will you link to my blog/social media? Yes. Weâll include a bio with a link to your travel blog and social networks. Weâll also promote the article via our social networks tagging you.
Can I send you an article that has already been published on my blog? No, sorry, we can only publish articles that are 100% unique.
How long should my article be? We recommend a minimum of 1000 words and a maximum of 3000 words. Say everything that you need to say to write the best possible article. Say it with as few words as you can. If it reads well and gets all the necessary points across, it’s the right length.
Will I need photos to accompany my article? ? Yes, please! When you submit your article please attach a few original photos so that we can get a feel for your article overall. Please donât insert the photos into a Word document, send them as separate attachments.
What if I have a great article, but no photos? No worries! Please send us your article and we can use some from our photo bank.
Should I include links in my article? Yes. You can include relevant links to travel resources and companies youâve used or websites where people can find more information about what youâre talking about. (Read more about our link policies below.)
Will you share my article on social media? Yes! We want to share your article with as many people as possible. If you have a page for your travel blog on Facebook, weâll link to it when we share and tag you on Twitter, Instagram or any other social network you fancy!
Donât forget your author bio â Just a couple of sentences about you including where youâre from, where youâve travelled and any other interesting info. Weâre happy to include links to your personal travel blog and social networking sites.
The Fine Print
The first step is getting your article idea approved. You do that by submitting it via the above form. If your article idea is approved, our team will be in touch to guide you through the rest of the writing process.
So, once you submit your finished article, hereâs what happens nextâŚ
The team will review your article and decide whether it is a good fit for the site. Not all submitted content will be published, weâll only pick those that show potential and best align with our audience and values.
If we want to publish your article, our editor will review it and make the necessary changes for grammar, spelling, readability and SEO purposes. Edits are not a sign of bad writing and shouldnât be seen as such. All the edits are done to get the most out of your writing and deliver what our audience wants.
We reserve the right to add additional information to your writing where we deem it necessary (after all, our websites are a collection of voices) but weâll never change the meaning behind your words.
We work with a number of local partners which we may promote in your article/guide. Affiliate links will also likely be included. These are just a couple of ways that we fund the work we do.
We love to help aspiring bloggers increase their reach, however, writing for us should not be considered a quick way to get links to your blog. Author bio links are marked no-follow in line with Google’s guidelines. You can propose in-content links, but we do not guarantee that they will be published in the article. Links out to businesses are highly likely to be removed. If we do choose to leave an in-content link it is likely it will be marked as no-follow.
Inclusivity
We have always seen ourselves as a travel diary for everyone. However, a lot of what we have already published on the site comes from the more âstereotypical backpackerâ demographic (often wealthy, white, straight, twenty-somethings from an English-speaking country).
We realise that travel is not the same for everybody. We know that a travellerâs experience can be hugely affected by age, medical conditions, physical disabilities, mental health issues, skin colour, body size/shape, religion, nationality, gender identity and sexual orientation, to name a few. (This list is not exhaustive so please forgive us if you donât see yourself represented in this short paragraph).
Our goal is to help ALL travellers receive the information that will help them make the most of their adventure. If YOU can describe an experience that will help future travellers, get in touch! (Donât worry, if you fit the âstereotypical backpackerâ profile, we still want to hear from you!)