Internet cafes usually lack the "cafe" ambiance
Sure, I wandered the cobbled streets of Tarifa’s old city, took a walk along the deserted pebbled beach, sipped cafe con leche and watched the comings and goings from a streetside cafe. I also holed up in an internet cafe for over two hours and wrote. Some of it was catching up on my blog, some of it was checking bank accounts and responding to emails, and some of it was writing an article on credit card rewards programs.
I know, I know—you’re jealous, and it’s wrong of me to rub in your faces the glamour of the profession I’ve so haphazardry embarked upon. But this is the truth of it, from what I’ve acertained and thus far experienced: the majority of writing a travel writer gets published, at least on the on-set, is service-oriented and, well, kind of unexciting.
But it’s extremely useful—I’ve advised friends on how to make the most of rewards programs, and I’m certain other travelers will find value in this nuts-and-bolts type of article. I get to plug my own blog, make connections with editors and readers, and add one more piece to my portfolio. Is it earth-shattering, thought-provoking or emotionally stirring? No. But is it a start; is it still my name in print and a little more experience? For sure.
With that long-winded intro, you can check out the article, published on StartBackpacking, here.
I’ve been puttering through Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing, written and edited by Don George, co-founder of the Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference I attended, a heavy-weight in the industry and all-around nice guy. The book includes a lot of great information; I’ve especially been enjoying the author interviews. All of the the folks interviewed, well-established and successful travel writers, say the same thing: there’s no glamour or money in travel writing (I’d extend that to most types of writing). You’ve gotta do it for the love of it, cause you can’t think of any other way to live your life.
If that’s the case, I suspect I might be on the right track.
Lonely Girl Travels 
I read that book and found it pretty useful as well. I just finished reading Best American Travel Writing 2009 and I learned a lot just by reading the authors’ writing!