Great Escape Radio: Travel Writing | Photography | Publishing | Writing

“Paying it forward is the right thing to do, it’s the good thing to do and for me, it’s the only option.” Theresa St. John Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, bring Noreen Kompanik and Theresa St. John back to Great Escape Radio. Noreen and Theresa met through GEP and formed a friendship—despite being from completely different locations and backgrounds. That friendship has resulted in collaborations for press trips and articles. They share how they collaborated on one trip in particular together - to New Orleans.  By splitting up the tasks of reaching out and scheduling tours, reserving hotels and securing restaurant reservations, they were able to plan a very successful visit much more efficiently. By pooling their resources they were able to get 11 published stories from that one trip! Noreen and Theresa also work together to encourage other Great Escape Publishing members who are finding their own way in the travel writing world. It’s all about paying it

“There are two sides to travel writing—the income side and the side of loving what you do, the side that makes you wake up happy every day.” – Lori Allen Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, bring Gwyn Goodrow back for a second time as a guest on Great Escape Radio. You can listen to our last episode with Gwyn here. Gwyn was one of the travel writers on the success panel at the 2017 Ultimate Travel Writing Workshop in Washington DC.  She spoke about a moment when things went from being about the nuts and bolts of travel writing to being about the heart of travel writing. “There are two sides to travel writing—the income side and the side of loving what you do. The side that makes you wake up happy every day,” says Lori. Gwyn has discovered both sides and she shares her story with us. Listen in to hear how meeting a cat named Mrs. Bentley in a New Orleans rug shop led Gwyn to the realization that the true heart of travel writing are the connections she makes

“When you think you know everything, you stop learning.” Efrain Padro Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, bring Efrain Padro back to the podcast to discuss the myth of talent. Efrain is one of GEP’s most popular instructors, and recently taught two sessions to writers at the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in D.C. about how to become better photographers. The marriage of travel writing and photography is a necessary union. If a writer can submit articles and photos as a package, he or she is more likely to get published (and can earn twice the income). But many writers don’t think they have the talent for photography. Efrain explains the “myth of talent” that often holds us back from attempting something new. He was first introduced to the concept of the myth of talent back in 2001 when he attended a lecture by Craig Tanner. “Craig said everyone starts out not being very good, including him. I knew I wasn’t very good and since Craig Tanner started out not

“We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents!” – Bob Ross Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Director, Lori Allen, discuss the benefits of planning and leading niche tours—and what to do when something goes wrong. For 12 years, Great Escape Publishing has offered a program that teaches you how to create niche tours and then sell them to cover your own travel expenses and make a profit. If you have a place you like to go to over and over again, creating tours offers you a way to go back once every year or two and bring people with you and show them the amazing things you do when you’re there. For Lori it’s Paris, Africa and Thailand. Great Escape Publishing typically runs 13 to 16 of their own tours a year. And over the past 17 years, Lori has managed over 160 events total. Listen in as Lori explains how niche tours work—and how they differ from typical tourist experiences. For more information on getting started planning your own tours like these, visit www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/tour

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Director, Lori Allen, continue the series of introductions to the varying types of people who are attracted to travel writing and Great Escape Publishing. This week they introduce us to Mary Lou Osmond. Originally from Connecticut, Mary Lou met her Australian husband skiing in Vail one winter, moved down under with him and they began a business together as the owners of a precious gemstone mine. Their business took them all over the world—selling gemstones along the way.  Mary Lou loved to travel with her husband. She would always write about their travels in letters and e-mails to keep in touch with friends. After Mary Lou’s husband died unexpectedly, she needed a new start. Traveling wasn’t the same without him. Her desire to find a new purpose in her travels led her to Great Escape Publishing. “Having been a writer for so long sharing my stories with friends, I decided to give the

“Sometimes the best stories are the ones that are right in our backyard—and we overlook them because they’re in our backyards.” – Ian Aldrich, Yankee Magazine Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Ian Aldrich, Deputy Editor of Yankee Magazine. “Ian is one of my favorite editors,” says Lori. “I met him when he spoke on the editor’s panel at our event in Boston. He was so willing to open up and be completely honest with our writers. He gave them such great ideas and told amazing heartfelt stories.” Since that first event, Lori has invited him back several times to be on the editor’s panel. And at this year’s event in Washington DC, Ian also taught two sessions, one on why we’re drawn to a story. “It’s in our DNA—storytelling has always been a part of all of our cultures,” explains Ian. “It’s how we pass down traditions, how we talk about our past and how we describe who we are.” Listen in for Ian’s thoughts on… …The value of strong storytelling …What makes a story uniq

Great Escape Radio Episode 88: Lift the curtain “A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” ― Moslih Eddin Saadi Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Great Escape member, Ken Staeck, another attendee from this year’s Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in D.C. Ken shares what led him to the DC event… “Photography is my first love. Growing up my dad, my brother and I always had cameras. Our dad even had a dark room in the house. I was looking for a way to use travel writing as a bridge to photography.” Ken found information on Great Escape’s travel writing programs through Facebook. “The information talked about photography along with travel writing. I knew I could take photos but I was a little concerned about the writing. But, I do some writing in my work, so I thought I’d give it a try.” Ken was able to sandwich the Ultimate Travel Writing Workshop in Washington DC between two business trips. Now he feels that he has the tools t

Great Escape Radio Episode 87: That family feeling “The family feeling I felt at the Ultimate Travel Writers Workshop is the closest feeling to home anyone can get while on the road.” – Brenda Nelson If you’re interested in learning more about travel writing, go here: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Great Escape member, Brenda Nelson. Like a lot of members, Brenda was looking for a way to reinvent herself. With her four sons now grown and out in the world on their own, it was the right time for her to join GEP in D.C. for their annual Ultimate Travel Writers Workshop this past September- something she had wanted to do for years. Listen in as she shares more about her story, her experiences and the “family” she found at that event—a family that has offered her encouragement and support to embark on a career in travel writing. “After attending the workshop and speaking to editors and other

Great Escape Radio Episode 86: Begin with the end “Start with the end in mind.” – Stephen Covey For more information on getting started with travel writing, visit: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Great Escape member, Scott Kendall. Scott attended the 2016 Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in New Orleans and had so much success in just one year, he was invited back to this year’s success panel in D.C. to share his story. Scott comes from a self-help background—having been a certified coach for the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People series by Stephen Covey. And he is now using travel writing to improve his life, be more interesting and to travel.  He is still teaching full-time and is the high school tennis coach so he does his writing on the weekends and on summer breaks. But already he has experienced numerous perks in the form of complimentary lodging, dining, and special experiences. 

Great Escape Radio Episode 85: Invest in Yourself “If you don’t have a plan, then you plan to fail.” – Cat Holladay For more information on getting started with travel writing, visit: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Great Escape member, Cat Holladay. Lori starts us off… “We’re talking about the different types of people that are attracted to Great Escape Publishing. From highly professional skilled photographers, writers, and journalists all the way to people who have never tried anything remotely like this up until this point in their life. We have adventure seekers and knitters, golfers and whitewater rafters. Cat represents the younger side of our members that are attracted to this ideal.” Cat falls into the millennial category. She left a high-pressure corporate job a decade ago to do something more exciting. She initially started consulting but realized that with all the travels she

“Instead of putting things on a bucket list, I decided I needed to live my bucket list.” – Becky Breshears For more information on getting started with travel writing, you can visit www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Great Escape member, Becky Breshears. Lori met Becky at the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in Washington D.C. and found her story and message inspiring. “I love Becky as a person. She is indicative of the kinds of people who are attracted to this life of getting paid to travel.” Becky had a stressful career before retirement. Her husband was in an equally stressful career. They put off planning for retirement until the stress died down. But that time came sooner than expected because the stress of it all took her husband’s life. While it’s a sad story, Becky’s approach to dealing with the changes in her life is inspiring. Becky shares her story… “I started in travel writing

Great Escape Radio Episode 83: There’s no stopping Verna “Travel writing gives me a reason to get up. It gives me an identity, and it gives me a different viewpoint when I travel.” – Verna Bevens For more information on getting started with travel writing, visit: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Great Escape member, Verna Bevens. Lori says, “I thought it would be fun to start looking at who some of our members are. It’s a varied group with everyone from people like Joe Sindorf, an award-winning photographer, to retired grandmothers looking to reinvent themselves. Verna is a good example of someone that I might call part of the ‘upset apple cart group.’ She thought she knew where she was going in life, but things changed.” While in college, Verna took a job at a hospital just to pay the bills. She was majoring in journalism and studied magazine writing and photography. She got busier at wo

Great Escape Radio Episode 82: Art vs. Marketing “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” – Colin Powell To get your hands on all the information shared at the recent Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop, go to: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/workshoprecordings. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, talked about the recent Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in Washington DC in the last few episodes of Great Escape Radio. (Listen to Episode 80 here: https://www.greatescapepublishing.com/podcasts/become-a-travel-writer/great-escape-radio-episode-80-ultimate-event/ and Episode 81 here https://www.greatescapepublishing.com/podcast/become-a-travel-writer/great-escape-radio-episode-81-ultimate-attendees/ to listen in.) This week, Lori talks about the next steps to success. Jody poses a question: “Lori, have you ever seen an article or photograph jump off the computer and publish itself?” “Not once,” says Lori.

Great Escape Radio Episode 81: The Ultimate Attendees “If you want to be a travel writer, you need to be here!” – Diane from Chandler, Arizona For information on Great Escape Publishing’s upcoming live events, visit https://www.greatescapepublishing.com/events/. And to learn more about travel writing, go to: https://www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, talked about the recent Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in Washington DC in the last episode of Great Escape Radio (https://www.greatescapepublishing.com/great-escape-radio-episode-80-ultimate-event/). This week we hear exciting testimonials from participants who came from all over the world and from all types of backgrounds. “I have a travel blog now and I wanted to figure out how to monetize my blog. I always thought I could write but I didn’t know how to get it to the right people. Now I know I can do this!” – Becky from Boise, Idaho. Candace from San Die

Great Escape Radio Episode 80: The Ultimate Event “The heart of travel writing is the stories of people who live all around the world.” – Lori Allen For more information about how you can get started with travel writing, visit: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, talk about the recent Ultimate Travel Writers Workshop in Washington DC. “The Ultimate Travel Writers Workshop was full of intense days, late nights, cocktails, good conversations, networking and talking with editors,” Lori shares. “It was a full three days.” Lori is still recovering but she also feels very strong, encouraged, motivated and powerful as a result of her experience at the workshop with people from all around the world. “It’s empowering in a way that you can’t duplicate when you take a course at home.” Every time Great Escape Publishing has one of these events there are always a few themes that emerge. “Every year we invite back member

Great Escape Radio Episode 79: Start where you are “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” – Ellen Parr For more information about getting started with travel writing, visit: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, introduce us to Mary Charlebois. For Mary, getting started with travel writing was a solution for avoiding a boring retirement. She has always loved traveling, ever since she was a child, earning her the nickname “Mary Go” from her mother. So after retiring as a technical writer, she decided to combine her two loves—writing and traveling. But an injury prevented her from getting started as fast as she would have liked. “I retired early—before the usual retirement age—with the plan to travel. But in less than a year, I broke my neck. That took my time and money,” Mary shares. She regained her health but she was broke and bored, with no money to travel. Her friends kept pus

Great Escape Radio Episode 78: Write Around Portland “We know how powerful the written word is and how that experience of writing and being heard can really change your life.” -Allison Specter For more information about getting started with travel writing, visit: www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. On this episode of Great Escape Radio, host Jody Maberry introduces us to Allison Specter, Development Director for Write Around Portland, an organization based in Portland, Oregon that partners with local social service agencies, to write with and publish those who have had the least access to writing and the creative arts. Allison says, “We’re writing with women and youth who are incarcerated, people who are experiencing homelessness, folks living with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, members of the LGBTQ community, and many others.” She talks about how powerful the 10-week Write Around Portland experience can be- how writing and being heard can change people’s lives. In the 18 years that Wri

Great Escape Radio Episode 77: Fear of Overflow “Yes, you can be overwhelmed. You can have too much on your plate. But if it gets to be too much, you’ll stop, regroup and make a new plan.” – Lori Allen For more information about getting started with travel writing, visit www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, discuss how to manage the fear of overflow. It starts with a personal story about overflowing toilets… How do overflowing toilets relate to travel writing? It’s about fear. Lori explains… Sometimes people buy into the idea of travel writing. It’s a romantic way to travel and share their stories. They’ll travel and even write the article, but when it comes to pulling the trigger by sending it to an editor—they’re afraid. They are worried about overflow. What if they don’t have the time to support this new travel writing career they want to develop? What if it’s too much? Listen in as Jody and Lori discuss

Great Escape Radio Episode 76: It’s about choice “It’s a relief to know the professional photographers are better than we are because they’ve made a choice—a choice to do all the right things required to make a good photograph.” – Jody Maberry If you’re inspired to make the choice to become a great photographer, you can get started at www.greatescapepublishing.com/start/photography. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Great Escape Publishing Director, Lori Allen, discuss photography and how you can be a better photographer just by making a choice. Lori recently wrote a newsletter about how good photos aren’t just born- they’re made with the right mix of learning your camera, understanding good composition, light, exposure and post processing. “A lot of people want the answer to be in the camera. They want to be able to buy a piece of equipment and have that transform their images,” explains Lori. “Some of that is true. You buy a certain level of quality, focus, stability, color saturation and all those

Great Escape Radio Episode 75: It comes down to decision “The act of taking the first step is what separates the winners from the losers.”- Brian Tracy For more information on getting started with travel writing, go here: www.greatescapepublishing.com/travelwriting. Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry, and Lori Allen, Great Escape Publishing Director, discuss the importance of making a fast start—even if it isn’t perfect. Lori started thinking about the importance of taking a first step—even when you’re not ready or trained—while watching her daughter in the swimming pool. “When my daughter Charlie was four years old, she wouldn’t put her face in the water. But by the next year, she was diving to the bottom of the pool.” She wasn’t actually swimming, just doing a dog-paddling type of move. Lori knew she could learn how to really swim with the help of lessons and she promised Charlie she would get her lessons and goggles. “You’ll be swimming all the way across the pool after you take lessons.” But Charlie ha