Review: Matador U Online Travel Writing Course

In December 2009 I signed up for Matador U’s online travel writing course. The course is a 12-week program that consists of 12 separate modules, although you can take as long as you’d like to finish the course because the course offers ‘lifetime access’ to Matador U content, forums and market blog.

Price and Course Structure

With a $350 price tag, I was hesitant to sign up for the course. Now almost two years later, I’m glad I decided to go for it. Before joining Matador U, I really wanted to advance my writing career but I didn’t know how to move from casual blogging to working with editors and getting published. What I liked about the course was how practical it was. It wasn’t only about the craft of writing, but also about pitching editors, participating in press trips, targeting your market, getting published and actually making a career out of travel writing. One of the module assignments was to create a budget and figure out how much you’d need to make from travel writing in order to sustain the lifestyle you’d like to have. Each module has interesting example texts and helpful links that I’ve gone back to for reference.

Content and Benefits

After completing Matador U, I also bought the Lonely Planet Guide to Travel Writing by Don George. Much of the content of this $15 book was similar to what was covered in Matador U. If Matador U was only content, the Lonely Planet book would be a much better deal, but I’d say that it wasn’t really the content that set Matador U apart and made it more of a catalyst for me, but the extracurricular tools. Meeting other travel writers and bloggers in the forums and taking advantage of leads via the market blog have been instrumental in advancing my writing career.

At the time I took the course, I had a few critiques of the program which have since been addressed. Now there are support groups and live help available, weekly writing labs and a frequently updated market blog, often with exclusive leads made available only to Matador U students.

When I took the course, I felt I was ‘alone’ in the forums because not a lot of other students were enrolled at the same time. The writing lab wasn’t offered weekly, and during my entire time as a student, I was only able to submit one article due to the infrequency of the labs. Now students can submit articles for constructive feedback from Matador’s editorial team on a weekly basis. This is one of the best benefits of the course, because you can submit any article you’re working on, whether it’s a course assignment or not, and get detailed constructive feedback from editors and your classmates. The writing lab is headed up by Matador Nights editor Kate Sedgwick, and having seen her feedback she is someone I’d hire to edit my work should I ever have the budget to do so!

Market Blog Writing Opportunities

When I was a U student, the market blog was a bit weak. At that time, students only got access to the market blog for the duration of the course. After the course finished, you’d have to pay a subscription. I decided not to pay for the monthly subscription because many of the leads were for college literary magazines or other things that I could find myself.

Thankfully for me, and for all Matador U students and alumni, the market blog is now one of the lifetime access points of the program. It’s curated by Julie Schwietert, Matador U’s head faculty, and I’d say it’s updated at least five times a week. There are TONS of leads and I’ve seen dozens of special offers to U students for press trips, one-time gigs or long-term assignments. Having a baby at home I’ve been unable to take advantage of some of the more exciting opportunities, like the Belize Road Warriors program, but I have gotten so many ideas from the U market blog that I’ve got a lengthy ‘hit list’ of publications I’d like to submit to.

The Downside

Part of me wishes I’d waited a little longer and signed up for Matador U now that there are so many more features and a more involved student body. I was bummed about only doing one submission to the writing lab which only one editor critiqued. I’m not sure if students who have finished the course can still submit, but I think I’ll give it a try next time I’m working on an important article!

My Success Story

I’ve only pursued writing part-time since signing up for Matador U as I’ve been busy as a graduate student and new mom, but I am very happy with the progress I’ve made. Here are some of the successes that I can attribute to my experience with Matador U:

I was named the grand prize winner of the 2010 International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association Scholarship. I found out about the contest from the Matador U market blog and from the blog of fellow Matador U alum JoAnna Haugen, winner of the 2009 IFWTWA contest.

I have spent the last year as a regular contributor to Journey Beyond Travel’s Morocco Travel Guide. I found out about this opportunity through the market blog.

I was able to intern with Matador Network and spend one year as lead editor of Matador Abroad. Being connected with Matador U faculty allowed me to expand my professional experience as an intern an editor.

I had my first travel article published in an anthology, The Expeditioner’s Guide to the World. I found out about The Expeditioner from another Matador U student, Barnaby Davies, who shared in the Matador U forums about one of his articles being published on The Expeditioner website.

I’ve learned how to use Twitter and built up my overall social media presence.

I launched ExpatHeather.com as part of the Matador U coursework. Part of the course included thinking about my personal brand and coming up with a strategy for marketing my site. In the beginning of the course, several other U students critiqued my site and gave me tons of useful feedback!

Conclusion

The best part about Matador U has been the people. Many of the faculty and students have become friends. I’ve even been able to connect with a few in person, and I hope to meet up with more in the future. Through Matador U I was able to find other people who share similar interests and goals; it’s really an awesome community. The people I’ve met through Matador have encouraged and supported me in my writing career and other ‘adventures,’ like becoming a mom! I have NO regrets about joining Matador U as it has not only helped me in my writing career, but also added much to my life.

If you’re considering signing up for Matador U’s travel writing or travel photography programs, I’d definitely recommend doing it!

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Disclaimer: I’ve wanted to write this course review for a while, but I held off on doing it until I left the editorial position with Matador Network. Matador U links are affiliate links, so if you sign up after clicking through from this site I’ll get an affiliate bonus. Even if there wasn’t an affiliate program and I never worked for Matador, I’d still recommend Matador U!