News

Travel writer Bartlett ‘88 tells a global story

Ray Bartlett ‘88 always knew he wanted to be a writer, even early on when he was a student in Janet Kearsley’s 10th Grade English class at Falmouth Academy. At a recent talk to a group of about 30 people at the Marstons Mills Library, Ray explained how he became a travel writer, with work published in many travel guides and magazines, including Lonely Planet, Budget Traveler, USA Today.

“Travel writing is a hard job that’s kind of quirky,” he said. “My best advice is to check your spam folder before emptying it and budget accordingly. Also, travel writing is not like being on vacation all the time.”

Despite always wanting to be a fiction novelist, Ray fell into travel writing by teaching English in Japan and then writing a memoir about his two years there. Although the book was not accepted for publishing (an excerpt actually did appear in the book, Travelers Tales: Japan), it opened the door for Ray.  After sending his query to 40 publishers, Ray sent one to Lonely Planet, which published travel memoirs as well as their well-known country guides.  He received a rejection letter. He wrote back and thanked them for their consideration and asked them to think of him if they ever needed someone to write about Japan. He received a letter saying they “would put him on their list.”

Two years later, while checking his spam folder, Ray discovered an old email from Lonely Planet asking if he was still interested in writing for them. He did a spec piece that included a map. He was turned down, but he asked for another chance. Two and a half weeks later he was in Japan, where he spent the next two months.

“The lesson I learned from this was that if there’s something you really want, persist. Don’t take no for an answer if something is really important to you. ”

The trick to getting the job, he said, is to do your homework. Study the publication and really know the area.

A staff author for Lonely Planet since 2004, Ray has spent much time in Japan by now, and also in Korea and Mexico. In addition, he is frequently a guest on Around the World, a radio show syndicated world wide, and he has appeared on PRI’s The World. But he did say that by virtue of the internet, the market for publishing travel guides is shrinking. He has added photography to his skill set and sometimes finds that the photos earn more than the article.

Another skill he has added is video. “You have to be versatile these days and in this market, that includes being savvy about video and podcasting.”  (You can google “Ray Bartlett Nachi,” or visit the link below to see his video report of the Fire Festival in Nachi, Japan.

In his travels, Ray said he has met so many wonderful and interesting people. “They go out of their way to show you the beautiful things in their country, their home. You see some really cool stuff through their eyes.”

One of the neatest things he has ever done was swimming with the whale sharks in Baja when he was actually on vacation!  “This is something I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t done a piece on it for my Lonely Planet guide on Mexico.”

The best thing Ray has gained from his travels? “On a trip up a mountain on a windy, twisty road, south of Ensenada, I happened to see what I thought was a dead dog on the side of the road. As I paused, it lifted its head. I stopped and gave it water and then later on my trip down the mountain, it was still there. So I stopped again and gave it some food. I learned a pretty heavy life lesson that day: Don’t feed a dog if you’re going to drive away….  On your way out of the library, if you stop by my car you’ll see her and the other dog I rescued on that trip.”

Check out Ray’s photography and publications on his Web site, www.Kaisora.com, which also has a link to his Facebook page. Ray’s other passion is writing about Japanese onsen, or hot springs. He runs high-end, exclusive onsen tours to Japan in spring and fall each year. Information is available on his other site, www.OnsenJapan.net.