Writing about cruising

MANY WORLD CRUISERS, especially the younger ones, start sailing before they have enough money in the cruising kitty. So they’re always looking for ways to earn a dollar or two in a foreign port. Now and then somebody will ask me if it’s possible to write articles and books about cruising, to pay for a round-the-world trip. 

Well, it’s possible. A handful seem to manage it at any one time, but I’d say it’s next to impossible. Lin Pardey, one of the best known modern cruising authors, once told me she reckoned you’d need six or seven books in print before you could live off the proceeds.

If you write a book that sells for, say, $15 you’ll likely receive publisher’s royalties of about 10 percent. A boating best seller in the USA is generally taken to be one that sells 10,000 copies or more. So the most a new author is likely to make, over a number of years, is $15,000 a year. And remember, the field is very crowded with would-be authors willing to accept less than you, just to get their names in print.

Magazine articles are a total crapshoot. I have sent articles to two of the largest sailing magazines in the United States and waited more than a year for a reply. Even though I’m an established professional writer, and even though they’ve used my stuff before, my submissions went into the slush pile.

The payment magazines offer for an article of 2,000 words with pictures varies from $100 to $1,000, depending on the publication’s prestige, circulation, and bankroll.

If I were to set off cruising the world, I’d try to master in advance a marketable skill more likely to produce a cruising income.

Among these skills are the ability to repair diesel engines, fridges, watermakers, SSB and satellite radios, computers, and electronic instruments, together with general yacht repairs, deliveries, sailmaking and canvas work, and even varnishing. Fiberglass repair and rigging skills are always in demand. And here’s a skill not to overlook, says cruiser and author Don Casey — cutting hair for fellow  cruisers.

Today’s Thought

A month of days, a year of months, 20 years of months in the treadmill, is the life that slays everything worthy of the name of life.

— Roy Bedicheck, Adventures with a Texas Naturalist

Tailpiece

“My girlfriend thinks I'm a stalker."
"Say what? Your girlfriend thinks you’re a stalker?"
"Yeah, well, she's not actually my girlfriend yet."

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