An Impractical Review of Matador U’s Writing Program

[UPDATE: Spring 2015- Since writing this a few years ago, at the beginning of my writing career, I’ve since been commissioned to do a feature 2000 word article for a Dutch print travel magazine, 3 GPS smart phone walking tours of Shanghai for Pocket Guides, a number of articles for Shanghai print magazines and an ongoing freelance contract with MoveGuides to write China city guides, among other bits and bobs. All have been well paid.]

I don’t tend to write reviews. Of anything. Any attempts usually end up with me just blathering away about mops and privilege for 1500 words, accompanied by unrelated photos.

However, now that I’m pleasantly unemployed and have a great big stretch of free writing time in front of me, I’d like to introduce you to the people who nudged me out into the public sphere, gave me the tools and great writing guides with which to do it properly, encouraged me at the beginning and continue to do so now, and who have given me far more opportunities than my lazy self has bothered to take advantage of.

This would be their home page

The Course, The Cost, and What it Gets You

I had heard of the course before they officially launched it back in Autumn of 2009. I was even on the mailing list for the launch. I was that keen. At that point, I had written a few pieces for Matador Network and they had mentioned me in a few of their compilation articles.

Professionally, I liked them and they seemed to like me. Their approach to writing meshed with my own: a firm intolerance against cliches, tropes, sloppiness. They expected fully thought-out ideas from their writers and didn’t put up with trite, lazy, ad-copy styled articles. I respected that. I knew that I’d sign up for the course when it launched.

And I did, though it wasn’t until I went home for a month in early 2010 that I filled in the form and sent off my credit card details.  I had missed the launch by about 4 months due to life interfering.

In February, 2010, I had a decent chunk of time available, not occupied by students or marking, and I was feeling quite motivated to get my writing act together. At that point, my writing career (if you could call it that) consisted of my Livejournal account, the two Matador stories I’d  written the previous summer and…. that’s about it.

As you can see, they gave me my start.

I signed up for the course in early 2010. I paid $350, which is what it still costs now. You can pay $10 for a one-week test-drive to see if you like it. I liked it. I paid the full $350. For me, it was definitely worth it.

Back then, things were just getting started and things are much bigger, much better now.

A lot of what they offer now wasn’t available to me at first. However, once you’ve paid, you’re in for life. I still sign in, a year and a half later, and use a lot of the features.

Let me first show you what they give you for your $350.

What you get out of it

What I’ve found useful

I never really wanted to be a full-time travel writer, so some of the modules (such as how to budget realistically for a writer’s salary) didn’t apply to me.

Other modules were great and totally practical: different types of story telling, how to fit the story forms to the different writing markets, how to research and prepare for a writing assignment, how to think like an editor, how to develop a publication mindset, time management skills for research-heavy assignments like guide book writing, etc.

They introduced me to social media, branding and pitching. Before the course, I was totally clueless.

Because I never planned to quit my job to travel and write (because I would rather teach and travel and still enjoy my writing), I skimmed through a few of the less relevant modules and only submitted the assignments that I felt were relevant. I’m a terrible student.

The interesting thing is that now, 18 months later, I’ve been head hunted by a guide book company to write a walking tour of Shanghai so I have found myself going back into the guide book module (which I had previously only skimmed as I wasn’t planning to contact Lonely Planet for a job) for help.

They have a Market Blog for students only, which gives writing assignment leads, some of them exclusively for Matador U students. It’s updated several times a week and some of the gigs are really, really tempting. I’d been too busy with teaching to apply for any, but I know a lot of the other students have and their writing careers have really taken off in amazing ways.

Some of my virtual classmates have gone on to be Glimpse correspondents, Matador Network editors and contributors, full-time print publication travel writers. A few have been published in well-received anthologies. The list is dauntingly impressive.

Basically, if I get my act together, I know that I have a lot of opportunities and a lot of support there for me.

Here are a few handy links from them

  1. National Geographic Traveler video series
  2. Press trip opportunities for students
  3. A short video about how to become a successful travel blogger

Did I mention that you get access to the course (including the forums and Market Blog) pretty much forever?

Although I wasn’t the most thorough student when it came to the modules, I made full use of the writing labs and the forums and got a lot of really good, constructive feedback for my writing. I still keep a cut and pasted pdf of all the feedback I got.

It was also in these forums that I met a lot of the people who I now consider to be my friends and who are my cheerleaders when it comes to my writing projects. They’ve passed on job leads, moral support, corny jokes, tech help and great banter on Twitter.  Also, they reTweet, post to their Facebook walls and Stumble what I write so this blog you’re reading here is easily 100 times more widely read than anything I’d ever done before. If I wanted to monetize this beast, I’d easily have the readership numbers needed to sell ad space.  I’ve had to turn down a lot of ad requests already.

Without Matador U, I would never have known Heather, Camden, Marie, Kumiko, Julie, and at least a dozen others whose work I really respect and whose achievements in the writing sphere have really inspired me.

None of these would have existed if I hadn’t signed up.

I started out using the free blog they provided but moved on to my own hosted site within a few months (Hello, Ephemera!), thanks to the in-depth tech assistance given in one of the modules and the more personal help offered in the forums. I asked a lot of questions and I got a lot of help.

I don’t think I would have moved beyond Livejournal or WordPress.com if it hadn’t been for their help. Moving to a self hosted site was a huge change, on so many levels, many of which I never fully absorbed until I look back in amazement at how far I’ve come in the past 18 months.

And I didn’t even finish the course (though at the rate that I’ve been venturing back in and re-doing assignments, I think I may actually finish it this year!).

Since I signed up, they’ve added a ton of new features, such as the instructional video series by National Geographic writers and photographers, an ongoing series of very focused workshops, press trips and the Pro Modules (basically, much more technical, detailed course work for those who have already delved into professional writing).  

Would I recommend it?

Well, yes. But it depends on what you want to get out of it. A lot of people have asked me if I thought they should sign up. I told them it really depends what you want to get out of it.

It does cost $350, which is a lot for a 12 week online course, even a really well-planned, well-written one like this.

But it’s yours forever, pretty much. All of it.

And you get access the job leads, modules (both regular and pro), the forums, the supplementary workshops, the National Geo videos, etc, etc, whenever you want. They have a brilliant (paid!) Road Warriors program, working with the Belize tourism board, which is only available to Matador U alumni.

And that’s great. They’re great. If you want to focus totally on becoming a full time writer. Which I don’t, at least not right now.

Why was it worth it for me?

The connections. Seriously. I can’t even begin to tell you how much it has opened up for me, how many leads I’ve been offered, how many opportunities I’ve had to reluctantly turn down because I was too busy with teaching.

The current walking tour gig I’ve been offered was totally thanks to the connections I made through the course. I’ve also contributed to an eBook with Pocket Cultures (which will be published soon, I think), thanks to the people I met. For about a year after I started the course, various Matador editors kept asking me to contribute. I was swamped with work and had to keep declining.

Basically, if I want to be a writer, they’ll help me get there. They’re serious about it, and very very practical.

Which I’m not.

But I’m trying.

Oh, and they also have a photography course, which I’ve heard is excellent. If you’re interested in making a living from doing travel photography, I’d highly recommend it- their faculty and alumni lists are impressive.

A summary of some key bits

* MatadorU is the creation of MatadorNetwork.com — the world’s largest independent travel
magazine
* Matador is the Web’s #1 destination for professional travel writers
* Hundreds of students enrolled in the first two months
* The course material is available for life, so you can take it at your own pace

Disclaimer: If you click on any of the ads (like you see above) or the course-related text links and enrol, I’ll get some affiliate payment in return. I don’t advertise on this site so a little extra coffee money would help offset the costs of paying for hosting and would be much appreciated.  All opinions are my own.



23 thoughts on “An Impractical Review of Matador U’s Writing Program”

    • If you happen to sign up for the photography course, I’d be curious to see how it goes. The faculty are pretty amazing photographers, from what I’ve seen. I just have a pretty basic Canon so can’t really do much manually on it and can’t see myself making full use of a photography course. Very point and shoot with a few auto settings. I’m so barbaric.

  • Thanks for the info, lady. I’ve also thought about this course, as well, for a long time. It’s good to hear the opinion of someone I know and trust (and whose writing I admire like crazy!).

    • I wish I was more motivated/less lazy! I coulda been a writerly contender… if I hadn’t spent the past 18 months eating gummies and watching pirated movies.

  • Mary Anne,

    just stumbled upon this post

    I heard about these courses for ages but never took action because… I’m pretty much a lazy pig

    However your pitch motivated me to finally take action.

    Gonna sign up next time I happen to have my credit card AND an internet connection at the same time (not that easy, I’m the only blogger without internet at home and I’m a bit paranoid so never bring the card with me… well I will copy the number on a piece of paper, that should also work haha)

    F.
    FUrio recently posted..Lugu Lake: between the grassy sea and a legendary playboy

    • Hey, cool. I wish I was less lazy. I got a lot out of that course but I could have done a lot more if I’d tried. Hell, I probably still can. And where I am now, writing-wise, is far beyond what I was 2.5 years ago when I first signed up for that course. It did a lot of good for me, even if I have been too uncooperative to make use of it. I hope you do better than me 😉 (and if you do get it, can you go in via my links, so I get the $10 or whatever commission for steering you in that direction? Much appreciated).

      PS Next time I’m in HZ, let’s try for coffee or something, ok?

  • You know, I have been interested in this course for some time. I finally signed up for the $10 trial and am already considering going the full course! A little scary – no one in my family is supportive of this course of action…but I would love to give it a go. I have already been travel blogging for a year, invest my heart, soul and time into what I write, but am not getting very far…perhaps this will help me move forward in this dream I would love to pursue. Thanks for the feedback.
    Anita Mac recently posted..Travel Destination: San Sebastian

    • Glad it was of use! You should give it a shot- they really know what they’re doing. it’s very practical.

    • I really hope you took this course and didn’t listen to what the others around you said! i literally just found out about this course and i was looking up reviews and found this blog. i think i am going to do photo and writing, i feel its worth it in the end if you getting where your going!

    • You’re welcome! This whole travel blogging thing is tricky, isn’t it? Good luck in your endeavors- I hope yours thrives!

  • I’m so glad I happened to stumble upon this blog while Googling reviews of Matador U, which I also randomly found while looking up info on teaching English in Asia! Thus, making your blog a perfect fit for what I’m looking for! Needless to say, you’re pretty awesome and so is your blog! As a new blogger myself, I’m pretty sold on this course. Should I try to take it before I potentially go teach in Korea next March? Or after I come back? Or possibly during? As a recent (and broke! college grad money is kind of tight and I still would have to pay for the TEFL certification course). Anyways, thanks for all the insightful info! You definitely have a new fan 🙂
    Lana recently posted..Dear People Who Never Learned Grammar Rules and Will Most Likely Call Me a Grammar Nazi (or other, more colorful names)

    • Hi! And thanks for your comment! As for your question, to be honest (considering your financial situation), I’d put my money on the TEFL cert if I were you, then after getting that and a job and easing yourself into a new life in Korea, I’d think about splurging on the course. It’s no fun being broke abroad! You can still start writing your own blog for fun (and free) beforehand (I did and I can see you have done) then start focusing on refining your skills after some practise. Does that make sense?

  • Thanks for this post! I just found out about MatadorU yesterday while looking at the presenters of a PDN Great Outdoors photo contest. Ive had one written story with my photos published and I want more, I am going to take this plunge!

  • Hi Mary,

    This one’s the only positive review i read about MatadorU writing program so far !!
    I would be enrolling some time later, but to be honest this blend of positive and negative reviews blasts my head !!

    I hope this program is not as bad as those folks say ..

    bdw you have a nice blog ..

    Thanks..

  • Hi MaryAnne,

    Thank you for your post! I am very interested in signing up for MatadorU’s Travel Writing and Travel Photography courses concurrently. I also just applied for a Working Holiday Visa for Australia a few days ago and I am currently waiting to hear back. If I start my MatadorU courses in January 2015 and leave for Australia (assuming I am granted the visa) in mid-February, would I be able to advertise myself as available for freelance assignments in Australia and surrounding areas? I realize I will have to work harder and be self-disciplined to complete the two courses while also working in Australia to support myself until I get assignments (which I may have to work only part-time to allow enough time in the day for the courses), but is this something you believe is doable? I would appreciate any advice!

    • Hi Chrissy! Sorry for the delay- Christmas and all! Interesting questions- and ambitious! Nicely done. To be honest, I don’t know- I mean, I did the writing course while teaching full time. It was a lot of work but you work at your own pace so can be adjusted as needed. I’ve been doing this writing stuff for years now and I’m only now starting to get enough to cover about a third of what I need (mind you, I’m not doing it as a full time job…). Put yourself out there and see what you can get. It’ll likely come in dribs and drabs, which is manageable. I found writing work to be tricky in that it often requires far more research than you’d expect, and that you have to really be careful to make the hours worth it. My current gig writing China guides is tricky because if I want to earn, say, more than minimum wage (I do!), then they need to be completed in X number of hours, based on fee. Alas, it sometimes doesn’t work out in my favour.

      Let me know how it works out for you!

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