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Issue #305: Five Simple Tips To Add Life to Your Travel Story May 18, 2020 |
| Greetings Fellow Travel Writers! . . . and WELCOME all new subscribers. Thanks for joining us.
Editorial: Falling In Love With A Destination Does Not Equal An Article SaleI’ve visited plenty of destinations that I just itched to write about. These were places that excited me and that I connected with at some emotional level.After my first visit to Paris, for example, I just wanted to tell the world about this marvelous place. As a novice writer, I sent out 50 query letters pitching a standard roundup story about the City of Lights. The results were predictable: I didn’t hear back from any of the editors. Why didn’t editors want to buy my Paris story? Because Paris roundups have been flogged to death for decades, perhaps even centuries. While thumbing through an ancient 1960s copy of National Geographic I found a Paris roundup story. No wonder all those editors ignored my Paris query! If I wanted to see my articles in print—and be paid for them—I realized I would have to dream up some unique story angles about the destinations that resonated with me. Only a few months later, somewhat wiser, I had several Paris features published in print after pitching unique story angles. One article was about the remarkable funerary sculptures at Pere LaChaise Cemetery, published in an in-flight. Another published piece was about the eerie catacombs deep beneath Paris’ bustling streets. When you fall in love with a place, you just want to share it with everyone. I get that. But selling a story idea about that place to a magazine editor is a different proposition altogether. When you're considering a story that you want to pitch and sell, your success will always come down to . . . If you answer "no" to any of these three questions, the chance of selling your story plummets. There are times when you’ll have to place your story idea in a back-burner file because it just
doesn’t have enough juice or it’s just not the right time to pitch this piece. Get over it and move on. Work on more viable story ideas instead.
This Week's Featured PostFive Simple Tips To Add Life to Your Travel StorySuccessful travel writing consists of more than just stating that a tourist attraction is “there”. Unfortunately, many novice travel writers and bloggers believe making a list is all they have to do. They list the names of a destination’s main tourist attractions and think they’ve done their job.If you want to break into glossy travel magazines and quality travel websites, and get paid, your writing is going to require more effort than simply making lists. Magazine editors expect you to entertain as well as inform. They’re paying you to conjure up images of the destination in their reader’s minds. Here are five valuable and easy to implement travel writing tips to spice up your writing . . . GROUP COACHING MASTERMINDAre you tired of talking, thinking, and dreaming of breaking into travel writing?Are you ready to start writing? Many of you have asked when we’re going to offer group coaching. So, we're working on it. We’re planning to make it affordable, fun, and helpful and productive for you. Everything will be done online with video training, a community of like-minded writers helping each other, a robust focus on the craft of writing and the art of selling, and lots of other resources at your fingertips. Here are a few of the things we’ll be offering through our Group Coaching Mastermind program: A group coaching place where . . . - you’ll get helpful critiques of your story ideas A safe and helpful community where . . . - you can ask questions and get the answers you need A mentoring and resource place where . . . - you'll receive marketing tips about selling your travel stories You’ll get a writing community, group coaching and resources and content so you can succeed in travel writing - and have fun with other travel writers while you’re doing it. Our BRAND NEW Group Coaching program will be limited to the first 35 registrants. The people on the interest list will get first option to register, so if you’re interested, get on the no-obligation list so you’ll be notified first:
Upcoming PostsMay 25: Free! My Freelance Writing Articles Published In Writing Magazines Around The WorldJune 1: Seven Reasons Why Aspiring Novelists Should Write For Magazines June 8: What A Year In The Life Of A Fulltime Travel Writer Looks Like PitchTravelWrite.com Success StoriesPersistence & Passion Lead to Success
Sandra Bornstein was already an accomplished author when she attended our Travel Writing & Marketing Master Class in April 2017. But, she wanted to learn more about marketing her work to paying print magazines.
To gain traction in paying print media she needed to learn the marketing and sales component of freelance travel writing. Sandy says, “Marketing continued to be one of my weaknesses, so I attended Roy Stevenson’s Seattle Travel Writing & Marketing Master Class. After the class, I flew back to Colorado with a revised marketing plan.” Her 3-step marketing process led to exciting and predictable results – getting more stories published! Here’s how she did it …
Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links about Improving Your Travel WritingAs travel writers, we put words together to paint pictures of our destinations. Writing about a place we love seems like such an easy thing to do. From the readers perspective, we live a charmed life. But, there’s much more to the travel writing craft. There are things behind the scenes that your reader doesn’t know about like . . . - how to say the words in just the right way - sharing valuable information to catch their attention - knowing how to keep them engaged All of this, and more, is part of travel writing. There’s also a lot to learn about controlling your time and freeing yourself up from mundane tasks so that you can spend more time on the things you love to do – writing about travel.
Inspirational Travel Quote
RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERSFeatured Bundle: The Creative Pack
Our Creative Pack provides resources to help you with the first piece of the travel writing puzzle. These three eBooks give the starting point for every travel writer: dreaming up unique story ideas, finding the best writing niches for your interests, passions and experience, and the art & craft of travel writing. You can learn more here . . . Here's how these reference guides will help you. The Art & Craft of Travel Writing is a handy reference guide to make your travel stories sparkle and help you become a more successful writer. The tips and techniques packed into the 170-page book will help you develop your craft, hone your skills, and work smarter. In Find Your Niche you'll learn why it’s important to write in a variety of genres. It explores the multitude of opportunities available to travel writers and other freelance writers. You'll learn to identify the niches that are most interesting and meaningful to you. And you’ll find out how to hone in on the most profitable niches. Full of tips, advice and inspiration, this 85-page book will help you find your niche!
In this 76-page book you'll learn my winning system to generate story ideas that sell. Master this first step - and combine it with a great pitch - and you’ll soon find yourself immersed in exciting experiences with fascinating people.
Live WorkshopsPeople have been asking when our 2021 workshops in the U.S. are scheduled. They're scheduled in June, 2021, in New Orleans, Louisiana.Here are the 2021 dates: We have had a lot of interest for these workshops already. You can sign up for our no-obligation interest list for these workshops and receive our substantial early bird discounts when we open registration: GET ON THE 2021 LIVE WORKSHOP NO-OBLIGATION INTEREST LIST HERE At Your ServiceCoaching
and
Consulting email: pitchtravelwrite@gmail.com
If you know someone who will enjoy this newsletter, PitchTravelWrite.com, is our information-packed website for travel writers. This e-zine, a series of travel writing books and reference guides, coaching programs, and our workshops all work together to give you guidance in this field. Our aim is to provide you with practical, nitty gritty information to help you gain entry the travel writing realm and all the enjoyment that comes with it, too.
We're thrilled to announce that www.PitchTravelWrite.com is on The Write Life’s 2020 list of 100 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS! You can see the entire list by visiting their website - click on the graphic to view the list now.
Friend me on FacebookMy Facebook page is about freelance travel writing. I frequently post about:• travel writing & blogging conferences, • links to other well produced travel websites and blogs, • links to my travel articles, • travel writing themes, • links to reputable travel writer’s groups, associations, and newsletters, • magazine covers stories and back stories, • links to resources pages, • links to travel writing archives, • links to coaching and mentoring resources, • and plenty of other useful information to get you up to speed. Link to Roy's Personal Facebook page That's all for now. Until next week - just keep pitching! Roy Roy Stevenson |
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