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Editorial: Selling Stories from Past Trips

While I prefer to sell my travel stories before I leave for my destination, I’ve also sold dozens of them retroactively. I’m currently working on an article from a trip I took last year.

Here’s what you need to do to ensure a high-quality, accurate article if you’re writing it after you’ve traveled:

1. Identify a destination that you’ve visited and resurrect your story ideas from that trip.

2. Before you pitch a story to an editor, make sure your information is up-to-date. If it’s been several weeks, months or years since you’ve visited, check information online to make sure your facts are still correct.

3. Send the final draft of your travel story to the media relations director at your destination for fact checking.

4. When you send your final article to the editor, mention that it has been fact-checked. This will save them time fact checking. And it will give the editor confidence in your professionalism and make it more likely that you’ll be given more assignments in the future. 

This step is crucial. If your facts are incorrect the editor will hear about it from irate readers. The result is predictable — the editor will not hire you again!

When I write my automobile museum articles, for example, I only write about the cars that are permanently on display. I ignore the temporary exhibitions.  The temporary exhibits are always changing so if a reader goes to that car museum expecting to see it, he’ll be very disappointed if it’s been removed from the gallery floor. And the editor will hear about it from the angry reader.

I also give the museum curators the courtesy of fact-checking my article and photo captions before I submit them to my magazine editor. If there are inaccuracies, they have an opportunity to correct them.

In many cases, your travel stories can be several years old, depending on what you’re writing about. I've sold plenty of military museum articles years after I visited them. Museums don't change much over time. Likewise, if you’re writing about ancient historic places, you’re going to be fine. The Acropolis and the Coliseum haven’t changed for millenia! 

I’m currently writing a travel story about an automobile museum we visited over a year ago in Detroit. Last year the editor rejected my pitch about this museum. But I decided to resurrect it and pitch it again. This year he was happy to buy it because he was coming up short of stories due to the virus.

What stories can you pitch and write about from past travels?

Rekindle your story ideas from memorable destinations and pitch some stories to editors. You can experience virus-free travel. And you’ll make some money, too.

This Week's Featured Post

Can Print Travel Media Survive the Internet?

Travel bloggers and website publishers will tell anyone within earshot that the Internet has completely overtaken the print industry. One prominent travel blogger even predicted that by the year 2020 print magazines would cease to exist. 

If you’ve visited any major newsstand in the last year you’ll see that this has not happened! According to Linda Thomas Brooks, the President and CEO at MPA (the Association of Magazine Media.)
, “The old trope that print is dead is just lazy thinking.”

To check the facts, I hunkered down for three days to do some research - lots of research!  I studied the state and health of the print media industry and specifically, travel print media.

Is print media doomed? 

Or, is this simply an exaggeration? 
 Read the article to learn what I found - it was both enlightening and encouraging!

READ THE ARTICLE

GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND - Coming September 1st

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
- you’ll learn how to write successful query letters
- you’ll get solid advice about pitching your stories
- you’ll get feedback on your articles
- you’ll get photography tips for preparing galleries for editors
- you’ll have an opportunity to showcase your articles & photos

A safe and helpful community where . . .

- you can ask questions and get the answers you need
- you can gain the confidence to leap over roadblocks
- you can gain insight, encouragement, and support
- you can tap into for help when you’re stuck with your writing
- you can give and receive solid advice about problems
- you can celebrate your writing successes
- you can ask for help with magazine leads to pitch your story ideas
- other members can help with“in-the-trenches” perspectives
- everyone exchanges thoughts on story ideas and what works

A mentoring and resource place where . . .

- you'll receive marketing tips about selling your travel stories
- you’ll find new resources to boost your freelance travel writing knowledge
- you’ll get advice on the craft of travel writing
- you’ll have opportunities to fine-tune your photography skills
- you’ll get a chance to share your articles & best shots

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.

Registration will open in August. Get your name on the interest and you’ll be the first to hear when it opens. This Group coaching program will be limited to the first 35 registrants.


Click here to get on the Group Coaching Interest List

Upcoming Posts

PitchTravelWrite.com Success Stories

Rey Waters

His first book that I read was Get Published Now. It had a section that mentioned getting started in your own back yard. 

At the time we were living in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. My wife and I walked a two-mile hiking trail around a lake every day for our exercise.  

During these walks we met all types of very interesting people. I pitched a story idea to our local newspaper and I guess you can say the rest is history." 

Here’s Rey Waters’ remarkable and expanding travel writing success story, so far!

READ Rey Waters Travel Writing Story

Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links about Business Basics for Freelance Travel Writers

Some people approach travel writing as a hobby and that’s fine. 

But, if you plan to earn income from your travel writing, you need to think of it as a business. It helps to know a few business basics.

What are the business basics you need to consider? 



Here are 21 of our PitchTravelWrite posts to cover all the business basics you’ll need to know:

Access to Business Basics Resource Page

Inspirational Travel Quote

RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERS

Featured Book: ROCK STAR TRAVEL WRITERS

Our NEWEST book, Rock Star Travel Writers, reveals through a series of in-depth interviews the insider tips, tricks, and secrets that 10 leading travel journalists use to land assignments in the most prominent travel glossies, and be well paid for their efforts.

I wish I had this information when I started out on my travel writing journey!

If I’d known, early in my career, what the successful travel writers were doing to get published in top flight magazines, this knowledge would have sped up my entry into this competitive field.

This stellar lineup of highly respected travel journalists offers excellent practical advice and encouragement to help you move up the travel writing food chain.

See how Kimberley Lovato, Bill Fink, Mark Andrews, Irene Levine, Nick O’Connell, Allen Cox, Keith Lyons, James Ullrich, Pam & Gary Baker, Jessica Pickett, Chuck Warren, & Sandy Bornstein get their travel stories consistently published.

BUY THE BOOK

Live Workshops

Here are the 2021 dates:
June 3-6, 2021, Travel Writing & Photography Retreat
June 8-10, 2021, Marketing Master Class for Travel Writers

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

Did You Know . . .

You can access the list of the top ten travel writing workshops at the link below . . .

Travel Writers Exchange workshop list: #1 Marketing Master Class

At Your Service

Coaching and Consulting
Online Courses
Vietnam 1-1 Retreat & Consulting
Expat Consulting

email: pitchtravelwrite@gmail.com

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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.

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Roy Stevenson
Pitch Travel Write
www.pitchtravelwrite.com