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Issue #388: How to Write an Effective First Person Travel Story February 28, 2022 |
| Greetings Fellow Travel Writers! . . . and WELCOME all new subscribers. Thanks for joining us.
WORKSHOP REGISTRATION IS OPEN!You can still register for our workshops - we still have seats left.If you sign up for BOTH workshops -- The Complete Package-- you save $800. Or, you can save $100 off the regular price of each individual workshops: Our Travel Writing Workshops Are The Best ANYWHERE!Here are eight reasons why you won't find better workshops anywhere else:1. Roy Walks the Talk The workshops are taught by prolific international travel writer Roy Stevenson, who has more than 1,000 published articles in 200+ regional, national, and international magazines, newspapers, trade journals, custom publications, specialty magazines, in-flights, on-boards, and online travel magazines. Few travel writers ever crack the 1,000 article barrier, and even fewer have cracked the 200 publications mark — Roy has done both and will show you how he does it.
Roy has coached more than 100 travel writers to great successes. While working with these writers, he noticed they continually make recurring writing errors.
He’ll show you how to parlay your travel writing assignments into free or discounted travel, meals, tours, accommodations, spa treatments, and entry into tourist attractions and museums. You’ll save thousands of dollars in travel expenses once you know how to parlay your assignments.
PitchTravelWrite.com is also listed in TheWriteLife.com’s 2020 & 2021 “100 Best Websites for Writers”
Editorial: How to Sell Museum Articles To Break Into Travel Writing
Museums are staple tourist attractions around the world. And, in fact, writing about them helped me break into the competitive travel writing arena.
My museum stories are one of the keys to my rapid ascent in freelance writing and being published prolifically in print media. I’ve sold a lot of museum travel articles. And, I mean a LOT - more than two hundred!
I’ve had museum pieces published in several dozen paying print magazines plus a few websites. (Google Roy Stevenson + museums and you’ll see a few dozen of them).
A great perk from museum writing is that you get free entry when you have assignments. Often, you receive personal guided tours with the museum curator or a local historian. Even better, many of the editors have taken repeat museum stories from me, and I’ve become their museum “go to” writer. Magazine editors tend to accept subsequent pitches once they’ve run one or two of your articles. If you’ve had difficulty breaking into travel writing, I heartily recommend you pitch museum stories to specialty magazines. Mine have sold like hot cakes and yours can, too. Here's how to do it This Week's Featured PostHow to Write an Effective First Person Travel StoryOne sure sign of an amateur travel writer or blogger, is the constant use of the pronouns “I” or “we” in their travel stories.Magazine readers and editors want to know about your destinations. But, no matter how much a place resonates with you, they aren’t interested in a mundane blow-by-blow travel narrative. That comes off as an “all about me” attitude. Poorly written first person travel stories clog up the destination, rather than revealing the place. Here’s how to craft an effective and compelling first person travel story:
Upcoming PostsMarch 7: Three Ways to Find Unique Story AnglesMarch 14: Secrets of Successful Travel Writers March 21: Travel Writers' Success Traits PitchTravelWrite.com Success StoriesCandi Licence: Another PitchTravelWrite Success Story
Candi Licence accidentally fell into travel writing but it didn’t take long for her to get serious about it. Here’s her story:
“I fell into travel writing by accident. My husband and I retired at the end of 2013, sold most of our stuff, stored our precious things like art and family heirlooms, and began traveling full time. We’d go to places we always wanted to see, stay for 3 months and then move onto our next adventure. I started a blog to let people know where we were and what we were doing, and I got feedback from people I trusted that they loved my writing. Writing about our adventures was intoxicating and getting complimented was exhilarating. Fast forward 3 years, and I attended a travel writing workshop to see if it was possible for me to become a travel writer. I drafted an article during the workshop, and it got a great reception from participants and an Editor who was coaching aspiring writers throughout the event. I left the workshop fired up, with stars in my eyes. Once home, tried to sell the article and learned my first hard lesson. Always pitch first! It’s hard for beginners to place a completed article. The second lesson I learned is that you can’t submit queries to one editor at a time — it’s a complete waste of time. I’d wait a month, get no response and then send my query out to the next editor with the same result. I was spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I was frustrated. I thought I had the talent to be a good writer but didn’t know how to break into the field. That’s when I saw Roy Stevenson’s Marketing Master Class for Travel Writers. I signed up, took the workshop, and it changed everything for me.”
Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links About the Business of Travel WritingWhen you decide to become a travel writer, there are certain business basics to consider. There’s a great deal more to the business of travel writing than just "traveling" and "writing".Some people approach travel writing as a hobby—and that’s fine. But, if you want to earn income from your travel writing, you need to think of it as a business. And it helps to know a few business basics specific to travel writing.
Inspirational Travel Quote
RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERSFeatured Bundle : Beginner's 3-Pack
If you're just getting started in travel writing, try our Beginner's 3-Pack—the perfect way to kick-off your travel writing career. Here's what's included: The Complete Guide to Query Letters Everything you need to know about query letters - and 20 examples you can start using immediately. 125 Websites That Want to Publish Your Travel Stories A list of 125+ quality travel websites where you can quickly collect some bylines - without all the struggle of finding websites who want your stories. 100 Print Magazines That Want to Publish Your Travel Articles A list of 100 print magazines that will save you hours of time researching and creating lists yourself. They give you a foundation of sales leads you can use and build upon. When you buy the bundle you get 10% off the price of individual books. And this month you can get an addition $5 off when you use discount code f5b
Group Coaching Mastermind CommunityOur first Group Coaching Mastermind Community kicked off in October, 2020, and we’ve got a global group with members living in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Indonesia and the U.S. We're very excited about this group of writers and our new community! We added new members to our community in 2021 and they're getting to know the group and participate in writing activities.If you missed out on the opportunity to join this session, you can get on the waiting list for the next session starting soon in 2022:
Did You Know . . .Our Complete Marketing Master Class for Travel Writers is ranked #1 on TravelWritersExchange.com’s Top Ten Travel Writing Workshops.Your next opportunity to attend these classes be in Charleston, South Carolina, June 2022. There are still a few open seats in these workshops, so sign up while we have space. Our travel writing & marketing workshops are highly informative and a blast, socially.
ONLINE Travel Writing & Marketing Master ClassNow, you can study our Marketing Master Class for Travel Writers online for only a fraction of the price of the live class! We recorded it LIVE in Seattle, for aspiring travel writers who weren’t able to attend in person.
At Your ServiceCoaching
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Consulting 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 into the travel writing realm and all the enjoyment that comes with it.
Awards and AccoladesWe're thrilled to announce that www.PitchTravelWrite.com is once again on The Write Life’s 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.
We're proud to announce that our travel writing website has made Writer’s Digest Magazine’s 2016, 2020, and 2021 101 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS. Writer's Digest doesn’t bestow these awards lightly. And we’re the only travel writing website on their lists!
Friend me on FacebookMy Facebook page is about freelance travel writing. I frequently post about:• links to other well produced travel websites and blogs • links to my travel articles • magazine cover stories and back stories • links to resource pages • 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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