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Issue #368: Don’t Give Up On Travel Writing Just Yet September 20, 2021 |
| Greetings Fellow Travel Writers! . . . and WELCOME all new subscribers. Thanks for joining us.
Editorial: Don’t Give Up On Travel Writing Just Yet
Many travel writers are throwing down their pens and walking away from freelance writing. They think magazine editors aren’t buying stories due to the dramatic impact Covid-19 has had on travel, and therefore travel writing.
One writer recently told me he wasn’t bothering to pitch any magazines because no one is traveling. But, there’s a major flaw with this reasoning. If he’s not pitching any magazines, how does he know magazines aren’t commissioning articles? There are more than 17,000 different magazines in the English speaking world. More than 2,000 of these publish travel & lifestyle stories. When you consider that each of these magazines commission 6 paid articles per issue on average, that's 12,000 articles each month that editors are screaming out for. I'm sure that many of these editors are actively looking for good copy. Their cupboards are probably looking pretty bare right about now. Just because international travel has stalled doesn't mean you can't be pitching travel stories to editors. Are there some interesting story ideas about your town, city, or region you could pitch? If you have any blogs lying around, perhaps you could tidy some of them up? Re-slant them or rewrite them, and pitch them to paying print media. Veteran travel writers usually have a stock file of story ideas to pitch in their downtime. Today I went through my files and easily found more than one dozen salable stories (and accompanying photo galleries) to pitch. If you write for only one or two publications — and they’re struggling or not currently taking pitches — then consider pitching your stories to other magazines. C’mon, take a walk on the wild side and break into some new publications! It would be a grave mistake to write off the entire freelance writing field based on your relationship with one or two magazines. Finally, consider writing travel articles for non-travel magazine genres. I’ve earned the majority of my income doing this. Apart from standard travel magazines, my travel stories have been published in several specialty magazine genres: resort, lodge and spa reviews; history and historic places; military history; film festivals; food, wine and beer; classic car museums; communications; plus several other areas. I’d suggest that now is a really good time to be sending out queries because many travel writers have already thrown in the towel. There's plenty of work right now if you're prepared to look for it. I believe travel writers, motivated beginners and veteran travel writers alike, can position themselves nicely for plenty of work if they expand their network of magazines and give it an honest shot. The demand for good travel print media content is nearly as insatiable as the demand for online travel stories. Collectively, print media editors still require tens of thousands of stories each month. And print media editors pay freelancers for their work! If you want to earn money from your writing, the print media industry is still the best place to be. This Week's Featured PostHow to Sell Multiple Travel Story IdeasMany freelance writers tell me they have difficulty coming up with multiple story ideas about one place. And on press trips, I’ve noticed that so many travel writers arrive with only one assignment in hand.They see so many things on press trips, but they usually only publish one article afterwards. This breaks my heart! So many opportunities to get published are being overlooked. I think it’s important to sell multiple story ideas about a place and I always do it. Try it! If you’re not sure why you should, here are four reasons it makes sense:
Upcoming PostsSeptember 27: Six Tips for Dreaming Up Travel Story Ideas that SellOctober 4: One of My Most Potent Travel Writing Secrets: Researching My Destinations Before I Pitch October 11: My Winning System for Generating Articles that Sell PitchTravelWrite.com Success StoriesJessica Pickett's Impressive Travel Writing Trajectory
Here’s Jessica Pickett’s impressive and inspiring story, in her own words, of how she launched her impressive travel writing career.
Hailing from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Jessica’s steady ascent through the travel writing ranks is a textbook example of what novice travel writers should be doing to break into this competitive arena. Novice writers can learn from and aspire to the lessons in her trajectory: “While attending a Travel Writer’s Conference in San Diego in 2014, Roy and his wife, Linda, sat at my table and, to my good fortune, easily struck up conversation. After chatting with Roy, I immediately purchased his eBooks, even before hearing him speak on stage. A few short weeks after the conference, I landed my first byline. Bolstered by the knowledge gained from Roy’s books and his PitchTravelWrite.com posts, I pitched a well-known regional magazine and blog. This regional blog and magazine where I “started” my travel writing is TexasHillCountry.com. After answering a “Call for Writers” post (which had been shared over 4,000 times by the time I saw it) I was invited to become a regular monthly contributor. Upon submitting my first article they offered me a permanent contributor’s role. There, I published dozens of articles, both digital and print, in over a year of writing for them.” Here’s how Jessica went from strength to strength to become a professional travel writer . . .
Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links About Query Letters that WorkThe query letter is your most important sales tool. It explains your idea in enough detail to arouse the curiosity of an editor.Well-written query letters convince magazine editors that you have exciting travel stories their readers will absolutely love. Your query needs to point out how the stories will fit into the magazines. And all freelancers need to learn the basics of writing good query letters. Here’s our Query Letter Resource Page on www.PitchTravelWrite.com, with one dozen of our best articles on writing effective query letters.
Access our free Query Letter Resources
Inspirational Travel Quote
RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERSFeatured Book for September: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MARKETING AND SELLING YOUR ARTICLES
If you can’t sell your travel stories, you don’t get to write them. This guide shows you EVERYTHING you need to know about selling your travel articles to paying print media.
My manual, The Complete Guide to Marketing and Selling Your Travel Articles tells you how to select salable story ideas, how to write first class query letters and pitch your ideas the right way. This comprehensive manual shows you how to find magazines that will be interested in buying your story, and how you can start selling your travel articles to magazines immediately and reap the fantastic travel benefits, while being paid for your work.
“Roy, although I’ve been contributing to magazines, newspapers, TV and radio for nearly 20 years, your book, The Complete Guide To Marketing & Selling Your Travel Articles is an invaluable tool regardless of one’s level of experience dealing with & contributing to various outlets. Your book is written in a clear, understandable manner that gives concrete examples. Most importantly, it’s enormously informative & helpful. As I shared with you, in one month I took a brutal hit and my 3 biggest outlets no longer exist or have ceased generating content. So it was back to square one for me — having to reach out and pitch editors and find new outlets. The query letter section in The Complete Guide To Marketing & Selling Your Travel Articles is an enormous help; it is packed with useful, practical information and not a bunch of fluff. Thanks one again for generously sharing all of your tips and
info that you’ve acquired over the years.”
When you buy this book in September you can get $15 off the regular price if you use promo code sp15 at checkout:
Don't forget to use promo code sp15 at checkout to get your $15 discount.
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 January 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 in January 2022:
Live WorkshopsPeople have been asking when our 2022 workshops in New Orleans, Louisiana are scheduled.Here are the 2022 dates: We've had lots of interest 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:
Did You Know . . .Our Complete Marketing Master Class for Travel Writers is ranked #1 on TravelWritersExchange.com’s Top Ten Travel Writing Workshops.You can access the list of the top ten travel writing workshops at the link below:
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 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 into the travel writing realm and all the enjoyment that comes with it.
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:• 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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