How to Pitch Five Magazines Looking for City Profiles (Edition VII)
Welcome to the Friday Freebie Five, a new weekly feature on Dream of Travel Writing’s Six Figure Travel Writer blog.
Each week, we comb our Travel Magazine Database to bring you five magazine sections open to freelancers around a theme–front-of-book trend pieces, long-form first-person features, short narrative postcards–to inspire your pitches.
Voyeur
“Take a Detour” is an 800-word article covering a different destination each issue either in Australia or in the Virgin Australia flight network. In third person, the article covers what readers can see and do in the area plus recommendations for where to stay, shop, and eat. The sidebar “Details” accompanies the article which gives more information on any businesses mentioned such as the address, phone number, and website. Examples for this section include “Booked Up,” covering the annual writing festival in Byron Bay and where to eat, shop, stay when visiting, “Water Colours,” about the lesser-known islands in Venice and what to see, do, and eat while there, and “The Powder Room,” about Wanaka, New Zealand, and the winter sports activities you can do there.
Going Places
“My Guide” is a 1,200-word article focusing on a different city each month. It’s broken down into about 10 sections with subheadings which change each issue. These could highlight places to visit, such as “What to Do,” “Where to Eat,” “Retail Therapy” and “Day Trips,” or focus on recommendations for different types of traveler, such as “For the Shopper,” “For Nature Lovers,” and “For Culture Vultures.” There are one to three recommendations within each paragraph. The tone is conversational, frequently speaking directly to readers, exhorting them to slurp up noodles or grab a drink. At the end of the article there is a sidebar called “Practical Tips” which gives the reader three pieces of advice for visiting the destination. This could include the best time to visit, what to wear or how to get around. “My Guide” recently focused on Langkawi, Malaysia; Liverpool, U.K.; and Mumbai, India.
Brownbook
“City Guide” is a supplement which is found in each issue. It covers the city the issue is focusing on with an introduction to the destination followed by descriptions, about 50-to-100 words each, of different points of interest like cultural centers, cafes, buildings, and shops. These are about 15 places covered in each city guide. The description is written in third person and simply covers what the point of interest is and why readers should visit. The city guide for Ankara covers Cafémiz, a quirky café in a repurposed villa with live music, Atakule, the tallest building in the city, and Eymir Lake, with some information on what readers can do around the lake.
WIZZ
“Voices” is a round up of quotes from locals on what to see, do, and eat in their city. There are about nine locals each with a quote running from 30 to 60 words. They cover recommendations like bars, restaurants, parks, cafes, and museums, giving one or two each, and the relevant website is often included. Cities recently covered for this section include Munich, Moscow, and Varna, Bulgaria.
SilverKris
“Spotlight” takes the form of a round up covering five locally owned businesses in a different city each issue. These businesses can be restaurants, bars, galleries, or stores and the piece describes each one in about 300 words in total. There’s a sidebar which rounds up three upcoming events in the city and another which gives the reader practical information for visiting under the subheadings “Getting There,” “When To Visit,” “From the Airport,” “Navigating the City,” and “Apps to Download.” Examples include “Made in Frankfurt,” “Made in Canberra,” and “Made in Perth” with four to five businesses described in each.
You can find complete how-to pitching information for each magazine listed, including email addresses for all editors, in our Travel Magazine Database by clicking on the magazine’s name and logging in with your account.
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