Catskills Creative Residencies Now Open Through April 2018
You’ve heard of our travel writing retreats in the Catskills, where a small group of travel writers come together in a peaceful country setting for intensive workshops and one-on-one critiques of their pitches, article ideas, content marketing proposals, and travel articles.
But did you know we also offer the opportunity to come up for a week on your own just to get work done?
Today Learn to Navigate the Landscape of Travel Content Marketing with our Special Webinar Guest
Photo by Jonathan Pendleton on Unsplash
If you came to travel writing from first writing you own blog, you no doubt ran into a serious internal recalibration the first time you wrote for another website or magazine.
It’s less about the deadline than the readership. When you have you own site, there’s a certain level of confidence that you know what the readers are there for, what interests them.
With a new outlet, especially the first time writing for it, it’s all too easy to question everything you write as to whether it’s”good enough” or “what the editor wants.” Or to have your piece sent back for extensive revisions because what you had in mind for the piece is very different than what the editor understood from you pitch given her background with her own magazine.
In many conversations with readers and workshop attendees, I’ve found that when it comes to content marketing, it’s an entirely different ball game.
If an Editor Doesn’t Need Freelancers Now, Should You Try Later?
Welcome to the Dream of Travel Writing–the Monday Mailbag! We often get questions from readers, folks in our accountability group, or coaching program members that we think would apply to a lot of you.
Now, with permission, agony-aunt-style, we’ll be sharing a new one with you each Monday. If you have a question you’d like to see included, please send it to us at questions [at] dreamoftravelwriting.com and make sure to include a line saying we have permission to reprint your question.
On to the tricky travel writing questions!
Five Magazines Looking for Hotel & Accommodation Profiles
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.
Conde Nast Traveller (India)
“Where to Stay” is made of up about six articles all focusing on hotels and accommodation options. Most of these highlight just-opened hotels which describe the amenities, activities on offer, and the surrounding area. These are usually around 300 words long and can be written in first or second person. There is also a profile of a well-known person which rounds up their five favorite hotels around the world in about 300 words. Examples of people who have been profiled include Ayan Mukerji, film-maker; Shilpa Gupta, artist; and Dia Mirza and Sahil Sangha, an actor and film-maker couple.
How Do You Follow Up on Informal Assignments from Editors?
Welcome to the Dream of Travel Writing–the Monday Mailbag! We often get questions from readers, folks in our accountability group, or coaching program members that we think would apply to a lot of you.
Now, with permission, agony-aunt-style, we’ll be sharing a new one with you each Monday. If you have a question you’d like to see included, please send it to us at questions [at] dreamoftravelwriting.com and make sure to include a line saying we have permission to reprint your question.
On to the tricky travel writing questions!
Five Magazines Looking for Profiles of Interesting People
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.
SilverKris
“Close-Up” is a 300-to-350-word profile of a remarkable globetrotter. It’s written in third person, and often features a range of explorers, photographers, tech giants, artists, influencers, chefs, and journalists. One recent “Close-Up” caught up with motorcyclist Lois Pryce to learn about her solo travels through Iran, covering what she encountered there, how she navigated the land, and why she chose to embark upon the journey in the first place. Other profiles have covered award-winning underwater photographer Tony Wu, Michelin-star connoisseur Any Hayler, and CNN anchor Richard Quest. These profiles are always written with a travel news peg, whether that be linked to past trips, upcoming trips, a travel book release, or an unbelievable experience endured along the road. Text is accompanied by one central image and no sidebars.
Five Magazines Looking for Wine, Beer & Spirits Articles
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.
Rhapsody
“From the Sideboard” is a drinks-themed section focusing on an area or place that United Airlines fly to. The section is approximately 300-500 words and includes quotes from an interview with a bar manager or vineyard owner, for example. This section is often followed by a short section recommending drinks or a cocktail recipe. Article examples include “Vine of the Times” about wine production in Portugal and “Prix-Fixe Pours.”
Are You Pitching Square Ideas to Round Magazine Sections?
I’ve learned to really hate the term “angle.”
It’s so mushy. What does it really mean? I poked around, and even Google didn’t seem very forthcoming with a definition. Here’s as far as I got:
“In books, it’s called the premise (a woman works her way through Julia Child’s cookbook in a year). In advertising, it’s called the handle (“Trix are for kids!”). In movies, it’s the concept (humans invade the magical habitat of peaceful blue beings on another planet). In an essay, an angle is the controlling idea.”
– Writer’s Digest
“This ‘angle’ is the specific way a news source addresses an issue by offering one perspective or point of view of that story. “
– New York Times
“Short for news angle, it is that aspect of a story which a journalist chooses to highlight and develop. Usually the most newsworthy of its key points. Also called hook or peg. ”
– The News Manual Journalism and Media Glossary
Over time teaching travel writing, and specifically generating article ideas, to writers, I’ve found that it does more harm than good.
Missed Out on Our Past Webinars? They’re Coming Back on Demand (with Full Transcripts!)
We heard you. A lot of you want access to our past webinar content.
And, even more importantly, you want to know exactly what I said, maybe even just read it rather than listen to the webinar.
Or, you’d like the audio version only so you can listen while you’re on a run or in the car. Or maybe just a downloadable version of the video webinar so you can watch it offline on a long flight.
Five Magazines Looking for City Guides (Edition IV)
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.