How to Pitch Five Magazines Looking for Round-Up Features (Edition II)
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.
Business Jet Traveler
“Time Off” runs to about 650 words long and covers travel and lifestyle topics in third person. This could take the form of a round up or a simple description of a place or activity. Quotes from relevant sources are sometimes included. Examples include “Diving Hawaii’s Lava Tubes,” about the Hawaiian dive destination with quotes from a dive guide, “Autos Around the Bend,” a round up of six cars on display at the New York International Auto Show, and “Paradise by the Sea,” a round up of the world’s best beaches.
Whisky Advocate
“Bars” rounds up five bars across the U.S. around a theme. This could be focused on the type of whisky they serve, the style of bar, or another feature that makes them unique. There is a third-person description of each bar which covers the whiskies available, the décor, and sometimes the price. These come to about 500 words in total. Examples include “Whisky ‘Beer Back’ is Back,” rounding up bars serving Boilermakers, a pairing of whisky and beer, “Whisky and a Warm Bed,” which rounds up hotels with notable whisky bars in them, and “Discover a New Favorite Haunt,” a round up of bars which are said to be haunted and also serve fine whisky.
Cruise Passenger
“Food” appears as a round up focusing on food and dishes available on cruises worldwide. They run from 500 to 1,000 words long and round up five to ten cruise lines which serve the type of food being covered and give a third-person description of each. Recent examples from this section include “Let’s Veg Out,” which rounds up six cruise lines serving vegetarian and vegan dishes, and “Steaks at Sea,” rounding up 10 cruises and describing the steak dishes available onboard.
Alaska Beyond
“Likes” also takes the form of a 300-word round up and most often covers destinations around the world with a theme, such as the best places for adventure or the best beaches. Occasionally, a destination isn’t covered here and instead activites or food appears in the round up. There’s a third-person description of each place or item describing what makes it great with about six things being covered. Examples include a round up of mountain lodges which are great for skiers, the best places for spring break, and six ways to volunteer over the holidays.
National Geographic Traveler
“Best List” rounds up something around a theme, such as the best diving or luxury resorts, in destinations around the world. Articles run to about 1,000 words and are written in third person. There are usually between 10 and 20 things in the round up. Recent examples include “Best Dives,” rounding up the best destinations to scuba dive in around the world, “Ultimate Airports,” covering the best airports and their facilities, and “Island Resorts,” describing resorts in island destinations including those best for adventure, wellness, family, and escaping it all.
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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