All Posts Tagged: pitching
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.
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.
Five Magazines Looking for Itinerary Departments & Features
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.
Unless You Plan Your Research Around Specific Pitches, Press Trips Can Be a Serious Waste of Time
After I had left my job, decided running a food blog business full-time was not for me because it was too difficult (with international internet options at the time) for my travel plans, and started doubling down on freelance travel writing, I was confronted again and again by established travel writers who didn’t actually travel.
Five Magazines Looking for Front-of-Book Trend Pieces (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.