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Issue #362: Writing for Travel Trade Journals July 05, 2021 |
| Greetings Fellow Travel Writers! . . . and WELCOME all new subscribers. Thanks for joining us.
Editorial: Hotel & Resort Stories Are A Hard Sell — But How to Sell Them Anyway
Considering that accommodation is the travel writer’s second largest expense after airfare, receiving complimentary stays at hotels, resorts, lodges, and villas will save you some serious coin. Comped stays have become a necessity for travel writers to survive.
The biggest advantage of hotel, resort, lodge, villa and spa travel stories is that you get to stay for free — often for several days, depending on your assignment. And you’re treated like a VIP, given gift baskets, toured around the property, and usually invited to enjoy special dining experiences at their restaurants. Resort media reps don't give these freebies out of the kindness of their hearts. They expect something from you in return. You’re expected to write articles to publicize their properties. As many travel writers have discovered, stand-alone hotel stories are a hard sell. This is because there are literally thousands of beautiful historic and boutique hotels, luxury resorts and villas, rustic lodges, and exotic spas, around the world. And while each of these great accommodations certainly seem worthy of publication in glossy travel magazines, few editors will run stories about them unless you can offer particularly interesting angles that will captivate their readers. Hotels and resorts are not stories, no matter how much you love them. You need to find something unique or interesting about each property. To sell hotel/resort stories you need to ask, “What makes this hotel so special?” Here's how:
This Week's Featured PostWriting for Travel Trade JournalsWhat if there was a huge selection of travel publications screaming out for good informative copy that also pay well? You’d want to learn where to find them, right?Most travel writers believe their primary targets are the glossy consumer travel magazines you see on supermarket and bookstore magazine racks. Because these are the most obvious choices, their editors are inundated with queries. Editors at the most prestigious and highest paying magazines receive dozens of pitches each day. These editors are highly selective about the writers they work with and the stories they publish. Beginners aren’t likely to get their stories published in these top shelf glossies. You’ll jostle around in the travel writing mosh pit for quite some time before you score a lucky breakthrough into these elite travel publications. And this could take years!
But writing for travel trade magazines can be a way to break into travel publications and get
paid – without waiting years to do it.
Upcoming PostsJuly 12: Creating a Successful Travel Blog – 8 Things You Should KnowAugust 23: Writing for Fitness Magazines August 30: Up Your Travel Writing Game: Three Ways to Get Social
PitchTravelWrite.com Success StoriesPam & Gary Baker’s Remarkable Travel Writing Journey
Pam & Gary Baker from Sacramento, California, are creating quite a stir in the travel writing industry. Their breakthroughs into respectable glossy paying print magazines in the past three years prove that their rapidly accumulating bylines are no flukes.
Says Pam, “Travel writing is not an easy field to break into. Gary and I have been working with Roy for one year and we are now gaining momentum. So far, we’ve had three articles published on international websites, had one story published in a Bay area newspaper (both print and online), and our favorite, a story about "Lady Bird" in Via Magazine online. We have another article just published as the cover story of the March issue of Lost Treasure Magazine; the cover story in the May 2018 Australia and New Zealand Magazine; two stories in a Canadian magazine scheduled for later this year; and another story in a Pacific Northwest magazine scheduled for Spring 2019. And, yes, these are paid
assignments!”
Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links About Creating Your Magazine Distribution ListsI get requests from travel writers every week asking me to help them prepare distribution lists so they can pitch their stories.I’m not surprised that so many travel writers contact me with this request. I get it. Searching for target magazines is perceived as an onerous clerical task and can take many hours. Yet, it’s an indispensable step in getting your articles published. After all, if you can’t find magazines to pitch, you’re not going to get your stories published. But I wouldn’t be doing you any favors by doing this research for you. If someone else does your work for you, you’re not going to learn how to do your own magazine searches. And, this is such a crucial skill for freelance writing success. The good news is that once you’ve created a master distribution list, you’ve got it forever. It’s not going to disappear overnight from your laptop. All you have to do is update your list as you find new magazines, and keep the editors’ names and contact details updated. There are some things you can do to enhance your magazine researching skills. The following articles cover the nuts-and-bolts of creating distribution lists. This first article shows you — step-by-step — how to create your magazine distribution lists, and where to look for them.
Inspirational Travel Quote
RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERSFeatured Book for July: Rock Star Travel Writers
This book helps travel writers learn how to get published in top shelf magazines!
Have you ever wondered how travel writers get their stories published in the top shelf travel magazines? Our eBook, Rock Star Travel Writers, reveals — through a series of in-depth interviews — insider tips, techniques, and secrets that 10 leading travel journalists use to land assignments in the most prominent travel glossies, and be paid well for their efforts. I wish I had this information when I started out on my travel writing journey! If I’d known, early in my career, what the successful travel writers were doing to get published in top flight magazines, this knowledge would have sped up my entry into this competitive field. This stellar lineup of highly respected travel journalists offers excellent practical advice and encouragement to help you move up the travel writing food chain. See how Kimberley Lovato, Bill Fink, Mark Andrews, Irene Levine, Nick O’Connell, Allen Cox, Keith Lyons, James Ullrich, Pam & Gary Baker, Jessica Pickett, Chuck Warren, & Sandy Bornstein consistently get their travel stories published. When you buy this book in July you can get $5 off the regular price if you use promo code JY5 at checkout:
Don't forget to use promo code JY5 at checkout to get your $5 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, Vietnam 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 early January 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 the fall:
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: GET ON THE 2022 LIVE WORKSHOP NO-OBLIGATION INTEREST LIST HERE 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
and
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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