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Issue #361: Do You Have a Flexible Attitude? June 28, 2021 |
| Greetings Fellow Travel Writers! . . . and WELCOME all new subscribers. Thanks for joining us.
A Behind the Scenes Look at PitchTravelWrite
There hasn’t been much travel for any of us for the past 18 months. But we don’t believe in letting the grass grow beneath our feet. Our enforced downtime has given us time to create new programs and update our suite of eBooks and courses.
Here’s what we’ve been doing at PitchTravelWrite: 1. We’ve upgraded our Fifty Websites eBook to 125 Websites That Want to Publish Your Travel Stories. You'll get a list of 125 quality websites to save you the time and effort of researching them yourself. Also, the new edition contains more than fifty paying travel websites!
3. I've written an entirely NEW eBook, The Best of Roy’s Blogs: Solutions for Selling More Travel Stories, Writing Better, and Earning More Money.” This eBook is an edited compilation of 70 of my juiciest and most informative Facebook posts, LinkedIn posts, blogs, and newsletter editorials. Topics range from how to dream up story ideas to how to find magazines to pitch; and from how to earn more money from travel writing to how to write better query letters — and everything in between. At the end of each blog you’ll get a link to a more detailed and comprehensive coverage of each topic. 4. I'm currently working on a trio of NEW eBooks, How to Break Into the Food Travel Writing Market, How to Break Into the Wine Travel Writing
Market, and How to Break Into the Beer Travel Writing Market 5. Our Group Coaching Mastermind Community was launched in October 2020. It covers the most important aspects of travel writing. The program includes 8 videos about travel photography, 8 videos on selling and marketing your travel articles, plus 8 videos on the art and craft of travel writing - and all the transcripts and reference materials to support the video training. We believe this is the best travel writing mastermind program anywhere. The participants in this program engage in our Facebook Mastermind Community where they can share their questions, insights and successes.
You can join our next coaching group in the fall — we’ll let you know when registration opens
Editorial: Do You Have a Flexible Attitude?Freelance travel writing is definitely not for people who expect the world to conform to them. A willingness to be flexible in terms of writing styles, topics and sales techniques, is absolutely essential if you want to see your work published in print, and be paid for it.Freelancers must adapt to the writing environment, rather than the other way around. Those who can’t adjust — or refuse to adjust to the market reduce their chances of being published dramatically. Here are some real-life examples of obstinate behavior I’ve observed with some aspiring writers that will preclude the writer’s chances of being published. Do any of these situations ring true for you?
Once you understand there’s a problem preventing you from progressing, it becomes a matter of learning new skills, adapting your strategies, and changing the way you do business. Good writing coaches pinpoint where writers are making mistakes and then provide solutions to help them improve. One couple I coached accepted every piece of advice I gave them, without question. They immediately made changes. And not surprisingly, their stories sold and are still selling to highly respected glossies! Editors expect you to be flexible with your writing and attitude. If that means you need to adapt your writing style, then do it. Otherwise, it will be a major factor limiting your success. This doesn’t have to be a big deal. Since I began freelance writing in 2007, editors have sometimes asked me to rewrite my stories to better fit their publications. With a little bit of a mental adjustment, I did. After all, I wanted to see my work published and get paid for it. And I’m a better writer for it. The 1000+ stories and 200 different magazines where I’ve been published vastly differ in their content and style. Believe me, I’ve had to be flexible! Next time an editor requests a rewrite, think of it as a learning experience. Try it out. Put your ego aside
and see what happens. You might find that some of your most valuable writing lessons come directly from magazine editors. Don’t forget to compare your original draft to the edited and published piece — that might be the most enlightening experience of all.
This Week's Featured PostSeven Reasons Why Aspiring Novelists Should Write for MagazinesSo you want to write a book? Freelance writing isn't your thing?The vast majority of people reading this article are aspiring authors and novelists. You want to write a book, fiction or non-fiction. You probably believe this is where writers should start. Certainly there’s a romantic aura and glamour around being a published author, and everyone would dearly love to be a Stephen King or a J.K. Rowling. While speaking at the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference a few years ago, I very quickly realized, to my amazement, that most of the 400 attendees were there to find out how to get their first novel published. Only a few dozen of them had ever been published in magazines or newspapers. A large number attended my “Freelance Magazine Writing” presentation more out of curiosity than with any intent to learn the fine art of freelancing. Almost simultaneously, as my presentation and the audience’s questions unfolded, they came to realize they were on the wrong starting line by attempting to begin their writing career with a book. Many of them became converts to freelance writing on the spot as I reeled off reason after reason why this is where they should be starting their writing career, instead of jumping in at the deep end by writing and trying to publish a book. If you are an aspiring book author, here are seven reasons why you should start your writing career by freelance writing, and racking up as many bylines as you can.
Upcoming PostsJuly 5: Writing for Travel Trade JournalsJuly 12: Creating a Successful Travel Blog – 8 Things You Should Know July 19: Writing for Fitness Magazines
PitchTravelWrite.com Success StoriesCandi Licence: Another Travel Writing Success Story
I fell into travel writing by accident,” writes Candi Licence.
“My husband and I retired at the end of 2013, sold most of our stuff, stored our precious things like art and family heirlooms, and began traveling full time. We’d go to places we always wanted to see, stay for 3 months and then move onto our next adventure. I started a blog to let people know where we were and what we were doing, and I got feedback from people I trusted that they loved my writing. Writing about our adventures was intoxicating and getting complimented was exhilarating. Fast forward 3 years, and I attended a travel writing workshop to see if it was possible for me to become a travel writer. I drafted an article during the workshop, and it got a great reception from participants and an Editor who was coaching aspiring writers throughout the event. I left the workshop fired up, with stars in my eyes. Once home, tried to sell the article and learned my first hard lesson. Always pitch first! It’s hard for beginners to place a completed article. The second lesson I learned is that you can’t submit queries to one editor at a time—it’s a complete waste of time. I’d wait a month, get no response and then send my query out to the next editor with the same result. I was spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I was frustrated. I thought I had the talent to be a good writer but didn’t know how to break into the field. That’s when I saw Roy Stevenson’s Marketing Master Class for Travel Writers. I signed up, took the workshop, and it changed everything for me.”
Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links About Researching Your DestinationsMost travel story ideas are worthy of publication somewhere. If you spend some quality time researching your destination you can usually find a marketable story idea or two. Sometimes you’ll have to abandon a travel story idea. If it doesn’t have enough “jam” to hook an editor, you won’t be able to sell it.But it’s more likely that you just need to do a little work to discover what’s so interesting about a place and to clarify your unique story angle.
In simplest terms, my sales process starts with pitching a story idea. Here's my sales process in a little more detail. This process had worked for me over and over again.
So where, and how, do travel writers start their quest for a salable story? Here are 6 tips to help you.
Inspirational Travel Quote
RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERSFeatured Bundle of the Month: TRAVEL WRITING CREATIVE PACK
When you buy the bundle you automatically save 10% off the regular price of the books. You can get an additional $5 off the price of the bundle if you use promo code JN5 at checkout: Here's how these reference guides will help you. The Art & Craft of Travel Writing is a handy reference guide to make your travel stories sparkle and help you become a more successful writer. The tips and techniques packed into the 170-page book will help you develop your craft, hone your skills, and work smarter. In Find Your Niche you'll learn why it’s important to write in a variety of genres. It explores the multitude of opportunities available to travel writers and other freelance writers. You'll learn to identify the niches that are most interesting and meaningful to you. And you’ll find out how to hone in on the most profitable niches. Full of tips, advice and inspiration, this 85-page book will help you find your niche! Story Ideas that Sell guides you along the highly creative path of inventing and discovering potential travel stories to pitch and sell to travel magazines. Conjuring up viable story ideas are the very bedrock of every successful travel writer today. In this 76-page book you'll learn my winning system to generate story ideas that sell. Master this first step - and combine it with a great pitch - and you’ll soon find yourself immersed in exciting experiences with fascinating people.
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
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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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