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Issue #304: 7 Ways to Take Control of Your Time May 11, 2020 |
| Greetings Fellow Travel Writers! . . . and WELCOME all new subscribers. Thanks for joining us.
By now, I’m sure the social distancing and staying at home thing is getting old. We travel writers are a nomadic lot by nature and we’re never happy staying in the same place for too long. We get restless. Itchy feet. There’s a whole world out there waiting for us to explore.
We hope and trust that despite the inconveniences you’re experiencing, you're all okay. Our thoughts are with you. We’ve had several travel writing friends who’ve suffered through the coronavirus illness and recovered, but all describe it as being very unpleasant. Do whatever you have to do to stay healthy and don’t worry about what other people say. Your first priority is to take care of yourself. Having just been released from our 3-week lockdown in Danang, Vietnam, we’re thrilled to be out and about, visiting our friends in the local coffee shops and dining in our favorite restaurants. The local businesses are buzzing here. We see optimism everywhere! We’ll all eventually come out the other side of this coronapocalypse, shaken, sadder, and wiser for it. And when we do, we’ll pick up our travel writing and carry on. Editorial: Are You Just Launching Your Travel Writing Career?Have you been sending your queries out and receiving . . . dead silence like they went into a black hole?Are you receiving a constant stream of rejections from editors? Half the battle to freelance travel writing success is simply knowing what is necessary to succeed. Once you know what's necessary to get your stories published, you can start taking measures to boost your skills. Then, if you go about it right, you should be able to sell your work. No more black holes. Fewer editor rejections. We’re already in May, and no doubt some of your new year’s resolutions for self-improvement have already fallen by the wayside. I urge you to consider the fact that the new year is but an arbitrary calendar point in time. It’s never too late to learn about the writing trade and put new plans into action. Even if you just change or improve one or two of your writing skills and habits, you’re going to sell more stories. Here’s a great example: most writers I work with have difficulty with spending hours creating magazine distribution lists to query. Yes, I know this is an onerous task. Yet, this element of freelance writing is so critical for success that we’re doomed to failure if we skip it or skimp on it. It’s common sense: the more magazines we pitch, the greater the statistical chance we have of editors picking up our stories for their publication. Perhaps you can spend more time creating your distribution lists this year? Just one small change like this will boost your publication rate, big time! And, you might look at your biggest time sucks like social media or binging on Netflix. If you cut down on your time sucks, it leaves more time for your writing. Our featured post today gives you seven ways to increase your productivity and take control of your time. Read it and you'll find some other significant ideas to boost your writing career.
This Week's Featured PostSeven Ways to Take Control of Your TimeWhen you decided to become a travel writer you probably thought you’d have more freedom than an employee in a traditional job. And in many ways that’s true.This freedom is wonderful - but there's one big obstacle: you have to do the work. Every day you'll be writing, selling, sorting through photographs and doing a myriad of other administrative tasks. Some people never get around to doing their writing. With more than 1000 published articles, fellow travel writers often ask me, “How do you get so much done?” I can tell you, there’s no magic involved. To be successful, I’ve evolved a number of systems and work habits to get my travel writing work done – things that help me dramatically increase my productivity. They will work for you, too. Here are seven ways I control my time, increase my article output, become more productive, and ultimately earn more money . . .
GROUP COACHING MASTERMINDAre you tired of talking, thinking, and dreaming of breaking into travel writing?Are you ready to start writing? Many of you have asked when we’re going to offer group coaching. So, we're working on it. We’re planning to make it affordable, fun, and helpful and productive for you. Everything will be done online with video training, a community of like-minded writers helping each other, a robust focus on the craft of writing and the art of selling, and lots of other resources at your fingertips. Here are a few of the things we’ll be offering through our Group Coaching Mastermind program: A group coaching place where . . . - you’ll get helpful critiques of your story ideas A safe and helpful community where . . . - you can ask questions and get the answers you need A mentoring and resource place where . . . - you'll receive marketing tips about selling your travel stories You’ll get a writing community, group coaching and resources and content so you can succeed in travel writing - and have fun with other travel writers while you’re doing it. Our BRAND NEW Group Coaching program will be limited to the first 35 registrants. The people on the interest list will get first option to register, so if you’re interested, get on the no-obligation list so you’ll be notified first:
Upcoming PostsMay 18: Five Simple Tips To Add Life to Your Travel StoryMay 25: Free! My Freelance Writing Articles Published In Writing Magazines Around The World June 1: Seven Reasons Why Aspiring Novelists Should Write For Magazines PitchTravelWrite.com Success StoriesPersistence & Passion Lead to Success
Sandra Bornstein was already an accomplished author when she attended our Travel Writing & Marketing Master Class in April 2017. But, she wanted to learn more about marketing her work to paying print magazines.
To gain traction in paying print media she needed to learn the marketing and sales component of freelance travel writing. Sandy says, “Marketing continued to be one of my weaknesses, so I attended Roy Stevenson’s Seattle Travel Writing & Marketing Master Class. After the class, I flew back to Colorado with a revised marketing plan.” Her 3-step marketing process led to exciting and predictable results – getting more stories published! Here’s how she did it …
Pitch Travel Write: Most Requested Links about Improving Your Travel WritingAs travel writers, we put words together to paint pictures of our destinations. Writing about a place we love seems like such an easy thing to do. From the readers perspective, we live a charmed life. But, there’s much more to the travel writing craft. There are things behind the scenes that your reader doesn’t know about like . . . - how to say the words in just the right way - sharing valuable information to catch their attention - knowing how to keep them engaged All of this, and more, is part of travel writing. There’s also a lot to learn about controlling your time and freeing yourself up from mundane tasks so that you can spend more time on the things you love to do – writing about travel.
Inspirational Travel Quote
RESOURCES FOR TRAVEL WRITERSFeatured Bundle: The Creative Pack
Our Creative Pack provides resources to help you with the first piece of the travel writing puzzle. These three eBooks give the starting point for every travel writer: dreaming up unique story ideas, finding the best writing niches for your interests, passions and experience, and the art & craft of travel writing. You can learn more here . . . 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!
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.
Live WorkshopsPeople have been asking when our 2021 workshops in the U.S. are scheduled. They're scheduled in June, 2021, in New Orleans, Louisiana.Here are the 2021 dates: We have had a lot of interest for these workshops 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 2021 LIVE WORKSHOP NO-OBLIGATION INTEREST LIST HERE 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 the travel writing realm and all the enjoyment that comes with it, too.
We're thrilled to announce that www.PitchTravelWrite.com is on The Write Life’s 2020 list of 100 BEST WEBSITES FOR WRITERS! 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:• travel writing & blogging conferences, • links to other well produced travel websites and blogs, • links to my travel articles, • travel writing themes, • links to reputable travel writer’s groups, associations, and newsletters, • magazine covers stories and back stories, • links to resources pages, • links to travel writing archives, • 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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