Avoide Words like Remote, Quaint, and Cozy and Write Better Descriptions
The descriptions that editors like -- the ones they pay for -- are those that paint pictures so vivid, readers see and feel and taste right along with the writer. How do you make sure your descriptions do that? The short answer is: "Show don't tell" -- a maxim of good writing you'll come across [...]
Advice on Organizing
DVICE ON ORGANIZING By Freelance Travel Writers Jennifer Stevens, Steenie Harvey, John Forde, and Lori Appling FROM JENNIFER STEVENS When I travel I keep a 1-gallon Ziploc back in my suitcase and throw everything I pick up into it -- business cards, menus, brochures, etc. It's handy. When I get home I make a file [...]
How One Never-Before-Published Travel Writer Landed a Bi-Weekly Travel Column
HOW ONE NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED TRAVEL WRITER LANDED A BI-WEEKLY TRAVEL COLUMN An Interview with AWAI student Judy Ruck by Lori Appling LA: Before we get started why don't you tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? JR: I am "from" a variety of places. I was raised in the Midwest, [...]
The Easiest and Fastest Way to Get a By-Line and a Check
One of the best ways to break into the travel-writing business (and to get repeat clips, too) is to write short articles -- 250-600 words in length, typically. Lots of publications are in the market for such things -- short pieces about a great restaurant, a notable little hotel, an excellent travel deal, a new [...]
The Best Advice on Handling Rejection
By Freelance Travel Writers, Steenie Harvey, Michael Harvey, and Jennifer Stevens FROM STEENIE HARVEY The first piece I ever submitted to an editor got published -- but I also gathered a fair few rejection slips in my first couple of years of writing. If your first queries or completed articles get rejected, don't sink into [...]
How to Edit Your First Draft: What to Keep, What to Cut
By Freelance Writer, John Forde in Paris, France It's a rare writer who can crank out perfect copy in a first draft. The rest of us rewrite. But here's a dilemma for you... what should you keep and what should you cut? Here are some guidelines to help you answer that question: On the one [...]
How to Get Started and What You Can Expect to Get Paid
WRITING GUIDEBOKS: HOW TO GET STARTED AND WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO GET PAID An Interview with guidebook writer, Andrew Sanger LA: How do you get started writing guide books? Can anyone write them? AS: Generally, you need to have a track record as a travel journalist with a specialty to land your first guidebook [...]
From Music Writer to Travel Writer: An Interview
FROM MUSIC WRITER TO TRAVEL WRITER: HOW KEVIN WIERZBICKI LANDED HIS FIRST 2 BYLINES LA: Hi Kevin. Before we get started why don't you tell us a little about yourself. KW: I am originally from Flint, Michigan and have lived in the Phoenix metropolitan area for almost thirty years. I run an Internet gem & [...]
The One Simple Truth Behind All Published Travel Articles - Know Your Audience
Obviously, your goal as a professional travel writer is to sell the articles you write. But doing that -- selling your stories -- requires more than simply writing "good" or even "great" articles. It requires knowledge of your "audience" -- and of the magazines, newspapers, and promotional publications that are likely to pay you for [...]
Putting the Internet to Work For You: 18 Must-Have Links Every Travel Writer Should Know About
By Karen Pevenstein Pre- and post-trip research doesn't have to be (and shouldn't be) painful. The trick is knowing where to look. The internet makes this a piece of cake. I used many of these links in preparing for my trip to Yorktown, VA, and suggest you do the same before your next trip. Here [...]
