Edited by Lori Appling on board
Delta flight # 192 from Kauai, HI

"Rejections don't really hurt after you stop bleeding, and even a rejection serves to introduce the writer's name to an editor, particularly if a rejected story is competently written."
-- Isaac Asimov

TODAY:

• From Health Care Professional to Travel Writer: How Wendy Landed Her First 4 Bylines
• Meet Travel Writer, Author, and Paris Expert Thirza Vallois this May
• For These Proprietors, Success Means Grossing $1 Million a Year
• EDITOR'S NOTE: Read this without laughing
• This Week's Featured Travel Publication: Bay Islands Voice
• Opportunities and Resources for Writers

A NOTE TO BUDDING TRAVEL WRITERS:

Do you know two more people who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's life? They, too, can receive this free e-letter weekly if you send them the following link: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/eletter

Dear Reader,

Now that I've washed the salt out of my hair and removed the Kauai sand from between my toes, I'm back on the Eastern Seaboard and, I must admit, happy to be in one place for a six-week stretch. I'll be here until May when I join Jen Stevens, John Forde, Steenie Harvey, and Rose Burke in Paris for our next Travel Writing Workshop.

I used to live in Paris' 7th Arrondissement -- home to the 7,000-ton Eiffel Tower. In 1977, an American pilot successfully flew between the Tower's legs -- the stunt cost him his flying license. That same year, a French stunt man took a hang glider off the first floor, and an English couple parachuted from the third. (They've since put up guard rails.)

Fellow travel writer, guidebook author, and Paris expert Thirza Vallois will also be joining us in Paris as one of our guest speakers.

Thirza has lectured throughout the world, contributes to various print publications, including "The Financial Times," and has authored television and radio documentaries -- most notably for PBS, BBC, The Travel Channel, CNN, The Discovery Channel, and the French Cultural Channel.

We're thrilled to have her on board this May. She'll be at our Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop to talk about Paris and how she became a travel writer, and she'll also lead a special walking tour of the literary Latin Quarter, which she's tailoring especially for our group.

If you still haven't signed up, don't delay. You can take advantage of the Early Bird discount for just 14 more days. You'll find all the details at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/workshop/bb.

In the meantime, let's look this week at why some novice travel writers have more success getting published than others.

Woody Allen said "Eighty percent of success is showing up." I have to tell you: That's true when it comes to launching a travel writing career. It's one thing to go on a trip and interview a few people. But when it comes right down to it, you've got to put your behind in a chair and your fingers on a keyboard.

The thing is, most people don't. They find the idea of travel writing romantic and compelling. (And rightly so. It's both those things.) But it also requires follow-through. In other words, you have to "show up."

It can, I know, be difficult to stay motivated. But if you do, if you just get up the gumption to send one note to one editor, then I guarantee you: You'll find the second is easier, and the third easier still.

So if you have an article idea you've been meaning to flesh-out or an editor you've been meaning to contact -- take 20 minutes this weekend and make it happen. While the majority of would-be travel writers are lounging about, you'll be putting yourself firmly on the path to success.

AWAI student Wendy VanHatten has four by-lines under her belt, and she's well on her way to establishing a reputation as a solid, reliable travel writer. I asked her how she did it. She shares some words of wisdom below…

Congratulations, too, to past workshop attendees Kim D. and Sue W -- both of whom sent me notes this week saying they've had articles published in "International Living."

Let me know if there are any more success stories I've missed. Send me a quick note at lori@thetravelwriterslife.comif you've been published after taking our course or attending a live workshop.

Have a great weekend,

Lori
Director, AWAI's Travel Writer Program

P.S. I just got off the phone with Jen, who says she has a special treat planned for our workshop attendees in Paris and Chicago. "It's going to revolutionize the way these people write. It won't require any bloodshed, promise. What do you think is more motivating -- wine or chocolate?" For workshop details: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/workshop/bb

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FROM HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL TO TRAVEL WRITER: HOW WENDY LANDED HER FIRST 4 BYLINES, Interview by Lori Appling in Bethany Beach, DE :

LA: Before we get started, Wendy, why don't you tell us a little about yourself.

WENDY: For over 15 years, I was a health care administrator overseeing a large network of medical clinics. Then two years ago I became a victim of downsizing, but a generous severance allowed me to pursue other career options.

A friend from Sioux City, Iowa, told me how she got started in copywriting. We talked about my love of travel and my dabbling in writing (mostly journals from trips) and she suggested I look into the Ultimate Travel Writer's Course. I was impressed by the content and enrolled last fall.

LA: You recently wrote me and said that you've had some success getting published. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

WENDY: "The Traveler" is publishing at least three of my articles, "Trips and Journeys" has accepted another one. The editor of a new magazine, "Siouxland Lifestyle" liked my first article and now I’m a “regular.” And another online magazine has just accepted a story I submitted through the travel writing course's critiquing program.

The great feedback I got from the Travel Writing course made my success possible -- as did organizations like AWAI, NAWW, and Writers Weekly. Through them I found contact details for a number of online magazines and started emailing articles and queries to all sorts of places. The feedback was definitely positive, and I’m now a regular paid contributor to several magazines.

LA: What part of the written course did you find most helpful?

WENDY: The exercises and the written feedback. Some of the exercises just make you think clearly and others forced you to use appropriate words and cut out the unnecessary padding. The feedback from the course was terrific. It gave me hope, but also highlighted areas that needed work. That encouragement stopped me from giving up and kept me keen to continue.

LA: What advice would you give to new students who haven't yet had an article published?

WENDY: It’s vital to finish the course once you’ve started. Then read and reread all of the feedback you get.

Keep writing. Don’t be afraid to write and rewrite articles. I also encourage you to get support of somebody close to you. My friend in Sioux City has been invaluable in helping me get started… and keeping my enthusiasm going.

[The AWAI forums are a great place to find support, get answers to your questions, discuss your story ideas, find readers to review your articles, and network with your fellow writers. You'll find them online at: http://www.awaionline.com/forum And if haven't yet taken AWAI's written course on travel writing, you should. You'll find details at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/sh/tw4]

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For These Proprietors, Success Means Grossing $1 Million a Year…

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THIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION:

Attention AWAI Travel Writers!! Barb at Agora Travel just got back from Roatan in the Bay Islands of Honduras, where she ran into Thomas Tomczyk, the publisher and editor of the "Bay Islands Voice," a magazine devoted to news and features about the islands (you'll find some more info about it at: http://www.bayislandsvoice.com/index.htm).

He is looking for a contributing writer. If you're interested in island living -- and you can write -- this might be just the thing for you. For more details, contact Thomas via e-mail at: bivoice@hondusoft.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

If you can read this paragraph without laughing, then you've never been to one of our live workshops…

"Standing in the elegant parlor of the Ambassade Hotel is an 18th-century grandfather clock that puts the show back into “showpiece.” Hand-painted cherubs, winged horses, and sailing ships crowd the clock face, rocking back and forth on each stroke of the second hand. On every other stroke, a mermaid shoots out of the sea, a trumpet at her lips. The big entrance isn’t typical of this understated hotel, but the sense of surprise is. Springing up in Amsterdam’s canal-scored center, where affordable lodging is hard to find, the Ambassade provides a reasonably priced and supremely civilized accommodation."

Only a select group of students know the inside joke I'm talking about. If you do, then you're one of the people I'm looking for.

If you've attended a live workshop and have since been published, drop me a note about your success at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com. I'd like to feature one workshop attendee a month in upcoming issues of The Write Way to Travel.

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• Check out: http://www.fwointl.com/-- A free site that hosts thousands of writing resource links in a massive online database, 40+ genres, funds for writers, job listings, education, news, submission calls, research library. From adventure to westerns, agents to publishers, all forms of writing information available. Professional resources for editors, journalists, and writers of all mediums.
• SELLING YOURSELF: How to Earn $100,000 a Year...Everything you need to do, in the order you need to do it, to start (or jump-start) your freelance career -- and earn $100,000 a year or more: http://www.selling-yourself.com/tw4
• Next to owning your own business, the single greatest wealth-creating investment is and always has been real estate. But you have to know how to keep risk to a minimum… and how to spot opportunity where others don't. For details about ETR's Main Street Millionaire, visit:
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• Recommended Reading: "Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing" by Patricia T. O'Conner: http://tinyurl.com/3a35f
• Recommended Reading: "The Best American Travel Writing 2003" Ian Frazier, Editor; Jason Wilson, Series Editor: http://tinyurl.com/22omz

The Write Way to Travel is a FREE weekly newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Institute, available to AWAI students and friends.

© 2004 American Writers & Artists Institute

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