Edited by Lori Appling in Washington, DC

"I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top. -- English Professor (Name Unknown), Ohio University

TODAY:

• The One Simple Truth Behind ALL Published Travel Articles and How, Specifically, You Can Master It
• Off-the-Beaten-Path Destinations Are Great for Travel. But What If I Live There and Can't Get Out?
• Can You Write A Simple Letter?
• This Week's Featured Travel Publication: Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel
• More Opportunities and Resources for Writers

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Dear Reader,

"Traveling is the subject I'm crazy about," writes a student this week.

"But! As a citizen of Belarus, a former Soviet Union Republic," he continues, "I'm not allowed to visit countries: nearly anywhere I need a visa, which is altogether a complicated process.

"Do I, as a graduate of your Course, have any chances of writing (and being published, of course) about the places I can travel without any restrictions?"

In a word, yes.

Even if travel is difficult for you -- whether the cost is prohibitive or, in this case, the visa requirements arduous -- you can still be a successful travel writer.

I passed this question to freelance travel writer, Jennifer Stevens, and she added.

"Remember, where you live is a destination for somebody. The key lies in finding the right audience. Every publication is interested in printing articles about places their readers will find unusual and intriguing. (Often those destinations are the ones about which little information is available. If you live in a little-traveled place, then, you're in luck.)

"Say, like you suggest, you live somewhere in the former Soviet Union. You know of all sorts of interesting things for visitors to see and do near you. Yet there seems to be a real lack of visitors. If you're a travel writer, that's an opportunity. I'd suggest you start by targeting publications whose readers want to get to a place 'before the masses discover it.'

"Back in the early 1990's, when I was living in Europe, Prague was the hot destination for the 'backpacker' crowd - often the first travelers to explore and start 'talking up' a place. You didn't see much written about it in the mainstream press. Yet today Prague is on-the-beaten-track for all sorts of travelers. That is thanks, in part, to the good press Prague gets.

"The key will be, as I've said before, finding the right audience for your stories."

Jen goes into great detail on how exactly you find that audience. how you find the publications they're reading. and how exactly you go about approaching the editors of those publications with your story idea in her program: The Ultimate Travel Writer's Course (http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/tw4)

Below you'll find some advice from her on finding the right audience.

In other news: If you're still mulling over whether to join us in San Diego, you'd better act fast.

Unlike other workshops where you sit in a chair all day and scribble notes, our workshops are highly interactive and even include an assignment out-and-about in town doing real "travel-writer work."

The very next day in class you start writing, and by the end of the program you leave with a publishable piece in hand.

What's more, you're given proven templates for travel articles you can use when you get home. Follow these formulas, and you'll always know what to put first and what to write next. They'll cut hours off your writing time and pretty soon you'll be writing faster and smarter than most other writers.

Not only that, but at the end of the workshop (when you have your finished piece ready to go) we literally hand you the names and contact information for a handful of editors in the market for articles from freelancers, all willing to work with first-time writers. Your success is practically guaranteed.

Plus you'll learn how to take advantage of the incredible perks travel writers can enjoy.

Graduates from these programs boast more success and see more bylines than most. I've watched retired couples, opera singers, band members, nurses, sound engineers, photographers, and people from just about every background you can imagine transform themselves into travel writers in just 4 days.

You'll find some of their stories here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/workshop/bb

Have a great weekend and don't forget to keep me up-to-speed on your travel-writing success. If you have a story to share, send me a quick note at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com.

-- Lori

Lori Appling
Director, AWAI's Travel Writer Program

P.S. These stateside events like the one we have coming up in San Diego mean fewer days away and less travel expense than our overseas programs, so they fill up fast and always sell out. To claim a seat, visit: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/workshop/bb

P.P.S. Know a friend or two who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's life? They, too, can sign up to receive this free e-letter weekly at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/eletter

THE ONE SIMPLE TRUTH BEHIND ALL PUBLISHED TRAVEL ARTICLES -- KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
By Freelance Travel Writer, Jennifer Stevens in Colorado Springs, CO

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 the words you put on paper.

The sad truth is that you can write a marvelous article... an article that's deserving of publication in a leading travel magazine or maybe in the travel section of The New York Times, but if you send your piece to the "wrong" publication, it will never be accepted, no matter how good the writing.

If your article is to avoid the dumpster, you must have for it a particular reader in mind -- before you start to write. Even if you don't have a particular publication in mind, you need, nevertheless, to have a clear idea of the person you're "targeting" to read your piece.

Now, it may seem strange to talk about what is, essentially, a marketing decision before you even have a "product" (an article) to market. However, the most successful travel writers understand that the market determines what you'll be able to sell.

*** Matching Interest to Audience is Critical

Let's say for example you have a passion for gardening, and you plan on touring the many well-tended parks, squares, and gardens in Savannah. You imagine a garden-themed travel article that might go into, perhaps, a gardening-focused publication.

Let's also say you're an adventuresome sort who travels on the cheap, enjoys offbeat cultural offerings and quirky, out-of-the-way cafés and shops in the sort of up-and-coming neighborhoods often populated by artists. Then you might think about an article geared to a younger, hipper, more budget-conscious readership.

You wouldn't want to pitch your quirky-bargain story to the editor at the garden publication. And, likewise, the budget-travel magazine would be the wrong one to approach with your garden-focused story.

Once you have a handle on the kind of readers you're after -- the specific audience that would find each story idea most engaging -- then you must track down the exact publications those people are reading.

To pick up the same example: That means you have to seek out gardening publications for your gardening article. And you've got to find bargain-travel focused publications with younger readers for the off-beat piece you have in mind.

*** How -- and Where -- to Find the Right Audience

It takes a little bit of research to track down the publications that will be right for each of your stories, but it's time well-spent. Get this part right -- get to the right audience -- and you'll avoid a heap of disheartening rejection letters.

Here are a few good resources that will help:

1. Writer's Market -- this annual publication lists 8,000 or more (mostly North American) publications that buy articles -- travel and others.

This resource is a must. You can order it online and have a copy sent to you. Or you can save the many, many trees that must have sacrificed their lives for this hefty volume and subscribe, instead, to the online edition, which offers a searchable database and other resources you'd likely find useful. Our readers and ITWPA members can get a discount membership here: http://www.writersdigest.com/store/booksdisplay.asp?id=10851

2. Writers & Artists Yearbook -- A directory for writers, artists, playwrights, writers for film, radio, and television, designers, illustrators, and photographers, this is a good resource for British and European markets.

3. The Guardian Media Directory -- Also focused on the British and European markets, this listing contains over 10,000 contacts, from regional newspapers to publishing houses.

You should also check out issue #32 in our online e-letter archives at www.thetravelwriterslife.com. There you'll find the step-by-step approach Lori used to find publications best-suited for her Belize stories.

Online you'll also find excellent resources. Check out Karen Pevenstein's article on the 18 Must-Have Websites Every Travel Writer Should Know About (issue #39 in our e-letter archives at www.thetravelwriterslife.com ).

*** Once You've Targeted a Publication, Study It

Step 1: Read the "Writer's Guidelines" for each publication you're interested in contacting. You can find these, most of the time, online at a publication's website.

Step 2: Then, get your hands on a few back issues of each publication. Often, travel content at newspapers is posted online free. (You may have to pay to access past news and business articles, but usually the travel material is yours for the reading.) If you can't find issues online, then write to get one or two (for this service, publications will usually charge you the cover price plus a postage fee) or try your local library.

Whatever you do, don't skip these two steps. They are critical to your success. I've said it before: If you don't target the right audience, you won't sell your story.

Then, with the back issues in hand, study the writing carefully.

* What kind of writing do the editors seem to favor? Do they seem to like snappy pieces with humor or a more scholarly approach?

* Is the language level in their stories very simple or do they seem to favor more sophisticated writing?

* Is there a focus on sports, dining, history or some other special interest?

* Does there seem to be an editorial bias -- such as upscale opportunities or bargain ideas or women or history or family travel or environmental issues?

The answers to those sorts of questions reveal all sorts of hints about how you should approach the publication and -- when it comes time to write -- how you should go about putting your piece together.

*** Test Your Idea's Suitability... and Refine It If Need Be

You may discover, as you read through these back issues, that your original instincts were, in fact, wrong. You may find that one of the publications you targeted is not, after all, an appropriate market for the article you plan to write. If that happens, just go back to your list of publications and find one or two new ones to look into. Or, adjust your story idea accordingly.

Eventually, you'll come up with a solid list of story ideas and suitable publications for them.

[Jen Stevens has spent the balance of the last seven years gallivanting through Latin America and the Caribbean -- to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize and beyond reporting on and writing about the best locales for overseas travel, retirement, and investment. She is the former editor of International Living and Island Properties Report, and she was a writer and editor for several years at Trade & Culture magazine. Jen is the author of Passport to Romance: The Ultimate Travel Writer's Course, published by the American Writers & Artists Institute: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/tw4. This November she'll be in San Diego, CA with writers John Forde and Steenie Harvey at our next (and last) Ultimate Travel Writers Workshop of the year. To learn from them first-hand, visit: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/workshop/bb]

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THIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION

Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel publishes travel how-to articles from freelance writers. Articles should be concisely written and get right to the heart of things. They should explain exactly what the reader needs to do to take advantage of deals. The focus is on trips that cost $150 per day or less including all expenses (food, lodging, and transportation.) View the full guidelines at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3704676/. Send queries and clips to "Submissions, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, 530 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10018."

OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR WRITERS:

• OUR NEXT TRAVEL-WRITING WORKSHOP -- Imagine a summer of travel... free. All you have to do in exchange is take good notes about what you did and where you went and then recommend -- or discourage -- others from following in your footsteps. What's more, you could earn a few hundred... maybe even a few thousand... dollars for your trouble. These stateside events mean fewer days away and less travel expense. Check out our next Travel Writing Workshop, to be held this November 11-14 in San Diego, at http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/workshop/bb
• Join the ITWPA and get an extra $200 off the workshop. Visit: http://www.itwpa.com
• THE AWAI FORUM FOR TRAVEL WRITERS -- You'll find this excellent online resource at: http://www.awaionline.com/forum/. It's a place to get answers to your questions, discuss your story ideas, find readers to review your articles, and stay connected to a community of writers.
• BIG BUCKS FOR SNAPSHOTS
  Photos can be a remarkably strong sales tool when you're approaching an editor with a story. They can significantly increase your chances of getting published (and earning extra income) -- that is, if you know how to take the kinds of photos editors like. Find out the simplest and best camera to take with you (you don't want to be lugging a trunk full of equipment)... how to use time of day... create a mood... how to photograph people versus landscapes and wildlife... and more. You'll find Big Bucks for Snapshots: 53 Can't Miss Techniques for Becoming a Money-Making Freelance Photographer here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/photos/tw4

  NOTE: Big Bucks for Snap Shots comes free when you enroll in Passport to Romance: The Ultimate Travel Writer's Course at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/tw4

• TAX SAVINGS EVERY FREELANCER SHOULD TAKE
  Find out where you can save... what the IRS really needs to know... how to make the most of those deductions for travel, meals, entertainment, home office, and more including practical worksheets you can use to make sure you're paying as little as possible to Uncle Sam. You'll find The Writer's Tax Guide: A Money-Saving Manual for Travel Writers and Other Freelancers here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/tax/tw4

• EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF WRITING
  Learn how to find the best story ideas and places to publish them.how and when to follow up with an editor.what you need to know about buying rights, contracts, and agreements.how to use syndication to increase your exposure and boost your earnings.and more. You'll find The Business of Writing Guide: A Practical Guide for Travel Writers (and Other Freelancers) Ready to Turn Words into Profits here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/biz/tw4

• IF YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES to write a powerful "report" that sells vitamins or alternative health therapies you could make very good money in a specialty field that desperately needs you... that will give you as much work as you can handle... and that routinely pays $8,000 and up - with royalties - for each piece you write? Find out more: http://www.thewriterslife.com/health/tw4

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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