Edited by Lori Appling in Bethany Beach, DE
"It's like a bird-watcher watching for birds: The stories are there: you just have to train yourself to look for them." -- Barbara Micheals, author of The Wizard's Daughter and Black Rainbow
Today:
- Frozen Vegetables and Other Cures for Writer's Block
- Spend the Weekend with Freelance Writer and Published Author, Bob Bly
- Part 3 – From Notes to Glossy Cover: How to Make Real Money Writing Travel Articles
- A Writing Gig That Will Land Her Close to $100,000 This Year
- Congratulations to Barbara Bode and Suzie Sharpe – Both Workshop Attendees Got TheirSecond Travel Article Published This Week
- This Week's Featured Travel Publication: Live Life Travel
- More Opportunities and Resources For Writers
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I Went From "Reading" Romance to Selling My Own Romance Novel
For A Contract Worth $97,500 -- And So Can You!
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Dear Reader,
I'm going to stop telling people I work from home.
I mean, yes, it's true working from home means that I can throw in a load of laundry during a conference call, answer emails before I shower, or write this e-letter in my pajamas.
But I always find it surprising when someone seems shocked that I do actually "work" at home. My mother, for instance, seems to think that working from home means I can take my grandmother to the grocery store in the middle of the day. "I thought you said you could work from anywhere," she says.
When I said that, I meant Paris, London, Rome… not grocery store, pharmacy, doctor's office. Yet there I found myself at mid-day earlier this week, passing the frozen peas for the third time.
And you know, it occurred to me that you really CAN "work" in a grocery store if you're a travel writer.
Freelance travel writer, Jennifer Stevens, told one of our workshop groups that when she's in another country she likes to stray from the typical tourist paths and check out everyday places like grocery stores. She says it's there you get a much more authentic taste for what a culture is really like.
What's more, there's a lot of activity in a grocery store -- and for me, anyway, activity helps jog the brain, helps me come up with ideas. And sometimes that can be the hardest part about writing -- figuring out what you want your story to be about.
The message here? Next time you're at a loss for a story idea, try taking a walk down the frozen food aisle… or, simply, taking a walk. A change of scenery can do wonders for writer's block.
I've been thinking about this subject a lot recently. Just the other day, I had an enlightening conversation with freelancer B. Howard on this subject. B. Howard has had more than 600 articles and 3,000 photographs published -- so I figured he should know something about it. I asked him how he comes up with the "big ideas" for his stories… and how he goes about getting them on paper.
I thought you might learn a thing or two from his method -- I did -- and so I asked him to write up what it is he does and share it with you. You'll find his advice below. It's Part Three of his three-part series on "How to Make Real Money Writing Travel Articles." If you missed his first two articles, see issues 65 and 66 in our e-letter archives at www.thetravelwriterslife.com.
And, of course, you can meet B. Howard in person later this month in Paris where he'll be joining photographer Rich Wagner for four power-packed days dedicated to teaching you how to take better photos -- the kind that sell for $200 to $6,000 -- and then get them sold.
For more information, visit: www.thetravelwriterslife.com/parisphoto or call Schuyler Hoffman (he'll be in all weekend) by phone toll-free at (866) 529-0538, locally at (310) 593-4741, or email him at photos@thetravelwriterslife.com
Oh, 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.
Have a great weekend,
-- Lori
Lori Appling
Director, AWAI's Travel Writer Program
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
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HOW TO MAKE REAL MONEY WRITING TRAVEL ARTICLES
(A Three-Part Series to Help You Double,
Even Triple, Your Writing Income)
By B. Howard in Cleveland, TN
Part 3 – Getting Started: From Notes to Published Page
Over the past two weeks, we've covered what I call the Photo Essay or Round-Up article and how to shoot the photographs to support it. But how, specifically, do I get from idea to article?
Research To Find at Least Five Attractions
First, I do a little research. If I know I'm going to visit a specific location, I might pull up information about it on the web or even buy a guide book.
Next, I sit down at my desk with a yellow pad and do a little thinking. I list all of the features relevant to that location: landmarks, attractions, historic sites, hotels, country inns, beaches, museums, and so on.
Then I eliminate from my list all that can't deliver at least five perceived subjects (attractions, if you like).
For example, if there are only three photogenic country inns within a 50-mile radius of my location, I eliminate country inns from my list. If I find there are eight or nine beaches, say, on the panhandle of Florida, I keep beaches on the list.
And so I reduce my article list to four or five real possibilities. Once I have my list, I sally forth, camera in hand, and visit at least one site of each of the four or five possibilities, shoot some pictures, and then go back to the yellow pad and make a few notes.
Contact Editors
If I find I have two or three viable projects, I make a few phone calls, write an e-mail or two, and even send out a couple of queries. The phone calls and e-mails will be to editors I already have in my database and that I know like to publish the type of articles I'm proposing.
The queries are to editors I've never dealt with before: the idea being to expand my database. By the time I get through, I may already have sold one or more of my projects several times.
Take Photos
If I get a response, even one, from even one of the editors in my database, I go on to phase two, which is to photograph all of the sites I intend to include in the project. This may take several days, or might even be spread over a couple of weeks, depending upon how far-flung the individual sites may be. It took me several weeks to photograph all the sites for the Battlefields article I told you about last week.
When the photography is complete, I'll have several hundred images on hand. In the old days, those images would have been 35mm transparencies. Today, they'll be large digital files. At this point I (and you, too) need to become extremely critical.
Eliminate the Substandard Shots
I edit my images down from several hundred to only a couple of dozen, or so. I will not keep any image that is in any way substandard. I don't mean that I put them on one side: I get rid of them completely. Now that doesn't mean I keep only stunning or spectacular images. The way I have to shoot -- on the fly -- my images aren't always stunning or spectacular. They do, however, have impact, variety, and eye-catching color. What I mean is that I get rid of any image that's not perfectly composed, perfectly focused, and perfectly exposed. Remember? (EDITOR'S NOTE: See issue 66 in our e-letter archives for more about photos: www.thetravelwriterslife.com .)
Pick Images and Write Descriptions
Next, having gotten rid of the chaff, I concentrate on the wheat and pick out two or three images that I feel will effectively illustrate each location or site. (I like to give the editor -- and he likes to receive -- a choice as to which images he will use.)
Then I number each image and write text that effectively describes the given site or location and is relevant to the two or three photographs that go with that particular locality. What I mean is this: The text I write must be applicable to any one or all of the two or three chosen images.
Finally, I sew all of the chunks of text together with a well-chosen transition phrase. What I now have is a complete package -- text and photographs. A little proofing, some re-writing, and the package is ready for the editor.
Build and Tap Into Your Database of Editors
Okay, let's talk about the aforementioned database and the rules of submission. Building your database should be a labor of love. Do it right, and it will provide you with a good income for years to come.
The best place to start is right in your own back yard -- with your local newspaper or newspapers. Then expand outward from there until you have approached every newspaper and relevant regional and national magazine in the country.
Be sure to request editorial and photographic guidelines. Building your database this way takes a lot of time, effort and dedication, but it is worth it. If you can build a base of, say, 50 editors that will regularly buy your work, you will have a gold mine, indeed. If you can sell to three or four of the 50 every month, well… you do the math.
Follow These Rules For Submitting Your Work
A warning: Editors are extremely territorial birds. Before you submit your ideas to more than one editor, research each publication. Find out the territorial boundaries and do not cross them.
For instance, The Atlanta Journal Constitution is distributed state wide, and even beyond some state lines, so this means you cannot sell an article to any other newspaper or magazine in Georgia until the Constitution has finished with it. You can, however, offer a package simultaneously to the Constitution in Georgia, the Nashville Banner, the Kansas City Star, and so on. You can even offer the same article to two or three newspapers in the same state provided the distribution boundaries do not conflict.
Finally, don't blow your first chance to make a good impression. Follow the publications' guidelines to the letter. Show only your best work. Keep the quality of your photography high. If you have any doubt at all about a given photograph, don't show it; throw it away. Send your prospective editors quality only… and they will always want to see more.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: You can meet B. Howard in Paris, France at the end of this month for our first-ever Travel Photographer's Workshop: www.thetravelwriterslife.com/parisphoto. B. Howard will be on hand to teach you everything you need to know about taking the best photographs… and then selling them to editors.
And, for more advice about writing and selling the sort of "round-up" articles B. Howard likes to write -- and for the tricks of the trade that will land you the best assignments -- check out Jen Stevens' Ultimate Travel Writer's Course: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/tw4]
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At 4:20 on May 17, 2001 - a sunny afternoon in Baltimore - I was sitting on the front stoop of our little brick row home, my seven-week-old baby on my lap, when my husband came home and told me he'd just lost his job.
Instead of panicking, we went out for sushi.
Were we in denial? No. Just lucky enough to have a recession-proof contingency plan that will earn me close to $100,000 this year, working from home.
Mine is not an extraordinary story. My colleagues and I are just everyday folks like you - some with college degrees, some not. Yet we enjoy careers with a level of job security and income most people only dream about.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO WORKSHOP GRADUATES BARBARA BODE AND SUZIE SHARPE
Barbara Bode lives in Malta these days, on the small island of Gozo, and she's taken up travel (and food) writing in earnest. With grand success, too. She wrote this week to say she'd had two articles published in the Sunday Times of Malta.
And Suzie Sharpe, too, can boast success. Her article on the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires will appear in the June issue of The Traveler. She writes, "Only wish I had more time to write things like this. It's more fun than work."
Both Barbara and Suzie are graduates of our live travel writer workshop -- and you can be, too. We're gearing up now for our next event, which we're hosting in New York at the end of July… stay tuned for details.
THIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION
Live Life Travel publishes articles on adventurous, independent travel. Currently they're seeking stories for their "Totally Griswald" section. These pieces focus on travel experiences that did not go as planned and generally work best when they have a humorous feel. "Totally Griswald" articles should be 700-1200 words in length. They also are interested in short travel tips and how-to articles, 500-1000 words. Query or send full manuscripts to info@livelifetravel.com. It's a good idea to check out their free eletter to get a feel for the writing style. Visit www.livelifetravel.com.
OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR WRITERS:
RETIRE…AND GET PAID TO TRAVEL -- Get the Details and Your Free report at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/tw4
GET YOUR FIRST PUBLISHED CLIP IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS --
Join the International Travel Writers & Publishers Alliance (ITWPA) today and use their many membership benefits to land your first assignment -- fast. Membership includes: writer credentials (a membership ID badge vouching for your status as a travel writer), business cards with the ITWPA logo printed on them and monthly newsletters that list available press trips as well as markets where you might consider publishing your articles. Plus $200 off any writing-related event sponsored by the organization (including Jen Stevens' live travel-writing workshops). For more details visit their website: www.itwpa.com
THE AWAI FORUM FOR TRAVEL WRITERS -- You'll find this excellent online resource at: www.thetravelwriterslife.com/forums . 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.
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DOUBLE YOUR SUCCESS RATE -- Sign up for 30 days of unlimited article critiques and you'll surely and easily double...maybe even triple your success rate (and your income). More published articles = A Bigger Article Portfolio = More Press Trip Offers + More Money. Try it now for 30 days or sign up for 2 months and get the third month free: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/unlimited
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
To ADVERTISE in The Write Way to Travel or to send comments, news, research, or story ideas, e-mail Lori Appling at lappling@awaionline.com.
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