BUILD YOUR CAREER WRITING ABOUT YOUR HOMETOWN -- STARTING TODAY
By Jennifer Stevens
When you write about things and places you know in your hometown -- attractions, events, galleries, parks, hotels, restaurants, travel-related services -- you can be sure that you're picking places worth writing about. (Sometimes it can be hard to tell when you're simply visiting a place.)
That makes your hometown a smart place to start when you're gearing up to sell travel articles, because you don't have to second guess yourself. After all, you're going to know your own backyard better than a visitor who merely spent a few hours poking around.
Writing about what's around you can give you an edge when you're approaching publications because it allows you to position yourself as an expert of sorts. Editors appreciate that. And they like to print stories from locals who are "in the know."
It can have its perks locally, too...
Make sure you've introduced yourself to the P.R. folks at your local tourist board, chamber of commerce, zoo, museum, and so on. And be sure your name is on their press-release lists. Establish yourself as a writer in town, and these folks will keep you in mind when they're getting ready to promote something new. You may even get invited to the opening. Nice perk.
In fact, just this afternoon, the tourist board in my hometown sent me an invite to their big, annual dinner and silent auction -- admission waived -- just because I'm a resident writer.
But beyond that, when you're a local writer, these folks will think of you as a resource. Editors at magazines regularly call tourist boards to ask, "Do you know a good local writer?" And you just might be the one whose name gets passed along. You can't underestimate the power of a recommendation like that.
The same thing happens when you write for local publications. Editors call editors. Say you wrote a piece for your hometown paper. Not long after, an editor at a publication one state over decides he wants to cover your town. He doesn't have a staff writer to do it, so he gets on the phone with the editor who bought your story and says, "Hey, do you know a reliable freelancer who writes well?" That person could be you.
I'm not making that up. Editors really do talk. When I was at the helm of International Living, editors regularly called me, trolling for writers. Did I know somebody in Ireland? Sure I did. I'd recommend freelancer Steenie Harvey. Not only did she snag several assignments that way... but she landed a book deal, too. Ireland might have been an overseas flight for readers, but Steenie was writing about her home.
The message here: Don't assume that you have to get on a plane to write a travel piece. Your best subject matter might just be sitting five minutes from your front door.
HOW TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT'S AROUND YOU
Now, how to begin? It's easy. You begin exactly the same way...
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you'd begin any writing project.
**1. Find a subject. Remember, the best ideas are unique, specific, and targeted to a particular audience. So don't set out today to write the definitive article about your hometown. Instead, think smaller. Is there a museum you might focus on? Or a nature center? Or a B&B? Or a festival?
**2. Plan to write a short, "front-of-the-book" piece. By that, I mean a manageable article of 100-600 words.
**3. Keep a particular audience in mind as you research and write. Keep asking yourself, "Who would be interested in this? And what would she want and need to know?" Let the answers to those questions inform what you put in -- and what you leave out -- of your story.
Here are a couple examples of short pieces that you could use as a model for your own. Read through these. Look -- paragraph-by-paragraph -- at what each writer has done. And then you do the same.
There's nothing wrong with borrowing a structure that you know works. These do. After all, they were published.
** Example #1 of a short, "local" story -- " Utah dinorama: Hunt for dinosaurs at Vernal's big new Field House museum," by Kurt Repanshek. Sunset Magazine, August 2004.
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/travel/article/0,20633,678459,00.html
** Example #2 of a short, "local" story -- "Film Fiesta: Tucson," by Edie Jarolim. US Airways Magazine, October 2006.
http://www.usairwaysmag.com/archives/2006_10/alloverthemap01.asp
So this weekend, pick something local to write about. Go and check it out with your writer hat on. Bring a pen and paper and take notes. Pick up brochures about the place. Talk to others enjoying it and to the owner or organizer. Do your homework.
Then, tomorrow, sit down to write. You can do it. That Utah dinosaur piece from Sunset Magazine is 135 words long. The film festival article? That runs just 202. (We're talking less than one typed, double-spaced page here.)
As a local writing about your hometown's offerings, you're in a powerful position. Take advantage of it. I predict you'll find stories about places around you not just rewarding to write, but fun, too.
[Ed Note: Jennifer Stevens has spent the balance of the last decade gallivanting through Latin America and the Caribbean -- to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Mexico, and beyond writing about the best locales for overseas travel, retirement, and investment. She is the former editor of International Living and is author of AWAI's Ultimate Travel Writer's Program: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/sh/tw4]
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