=========================================
The Right Way to Travel
Edited by Lori Appling in Arlington, VA.
April 6, 2007
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." - Mother Teresa
=========================================
Today:
*** April Means October: How to Turn Your Spring-Time Months into Saleable Articles this Fall
*** Electronic Guide: How to Find the Best Story Ideas and Where to Publish Them
*** Practical Writing Prompt of the Week: Writing Funny Travel Stories
*** Reader Feedback: Published in Common Ties
*** More Opportunities and Resources for Writers
=========================================
*Advertisement*
STRUGGLING WITH YOUR NEXT ARTICLE?
Let Accelerated Training Services help -- They'll critique your article before you send it off to an editor... offer comments and suggestions for getting it into publishable shape... all within 48 hours of your submitting it.
A little over-the-shoulder help and personal attention really does make all the difference.
Try it today for 30 days, risk free:
http://www.acceleratedtrainingservices.com/tuc/website
=========================================
Dear Reader,
It's April, but here at The Right Way to Travel we're thinking about October.
Not just because I'm planning a walking tour of creepy graveyards and old churches for the attendees at our upcoming Charleston photography workshop, but because now's the time to submit your end-of-the-year holiday pieces (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, etc.) to publications whose editors require a six-month to one-year lead time.
Folks at our Charleston workshop will be able to write about any number of the haunted places they'll discover on our walking tour. And they can go back at night to get photographs that look like they were taken in October rather than April. (QUICK TIP: The best night photographs aren't actually shot at night. They're shot at twilight, just a few hours before the sky turns black.)
And even if you won't be joining us in Charleston, you can follow our lead. Researching Halloween articles can be fun. And they're not too complicated to write and sell. Everyone likes a good mystery and a scary story. Lead in with a campfire ghost tale -- add some blood, a full moon, and the date the ghost was last spotted -- and before you know it you'll have a 500- or 600-word article.
And... if your idea is fresh enough, you'll have little trouble finding a local editor to buy it. Editors love original, time-sensitive pieces.
Tomorrow, I'll send you some advice from freelance travel writer, Jennifer Stevens, on how to pitch these (and all) articles to editors.
In the meantime, here are a few tips for digging up scary stories in your home town...
** Check the Events Calendar at your local Chamber of Commerce and see what events are planned for this year. Spark any article ideas?
** Does any inn, hotel, or street have a reputation for being haunted? Go check it out and see if you can interview the owners or neighbors for more fodder.
** Do old-timers or shop-owners know any ghost stories? Ask around.
** Check your local library to find out what weird tales lurk in the folklore section.
And remember...
OUR 300th ISSUE OF THE RIGHT WAY TO TRAVEL
In just over a month, we'll be publishing our 300th issue of The Right Way to Travel. To celebrate, I'd like to include as many success stories from you and your fellow readers as possible.
If you've got a success story to share -- an article published, a photo sold, or an import/export goal reached -- and you'd like to be included in our round-up of stories, drop me a line here: lori@thetravelwriterslife.com.
Be sure to include your full name, email address, city, and state (in case I need to reach you -- I won't publish that information).
Thanks!
And don't forget to scroll down to this week's writing prompt on turning your travel misadventures into humorous articles you can sell...
-- Lori
Lori Appling
Director, AWAI's Travel Division
P.S. Know a friend or two who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's or photographer's life? They, too, can sign up to receive this free e-letter here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com.
=========================================
Advertisement
**Downloadable** Business of Writing Guide
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.
All in one easy-to-search downloadable guide; visit: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/biz/website for details.
=========================================
PRACTICAL WRITING PROMPT OF THE WEEK:
Humorous travel articles can be fun to write.
Freelance travel writer, Stan Sinberg, is known for his humorous tales, which have appeared in numerous publications from MAD Magazine to the Chicago Tribune.
How does he do it?
Well, for starters, he purposefully tries to make things go wrong when he travels. "More often than not, the best travel stories -- and the funniest ones -- come from trips gone awry," he says. "So I often purposefully try to make something go wrong on my trips, just so I have something interesting and unique to write about."
Stan wrote an article for us a few years back on how to write funny travel stories where he suggested:
* Arriving in town without a hotel reservation.
* Staying in two-star -- or less -- hotels.
* Avoiding tour groups.
* Getting lost... on purpose.
* Interacting with the natives.
* And scheduling a "fish out of water" experience by trying something that's way out of your element (river-raft if you're not typically adventurous... take tango lessons if you can't dance, etc).
To read the full article, visit: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/2005/09/issue_80.php
And if you have a funny travel story to share, spend some time this weekend getting it into publishable shape. Then, send it to the Travel Post Monthly. You'll find the Writer's Guidelines here: http://www.travelpostmonthly.com/writers_guidelines
[ED. NOTE: To get a copy of Stan's "Selling Laughs: How to Integrate Humor into Your Articles" presentation, visit: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/trc/letushelp]
=========================================
Advertisement
PHOTOGRAPHS SELL ARTICLES - IT'S TRUE!
Want to increases your chances of making a sale? It's a fact that editors are looking for complete photo/text packages. Learn how to shoot professional-quality photographs with your point-and-shoot camera. Here's how: http://www.thephotographerslife.com/ph2/website
=========================================
READER FEEDBACK:
Hello Lori,
Success with one of your mentioned publications, and a tip!
I'm a well-established writer, and edit Canada's national gay/lesbian travel magazine (I'm always looking for good, qualified writers!). I was quite skeptical a while back when you mentioned a "paying" website, Common Ties, but I took a look.
Within days I've been published by them, and payment is promised (you can see their payment terms on their website).
But here's the interesting bit: my travel story was purchased for a completely different topic. Yes, I'm submitting travel stories for the travel-focused edition of Common Ties, but when I saw they were also soliciting for a gay/lesbian-focused edition, it was a jackpot moment. I happened to have several unpublished, gay, travel-focused pieces sitting around...and had never found the right outlet for them. Well, you can now read one of them here. http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/03/30/get-out-there
My point is this: we can't all write travel for Conde Nast Traveler or Hemispheres, there just aren't enough pages. But there are other outlets for travel-focused pieces, often with a specific demographic or slant, that may buy good work.
Thanks for the phone conference back in January. Very helpful. I couldn't listen live, so downloaded it and listened on a flight from Inuvik (above the Arctic Circle) to Yellowknife, NWT, Canada. Ah, the life of a travel writer doesn't get more glam than that (yeah, right, it was in the deep-freeze of January and I was interviewing oil workers).
I'm hopeful that your Portland event comes together; it's quite likely I'll attend.
Cheers,
Randall Shirley
[ED. NOTE: To listen to the phone conference Randall is talking about, visit: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/tel/letushelp]
=========================================
OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR WRITERS:
* HOW TO MAKE AN EDITOR LAUGH: http://tinyurl.com/h47nw
* 5,102 OF THE WORLD'S MOST FASCINATING PLACES: http://www.isecureonline.com/Reports/120SWBST/W120H1AI
* THE LEGAL WAY TO WRITE OFF YOUR TRAVEL EXPENSES: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/tax/website
* NEXT TIME YOU TRAVEL--GET THE BEST DEALS AND HAVE THE BEST EXPERIENCES
http://www.isecureonline.com/Reports/120SSECU/W120H1AI
* CAN YOU RETIRE AND GET PAID TO TRAVEL?:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/sh/website
* BECOME A SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR
http://www.publishachildrensbook.com/fr89
* UNLIMITED ARTICLE CRITIQUES:
http://www.acceleratedtrainingservices.com/tuc/website
* PAY LESS - THE BIG BUCKS FOR SNAPSHOTS SALE:
http://tinyurl.com/2ebhh7
=========================================
The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.
(c) 2007 American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com
To LEARN MORE, visit:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com
http://www.thephotographerslife.com
