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American Writers & Artists, Inc and International
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The Write Way to TravelIssue#44 "Only a mediocre writer is always at his best." -- W. Somerset Maugham TODAY:
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Behaving Badly--and I can assure you we behaved very badly indeed," writes
freelance travel writer, Steenie Harvey, this week. That Steenie... I just left her in San Diego last week and passed up the opportunity to tag along with her and her daughter to Las Vegas. Now I'm sort of wishing I'd made the trip. Australian men and blackjack. hmmm. Instead, I opted to return home, and I'm still recovering from my flight back to the East Coast. I missed a connection in Atlanta, and my 10-hour trip turned into 14. By the time I got here I was exhausted. I really shouldn't complain, though. My long weekend in San Diego for our travel-writer workshop was fantastic. If you missed Monica Day's diary entries about the event, you'll find them posted here on our website. Don't miss the dinner stories about diamond smugglers, camels, and laptops on Day 1. You'll learn about Steenie's thwarted efforts at organic gardening on Day 2. And then it's notes about photos, fish tacos, and freebies on Day 3. Back at the office, we received this note from a student: "Since finishing the course, I have written several other pieces and submitted them to well-researched publications. I am yet to have any success. How do I know if my writing is good, or that I am sticking to the formula set out in the course? Every piece I write, I pore over it to make sure it has all the key elements, but with no-one to critique it, I just don't know if it's any good. Without a critique to fall back on, I just feel a little lost as to know whether I am writing at the highest standard." Even the greatest writers struggle with rejection. That's why I chose the quote from W. Somerset Maugham for the top of today's issue -- "Only a mediocre writer is always at his best." I asked three writers I know for their thoughts about how to deal with rejection. I'm including it below. (I'll also take an opportunity to plug our courses here too. You don't necessarily have to come out to one of our live workshops to get feedback on your writing. Both our new Virtual Workshop (http://tinyurl.com/4flcz) and our written guide, Passport to Romance: The Ultimate Travel Writer's Course (http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/tw4) provide you with a means to have your articles evaluated before sending them off to an editor. Sometimes it's only a matter of avoiding the most common mistakes beginning writers make. And if you don't send those assignments in you may never know you're sabotaging your own success.) That's it for me today. Have a good 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 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 Advertisement MAKE MONEY AND SAVE THE WORLD What if something you wrote could. Help 3 million people in 29 countries get access to clean drinking water. Provide safe, secure housing for 5,400 families in the U.S.. Protect 160,000 acres of timberland in Tennessee and Oregon. Put 23 new computers in the elementary school down the street. http://www.thewriterslife.com/fundraising/tw89/ THE BEST ADVICE ON HANDLING REJECTION FROM STEENIE HARVEY The first piece I ever submitted to an editor got published -- but I also gathered a fair few rejection slips in my first couple of years of writing. If your first queries or completed articles get rejected, don't sink into depression. If your idea is strong enough... if your writing is good enough, then some editor will want it. It's just a case of finding the right editor and the right publication. That's really the key -- make sure you target the right magazines. And just because one editor rejects you doesn't necessarily mean the next one on your list will do the same. Rejection doesn't necessarily mean your writing isn't any good. For me, the best way of dealing with all those slings and arrows of adversity was to develop the hide of a rhinoceros. Rejection can actually be character-building -- it certainly made me more doggedly determined to succeed. I knew I was on the right track. But in those early years, I now realize that for a lot of the time, I was sending off my work to the wrong type of magazines. Think about this. Why would an editor want your wonderfully-crafted article on the best tapas bars in Seville if a similar article is scheduled to appear in next month's issue? That's why it's important to always have more than one publication in mind. And with travel writing, your horizons are so much broader than if you're writing about the dubious joys of crocheting or car mechanics. And keep polishing. I just sent off an article about Naples in Italy. I thought it looked good enough on the first draft, but I'm glad I didn't submit it immediately. On the second reading, I decided to cut out most of the nonsense I'd written about a shrine to Argentinian soccer player Diego Maradona. Unless International Living's readership is entirely composed of die-hard English soccer thugs, (and I don't think it is) why would the audience be remotely interested in rubbish like that? FROM MICHAEL HARVEY It's quite simply a question of confidence. Having what you believe to be a really good article rejected is hard to deal with. Naturally enough, when it has been rejected by several publishers you start to have doubts. You could easily start to think that your article, or your writing in general, is substandard or just not good enough. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed way to rid yourself of nagging doubts. You just have to believe that you can be a successful writer. Have confidence in your own ability. I know writers who get lucky with their very first submission. A by-line, and money in the bank at the first attempt. But I also know good writers who collected enough rejection slips to paper a wall, before they got their first break. It would have been easy for them to quit, but they didn't. How do you know if your writing is at the highest standard? Tough question, and no easy answer. The course you have just completed should have given you a solid foundation to build on. If, as you say, you are thoroughly researching publications before you submit articles, then you are doing all the right things. The way to write to the highest standard is to write, write, write and keep writing. The highest standard would be perfection, but is it attainable? To a certain extent yes, but it's all too true that perfection is in the eye of the beholder. What one Editor thinks is perfect, another might reject. FROM JENNIFER STEVENS Don't get discouraged. I know. easier said than done. But really, it's just part of the way the business works. There are umpteen reasons why an editor might reject a piece. It could be your writing, sure. And it could also be that you've misread your audience. But it could just as easily be that your timing is wrong -- the editors might have a piece similar to yours already slated to run. Unless the editor tells you why she isn't publishing your piece (and most of the time she won't) then you'll just have to trust that you're doing everything you can to control the parts of the equation over which you actually do have some control. That means: 1. Double-check that you've read your audience right. Have you targeted the absolutely best publication for your article? Is there another, similar publication where you might submit your piece instead? (Remember, start small. There's nothing wrong with building your portfolio by getting clips in on-line publications or smaller print publications. If you're aiming for a by-line in National Geographic Traveler right out of the starting gate, you're setting yourself up for rejection. After all, why should the editor there publish unknown you when he can publish H.M. Queen Noor instead? ) 4. Have you defined your idea tightly enough? It's hard, I know, to edit yourself. You have so much to say. Your trip was so great. But the thing is, you've got to be absolutely sure that the details you're including are truly relevant to the story you're telling. You should be able to digest the "so what," the "big idea" of your story into eight or ten words. If you can't, then you may be trying to get too much into one piece. 3. Fiddle with your lead. Remember, you've got about five seconds to grab your reader's attention (and that first, critical reader is the editor you're hoping will buy your article). Have you opened with the strongest image? 4. Get yourself a copy buddy -- someone who will read your articles and give you some constructive feedback. If you have a spouse or a friend who can do this for you, great. If not, go online to the AWAI student forum at: http://www.awaionline.com/~awaionli/forum/. Scroll down to the "Travel Writing" section and post a note asking for some feedback on your article. That forum is populated by other travel writers just like you, and many of them will be happy to give your stuff a read if you'll return the favor when they need a reader. Advertisement 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 THIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION Road and Travel is a consumer magazine and online resource that covers automobiles and travel. This publication is geared toward women, but written in a gender-neutral style. They welcome articles on recreational, business, and adventure travel as well as travel safety articles. They do not accept queries at this time, only full manuscripts. You must review and agree to their writer's guidelines before submitting-- http://www.roadandtravel.com/company/marketing/writerguide.html. Articles are short, entertaining, and informative, running from 1000 to 1200 words. Submit manuscripts by email to editor@roadandtravel.com. OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR WRITERS:
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. NOTE: If URLs do not appear as live links in your e-mail program, please cut and paste the full URL into the location or address field of your browser. CHANGE OF ADDRESS? E-mail us at memberservices@awaionline.com with both your old AND new information in the body of the message. |
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