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American Writers & Artists, Inc and International
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The Write Way to TravelIssue#45 "I try to leave out the parts that people skip." -- Elmore Leonard TODAY:
Advertisement The Perfect Holiday Gift Your kids (or grandkids) are in possession of the single most powerful wealth-building weapon that even the world's greatest investors don't have - one that will practically guarantee that they will enter their adult years confident, secure and wealthy. Read this free report to find out how you could have your child's college education paid for in full - and still enter the work force at age 23 with a net worth of $126,000 or more? And while your child is quietly and methodically securing his or her financial future, he or she will be mastering life-long money skills that will enable them to further grow that $126,000 nest egg into over $368,000 by the time they're 30.and between $9 million and $10 million by the time they're ready to retire at 55! (Yes, that's 55, not 65.) If you have kids or grandkids you absolutely must read this letter: http://www.seedsofwealth.com/travel Dear Reader, Coming back from San Diego last week, I found myself flipping though Delta's Sky Magazine and noticed lots of short articles written by freelancers. Short articles are something Jen Stevens (the author of our travel-writer course) talked about during our recent workshop. (By the way, if you missed Monica Day's daily diary entries from that San Diego program, you'll find them posted here on our website.) Jen explained that often the best way to break into a publication is by getting a short piece published in it first. You'll have more luck, she said, if you start small. Instead of pitching a 2,000-word story to an editor who's never heard of you before, offer up a short piece of 150-400 words, targeted for a particular "department" in the publication. That way, the editor can get a feel for your writing style. He can decide if you're easy to work with or not. He can see if you get your piece in on time. He'll be much more likely to give you an assignment for a longer article once he's familiar with you and your work. Lots of publications print short "front-of-the-book" pieces as they are often called -- International Living, Islands, National Geographic Traveler, Delta's Sky, to name just a few. I asked Jen to explain this week just how to put a short piece like this together. You'll find her advice below. By the way, if you missed us in San Diego, don't worry. We found a way to merge our audio recording from one of our most successful live events with each presenter's PowerPoint slides. You can simply put a CD into your computer and relax as the entire workshop unfolds before you. The slides advance to the audio recordings so you can easily follow along. In addition to the interactive CD's we've arranged for you to receive:
And if you act now (before the whole package goes to press) you'll be able to save 35% off, The Ultimate Travel Writer's Virtual Workshop. That's $140 savings. And that's not all. Check out these bonuses: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/virtualworkshop *** SPECIAL NOTE: A Spec Assignment For You I wanted to let you know that we are, in fact, in the market for some short pieces ourselves. We're looking for articles of 150-400 words about interesting places to see and things to do in Argentina. We're planning our next Ultimate Travel Writer's Workshop for March in Buenos Aires, and we'd like to fill our hopper with well-written blurbs about Argentina we can use to help drum up enthusiasm about what we know to be an absolutely fabulous destination. Send your short Argentina article to lori@thetravelwriterslife.com. If we use it, we'll pay you for it. Have a great Thanksgiving. 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 I Went From "Reading" Romance To Selling My Own Romance Novel http://www.theromancewriterslife.com/tw4 THE EASIEST AND FASTEST WAY TO GET A BY-LINE AND A CHECK By Jennifer Stevens One of the best ways to break into the travel-writing business (and to get repeat clips, too) is to write short articles -- 250-600 words in length, typically. Lots of publications are in the market for such things -- short pieces about a great restaurant, a notable little hotel, an excellent travel deal, a new resource, and so on. Often these sorts of articles appear in specific "departments" at publications or fall under what's called "front-of the-book" pieces (you've seen them -- the "blurbs" magazines often run in the first few pages of each issue). *** Narrow Your Focus Because space is limited, so must be the size of the topic you choose. You can't easily write a quick note about well-discovered Rome. Instead, you'd want to narrow your topic considerably to something like a new museum exhibit or maybe a shop that sells unusual gifts. As the editors at Marco Polo Magazine put it in that publication's guidelines: "Don't send us an article on Amsterdam; send us a front-of-the-book feature about a new, particularly unique restaurant in the Dutch metropolis." *** Draw Your Reader in With a "Picture" You're working with a limited number of words, so you cannot afford to dally while you get to your point. That is not to say you shouldn't make an "emotional" appeal to your reader, do your best to draw him in -- you most certainly should. Go ahead, paint a picture of this place you're writing about. Take the reader there right at the start. Simply understand -- you've got just three or four sentences to do it. For example, travel writer Jean Flitcroft (who attended our workshop in Paris a couple of years ago) begins a short article about a Scottish castle, published in International Living, this way: "Blazing log fires, oversized four-poster beds, 2,000 acres to call your own, fine food and wine all wrapped up in a hunk of Scottish granite and steeped in history for centuries -- a perfect recipe for a magical weekend with a group of friends or family. "There are many castles available to rent for a house party throughout Scotland. In general, the farther north and more rural you go, the more authentic they are. But to find one within easy reach of Edinburgh that doesn't have tartan drapes, reproduction suits of armor, and pine floorboards is more of a challenge. They may be genuinely 16th-century outside, but some of the travesties of conservation and restoration have to be seen to be believed." *** Get Right to the "Big Idea" You Want Your Readers to Come Away Understanding Very close to the front of your article -- within the first four to six sentences -- you must come straight to the point of your article. You've got a reader in mind... you've drawn that reader in... now write one, concise sentence that tells him the benefit to his being there. In her Scottish castle piece, Jean does an excellent job of it. The sentence that follows her descriptive lead is: "Built in 1780, Birkhill Castle is the real thing -- the antithesis of tourist tackiness and just 50 minutes north of Edinburgh and west of St. Andrews." *** Provide Specific Support for Your "Big Idea" What next? Follow up with support for your "Big Idea." Use a quote or two, some facts, statistics, examples. In the Scottish castle piece, which has promised readers "the antithesis of tourist tackiness," we aren't disappointed. The article goes on to say: "Lord Dundee is an elected peer in the House of Lords and is the Hereditary Royal Banner Bearer for Scotland. The coronation banners hang proudly in the hall. Lady Dundee runs the 2,000-acre arable farm and oversees the succession of houseguests. The house is stuffed full of paintings and antiques, and the family history is worth indulging. Lady Dundee will willingly bring the pictures of their ancestors to life with details of tragic deaths, misunderstandings in love, and stories from the battlefield. We were welcomed with a substantial afternoon tea and lazed about until the views of the garden could be resisted no longer." (There's more to the article, but you get the idea...) She uses lots of specifics that directly illustrate and support her "Big Idea" -- that this place is authentic, not touristy. *** Make Sure You Give Your Readers the Info They Need to Take Action You want your reader to put your article down, pick up the phone, and arrange to do what you just did. You want him to take action. To that end, be sure to include the practical details a reader will need to follow up on the information you've presented. In Jean's article, for example, the reader finds at the end: "Taking over the whole castle is expensive. Through Loyd and Townsend-Rose, it costs $370 per night per person--all food and drink included. A much better option is to book B&B direct with Lady Dundee. At $110/night per person and dinner at $50 it's a reasonable way to get the authenticity and charm of a genuine Scottish castle." Follow Jean's example, and you'll write an infinitely saleable short article, too. If you'd like to read her piece in its entirety, you'll find it online at: http://www.internationalliving.com/eletters.cfm?eid=29106. [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/sh/tw4] 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 REQUEST FOR ARTICLES ON MOBILITY-CHALLENGED TRAVELERS This request for articles is posted on our online forum: http://www.awaionline.com/forum If you would like to submit articles for this "Independent Living" type newsletter, please reply to Gail directly by visiting our online form at http://www.awaionline.com/forum. Her post is under the "Travel Writing" section titled: "Who wants to be published?" She's looking for articles on: 1) Accessible traveling THIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION Arabella Magazine's primary focus is romantic fiction, but as a complementary feature they often run travel pieces on romantic destinations. The focus has to be the romance of the location. For travel pieces, writers should query ahead. Send queries to submissions@Arabellamagazine.com. Review their guidelines at http://www.arabellamagazine.com/authors/guidelines.htm. 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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