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American Writers & Artists, Inc and International
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The Write Way to TravelIssue#47 "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying." -- Woody Allen TODAY:
Advertisement BIG BUCKS FOR SNAPSHOTS Photos can be a remarkably strong sales tool when you're approaching an editor with a story. They can significantly increase your chances of getting published (and earning extra income) -- that is, if you know how to take the kinds of photos editors like. Find out the simplest and best camera to take with you (you don't want to be lugging a trunk full of equipment)... how to use time of day... create a mood... how to photograph people versus landscapes and wildlife... and more. You'll find Big Bucks for Snapshots: 53 Can't Miss Techniques for Becoming a Money-Making Freelance Photographer here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/photos/tw4 NOTE: Big Bucks for Snap Shots comes free when you enroll in Passport to Romance: The Ultimate Travel Writer's Course at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/tw4 Dear Reader, Last week, travel-writing course author Jennifer Stevens talked about the easiest and fastest way to earn your first byline and check. If you missed her article, you'll find it online in our e-letter archives. This week, let's imagine that you took Jen's advice and went straight to work crafting your first article. After writing (and rewriting, and rewriting), you finally came up with a version you felt was best suited for the publication you're targeting. You settled in and let it sit over night… gave it one last review in the morning… submitted it an editor… and waited for comments. When can you follow-up, you wonder? Well, for starters, consider these three guidelines. They apply to all publications… 1. If you're thinking about dropping the editor a note, first check your publication's Writer's Guidelines, where most list a typical response time. You'll usually find the Writer's Guidelines on the publication's website or in Writer's Digest's Writer's Market book (see below for discount details). The time you can expect to wait before you hear back varies from one month to three months to even six months. You should ALWAYS wait until the response period has passed before you follow-up with an editor, even if your patience runs out well before then. 2. The best way to follow-up is via email or mail. Don't call. Your follow-up email or letter should be short and to the point. It should describe the original query sent and the date you sent it. Remember to remain professional and polite in your follow-up. 3. Always remember to include your contact information and your full name on all of your correspondence, whether it's being delivered by post or email. In other words, make it easy for your editor to get in touch with you. If you sign your note "Tom," under that should appear your full name, phone number, email address, street address, etc. But what if it's not that simple? At our live travel-writing workshop in San Diego last month each student left with a publishable article he or she could submit to an editor. After sending her piece off, one of those students wrote me this week with a question: "I have sent my article on spec to an editor and have not heard back. Do I have to wait before sending it somewhere else? Time is of the essence as the Jazz Festival, the story I wrote about, is in January, and there is not a lot of time. In this case what do I do?" I turned to freelance writer Steenie Harvey for the answer. You'll find her advice below. But before you scroll down, I'd like to take this opportunity to plug our new Virtual Workshop. You see, Steenie focuses an entire day at our live events on charming editors and landing the best assignments. And now, with our new Ultimate Travel Writer's Virtual Workshop, you don't have to jump on a plane to get her advice. We found a way to merge the 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. And if you act now (before the whole package goes to press) you'll save a full 35%. That's $140 savings when you reserve a pre-press copy of The Ultimate Travel Writer's Virtual Workshop now. And that's not all. Check out these bonuses: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/virtual/prepress 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 Are You Good At Persuading People?Have You Ever Persuaded A Friend To Go To Your Favorite Restaurant Or See A Movie You Wanted To See? Persuasive writers are almost impossible for companies to find. If you have this remarkable talent you could be in big demand. Click here to find out more: http://www.thewriterslife.com/bb/tw4 HOW AND WHEN TO FOLLOW-UP WITH AN EDITOR By Freelance Travel Writer, Steenie Harvey in Ireland Coping with awful frustration is part and parcel of the travel-writer's life. We've all encountered the 'not hearing back' problem countless times. First, though, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions. Were you asked to send your article on spec -- or did you submit it purely on the wings of hope? If the editor did ask to see it, you're perfectly justified in seeking an answer about what he or she plans to do with it. The other big question is how long ago did you send it in? You should never expect an answer within a couple of days. It's quite normal for editors to sit on an article for a month before getting back to you. Sometimes longer. If you were asked to send in the piece on spec -- and a month has passed by -- I'd suggest you email the editor immediately. Keep it simple...and above all, don't be rude. I'd word it something like this: "Dear XXX, I wondered if you'd had a chance to read my article on the Jazz Festival, submitted on (Date). As I'm sure you'll appreciate, it's a time-sensitive article. If (publication) cannot use it, I'd like the chance to place it elsewhere." Even if the editor didn't ask to see your piece 'on spec,' you could send such an email to jog their memory. If you receive no reply within the next week, resubmit your article to another of your targeted publications. And if you want to increase your chances of getting published, resubmit it to a number of publications. No doubt quite a few students will be concerned about the protocol of sending out multiple submissions. I always get questions on this subject at our workshops. For instance, ''What do I do if more than one magazine wants to publish my article?'' Well, lucky you! If you're ever in the fortunate position of editors competing for your work -- and I never have been -- my advice is to go for the big payer. One editor offers you $50 -- and the other offers $500? Unless you're a complete dimwit, it's no contest, is it? When I started out as a travel writer, I never had any delusion that a whole bunch of editors awaited my next submission with bated breath. Unless it was specially focused for a particular publication, I almost always sent an on-spec article -- or a query -- to three or four publications at the same time. It's a sad fact that some editors are completely discourteous. (Or as I'd truthfully say, ''pig bloody ignorant.'') Sometimes you'll never even receive a standard rejection slip. You could hang on forever waiting for a reply. And you don't make money that way. That said, once you've developed a relationship with an editor (in other words, you've been published by that magazine), don't do anything to mess things up. Offer your big idea -- or your article -- to that editor first. Give them time to respond. If necessary, follow up with a polite email. If he or she isn't interested, then launch into a full-scale assault on other publications. And if by some lucky break you do ever get the dream scenario of two editors in a competing market wanting to publish your piece, you can always employ a similar get-out to this: "Dear XXX, Thank you so much for your letter offering to publish my article on the Jazz Festival. Unfortunately I did not realize it would take quite so long for your magazine's editorial department to get back to me. I honestly thought you weren't interested in the article. As it was so time-sensitive, I submitted it to another publication. They contacted me straight away saying they wanted to use it. I feel really bad about this. The only excuse I can offer is that I'm a fairly new writer and my eagerness to get published overcame my patience. I sincerely hope it will not prevent us working together in the future." Editors come, editors go. And don't ever worry that your name will be on some kind of nationwide editorial blacklist. It won't. [EDITOR'S NOTE: If you've been to one of our live travel writer workshops, you know that freelance travel writer Steenie Harvey is an absolute riot! Students from past live workshops have said things like… "Steenie Harvey is hands-down excellent, not stingy with immediately useful information and methods that worked for her." "Steenie is a hilarious, a very effective presenter -- very informative, a true gem." "Steenie adds great value -- a terrific mix of practical ideas, humor and encouragement" Steenie's presentations -- an entire day of tricks for charming editors and landing the best assignments -- not only keep students laughing (nearly to the point of tears on occasion) but they also drive home some really important lessons about dealing with editors. If you missed Steenie at one of our live events this year, 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. And if you act now (before the whole package goes to press) you'll save a full
35%. That's $140 savings when you reserve a pre-press copy of The Ultimate Travel
Writer's Virtual Workshop now. And that's not all. Check out these bonuses: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/virtual/prepress] Advertisement Guarantee a Million-dollar Future for Your Child One simple secret to make your child wealthy… and put some money in your pocket too. Learn how you can teach your children to build wealth responsibly. Help them amass a fortune by their early 30's, and they'll have the financial freedom and confidence to focus on things more important than money. Visit http://www.seedsofwealth.com/travel for more details. REQUEST FOR ARTICLES ON ARGENTINA Special note from Lori Appling, Director, AWAI's Travel Writer Program 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. If you have a short story to tell (apx 150 - 400 words) about interesting places to see and things to do in Argentina, please send it to me at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com. If we use it, we'll pay you for it. THIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION Hana Hou! is the in-flight magazine for Hawaiian airlines. It strives to provide a continually fresh perspective on the culture and destinations in Hawaii. They strongly suggest that you send a one-page query before writing an article. Include clips with your query. The "Native Intelligence" department is the best way to break into Hana Hou! Queries must be sent by mail to Editor, Hana Hou! Magazine, 3465 Waialae Ave., #340, Honolulu, HI 96816. View their complete guidelines at http://www.hanahou.com/about.htm#WritersGuidelines. 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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