Breaking into Travel Writing
by L. Peat O'Neil
The best tip I can give you is: learn to write short. Whether you plan to write for newspaper travel sections or glossy
magazines with gorgeous photos, editors prize travel writers who turn in tightly written copy. No matter how
well you think you write, you will sell more work if you write short, especially in the
travel market.
Why bother, you might be wondering? Well, one way freelance travel writers break into the $1-a-word glossy
travel and shelter magazine market is through the front-of-the-book sections. In
those sections-- which are made up of a variety of short clever items, photos, product reviews, etc. -- a "story" is really a
fast-paced blurb or a mini-interview, but the writer gets a tag or by-line and usually, a significant check for little effort.
Magazine editors try out freelancers on these midget league pieces because they'll lose small if the writer tanks
the assignment. Worst case scenario, the editor can write it herself. Best case scenario for a freelancer is the editor
likes how you handle the short item and listens to your ideas for a full-length story. Next assignment: a longer
piece, maybe with travel expenses. Be aware that many of those little pieces are
written by the magazine's staff. For insight on whether the items are freelance written, compare
tag lines with the names on the masthead.
Those little items can be lucrative. Once you internalize the structure of a 250 to 500 word piece, you can knock them
off quickly at proportionately better pay than a longer researched story. Pitch the idea as you would any other,
after finding out which editor assigns for the "front of the book" department. If
you're good, editors will be calling you and asking if you could dash off 600 words, pretty please, by Tuesday.
You'll also sell to newspaper travel editors if you write tightly. Travel sections are pinched for space. Long
rambling tours of Argentina or Uzbekistan rarely appear in Sunday Travel sections anymore. You will see three to five
short (700 to 1,000 word) pieces on specific topics. New Restaurants in San Francisco; Gardens of Singapore;
Discount Shopping in Manhattan; Taking the Kids River Rafting in France. Sure, there will always
be a North American market for destination stories about New England, Florida, Hawaii, the Caribbean, but being able to
follow travel trends and hook your story idea to lifestyle changes is an important marketing skill.
I can almost hear you wailing, "...900 words! Travel writing needs space for that scenery, the people, the food,
the colorful markets..." You're thinking about destination articles that appear in Islands or the Smithsonian
Magazine. If you can line up that kind of work, terrific, but most of us write for bread and
butter markets that need short, tightly written travel stories. Generally, novice travel
writers start with newspapers and move up to writing for regional magazines and ultimately, for the big
dollar glossies.
Here's what else not to do: travel articles that start with the trip to the airport are almost always rejected. Another fault
in travel narratives is describing every meal, cab ride or museum. Travel writing isn't just about buildings and
landscapes, it's about people and places. Hone in on what readers can imitate in
what you did.
Target your story to the right publication or circulation market. Study where various demographic groups go for
their recreation-- beyond the obvious. Editors know that Santa Fe is hip, that spa
and spiritual retreat vacations have replaced baking on a beach, that soft adventure and
nature tours have replaced racing through six European capitals -- you need to construct a story idea and a
focus that rocks a travel editor back on his heels and appeals to the publication's readership.
For newspaper travel editors, the preferred method is to send the complete story, 800 to 1,000 words including a
short sidebar, and photos. Newspaper travel editors are more interested in your
story idea and fast paced writing style than where you've been published before. A useful
sidebar can sell your story: where to stay, eat, a range of hotels.
Travel stories with a service focus are hot right now. Easy to research because you use quotes from experts to "tell" the story.
Examples might be: taking along a pet, inter-generation travel, active/sports weekend getaways,
leaning a language during vacation. Service articles about consolidator airfares or
internet ticketing are usually written by staff, because the lead time for a freelance writer to do
the piece would render stale information.
Photos can sell your article. Send snapshots, slides, transparencies, black and white or color, but select images
that have strong contrast and distinct close-up subjects -- no sunsets, fuzzy beachscapes or minuscule shepherds on
faraway hillsides.
Think regional. Your expertise about a region or city is an asset. Offer stories about your hometown to papers and
regional magazines that view your home ground as an attractive destination. Editors will be interested in your
local expertise, so mention that in your cover letter (with completed manuscript
to newspapers) or query letter (to magazines). Don't pitch the obvious, give them an insider's perspective.
Aim for realistic markets to start. Sorry, but you're probably not going to start your freelance travel writing
career in Travel & Leisure magazine. Find your level and work your way beyond it,
using those newspaper travel clips to convince editors at magazines that you can handle
assignments on contract. If you enjoy wasting time and stamps, go ahead, send your work to the
New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly.
In the long run, you'll earn a steadier part-time income and advance your career faster if you focus on regional, trade
and special interest magazines. Find those magazines on newsstands, on the internet, on a friend's coffee table.
Almost all special interest magazines are hungry for stories with a travel focus
that addresses the magazine's stated purpose, e.g. antiques, chocolate, glass collecting,
railroading, whatever. I've even seen a travel article in the Masonry Institute Magazine -- a tour
of the great monuments of the world made of brick.
Regional magazines are another break-in travel market. Many states, cities, recreational regions put out magazines
aimed to attract tourists or promote local business. Sometimes the state economic and development
commission has a hand in producing those magazines. Local writers have an edge. Remember that regional
travel magazines come and go rapidly. Evaluate the magazine's finances carefully before sending a query or working on a
story.
How do you break in? Send a smart query about a place within the scope of the magazine's stated objective, then
follow up with a phone call and have three other ideas you can discuss casually.
Show how you know the region.
Scale back your expectations. The travel writing genre has particular stylistic demands and you probably aren't going
to hit the pages of the Los Angeles Times or New York Times first shot. Pick medium sized papers that use
freelance material. Seek out the smaller suburban papers near large urban markets. For
example, in the Washington, DC area, the Journal Newspapers and the Gazette Newspaper chains are zoned to suburban counties, but
the feature sections (Food, Travel, Arts) serve the entire region. Every week, those editors need travel articles and
weekend getaway stories.
Sometimes you can break in to a difficult market by having a story in the bottom drawer of your desk, my journalist
grandmother used to say. And it's true. A news event can make your unsold travel story suddenly timely. For
example, a story about hiking in the Italian Alps would easily sell when that ancient iceman was discovered a few
years back. Travel editors at large papers sometimes are confronted with a hole - a planned
story that didn't work out or a story pre-empted by other news events -- if they
have your story, and it fits (i.e. short enough), you could get a break.
Which brings me to another point. Submit work on many fronts. Travel writers who only have one story circulating
aren't likely to succeed. Designate some of your travel stories for self-syndication, that is, send the story to
multiple newspaper markets in non-competing circulation areas, advising the travel
editors what you are doing. If the travel article is particularly unique -- unusual subject, great
story line -- then send the piece to one paper at a time.
One last tip, you must forage for fresh ideas about the same old places. As a travel editor here at the Washington
Post told me when the "Escapes" column started five years ago, "Every travel story has been done already, we just
have to think of new ways to tell it." This translates to research or lucky finds. Dig
deeper into the historical society archives for a travel story hook. Talk to people.
Read small town papers for regional ideas you can blow into travel stories with broader appeal.
And now, I better quit, because I'm over my assigned word length!
Copyright © 2000 L. Peat O'Neil, all rights reserved.
L. Peat O'Neil is the author of "Travel Writing: A Guide to Research, Writing and Selling." A revised
paperback edition published by Writer's Digest Books is out this spring. Visit Ms.
O'Neil's website: http://www.adventuretravelwriter.com
This article originally appeared in Writing for DOLLARS!,
April, 2000. Reprinted with permission.
