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| Practice
and have fun...
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Each publication will handle the query process
in their own way. In general, magazines like to have clippings
of any stories you may have published as well as the story
angle you are proposing. Again, the easier it is for the
editor, the more chances you have of getting a response.
Editors need to have confidence in you and that needs
to radiate off the page since it may be the first time
they have heard from you.
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Writing what you know makes you the expert.
Your own backyard is interesting to someone, somewhere.
And who better to write about Banff National Park than
someone who lives and works there. Ditto, if you are are,
for example, a weaver. Imagine the interesting article
you could write about the wonderful woven goods in the
markets of Guatemala.
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Travelling free is sometimes possible if
you are the writer chosen for a familiarization trip or
if you are convincing enough to get the tourist authority
to pay for your expenses in exchange for a story. Again,
have your great angles ready. You will also be asked for
clippings of your work. However, if you are both professional
and organized in your approach, they may agree to help
finance your trip without proof of publication. But beware,
word travels fast if you take free trips and don't publish.
Your free travel will end very abruptly if you don't follow
through on your end of the bargain.
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Like any skill, writing takes
practice and dedication . Travelling as a writer is very
different from travelling as a traveller. You must learn
to record the sights, sounds and smells of a country.
Your reader wants to feel like she is travelling alongside
you. |
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What really caught
your eye in a bustling Vietnam market? Have you ever tried
to describe the sound of the ever-present wind on a mountain
top or to write about the wonderful aromas wafting from
the kitchen in an out-of-the-way Italian trattoria? |
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Finally, organization is
key to making money as a freelancer. Successful, full
time freelancers have an extensive database of potential
markets for their stories. Do your research, too. Start
building a database of your own. Getting your story
into multiple publications is the way to see a return
on your travel investment. Happy writing! |
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| She
reads more about writing...
Here are several book
titles dealing with the art of travel writing. Perhaps one
of them will serve as the catalyst -- that extra push to help
you put your Journeywoman experiences down on paper. You go,
girls!
Teach Yourself
Travel Writing by Cynthia Dial
How to Make
a Living As a Travel Writer by Susan Farewell
Travel Writing by Louisa Peat O'Neil (Paperback)
The Travel Writer's Handbook by Louise Purwin
Zobel (Paperback)
Travel Writer's Guide by
Gordon Burgett (Paperback)
2003 Writer's Market
by Katie Struckel Brogan (Editor), Robert Brewer (Editor)
(Paperback) |
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| Women's
words on being a writer...
Everybody can write; writers
can't do anything else.
(Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1963)
Writing is the only thing
that...when I'm doing it,
I don't feel that I should be doing something else, instead.
(Gloria Steinem, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions,
1983)
I write in the first person
because I have always wanted to make my life more interesting
than it is.
(Diane Wakoski, Trilogy, 1974)
The role of the writer
is not to say what we can all say,
but what we are unable to say.
(Anais
Nin, The Diary of Anais Nin, 1974)
 Making
a decision to write was a lot like
deciding to jump into a frozen lake.
(Maya Angelou, Black Women Writers, 1984)
If the thought of taking
off all your clothes
in the middle of the Washington Mall during a school holiday
makes you blush,
you haven't even begun to dream what it feels like to publish
a book.
(Nancy Mairs, Voice Lessons, 1994) |
If you enjoyed this article,
we're sure you'll like, Her
Travel Journal -- Her Great Memories just as much...
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