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Gifted Hands Writing will Write The Only Resume You Will Need to Land a New Job
Looking for a new
job in this recession, when so many are losing jobs? Your resume can
make or break your job hunt search. E-mail us at info@giftedhandswriting.com and we will write
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Greetings!
Travel writing can offer you a
full or side income, depending on how hard you are willing to work at
it.
With the economic downturns, people are
not traveling as much. However, this is the time to get creative with
your travel writing ideas. Apart from destination type of articles, you
can also write about food, fashion, spa living, healing, and art and
crafts.
The January newsletter shares the income
potential of travel writing, its myths, 50+ great sites that want to
publish your travel writing, and reveals the best single resource
that you need to get started as a travel writer, which is Writer's Market.
We are also offering a special resume
writing service for $10. If you are looking for a new job during this
reccession, send us an e-mail
and we can write your resume and deliver it within two days.
Thank you for being a loyal member of Gifted Hands
Writing and please
recommend our site to your friends. Let us know that you did,
and you qualify for a free 2009 scenic calendar or
book.
Preethi Burkholder, President
Contact: info@giftedhandswriting.com
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Writer's Market- Where and
How to Sell your Travel Articles
For years and years, I felt "off track," trying to find a home
for my travel articles. I didn't know how to contact magazines and no one
was there to guide me at the time. I browsed through magazines in the
grocery store or looked at old copies of magazines at the nursing home
where I used to work at the time. Often, the editorial contact
information was not given in the hard copy of the magazine. Even though I
wrote articles and mailed them, for about three yeas, nothing got
published.
I never gave up though.
One day, I got a call. It was from one of the places I had mailed an
article to. The caller was a seventy year old retired editor. I was
a graduate student at Tufts University, MA, at the time. She said,
"Honey, all you need is just one book to find a market for your
writing: Writer's Market."
She was right. And that was all the guidance that I needed. Writer's Market exploded writing opportunities for me.
Today I am the author of four books and over five hundred travel
articles. All this was made possible thanks to Writer's Market. Thank you also, to that kind lady, who
shared her information with me. It cost her nothing, except a good heart.
I wish someone else has steered me towards Writer's Market right from the start.
Remember though -simply owning a copy of Writer's Market does not assure you success as a travel
writer. Keeping it on the shelf and looking at it is not the answer.
Using the Writer's Market begins when you actually open it and explore each and every
entry that is relevant to your interests. Visit their websites, pitch
your ideas to editors, write queries, and when your ideas get rejected,
use them as stepping stones.
Here is a sample listing of a travel magazine taken from Writer's Market:
ISLANDS Magazine
World Publications, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park FL 32789. (407) 628-4802. E-mail: storyideas@islands.com Website: www.islands.com Editorial Director:: Ty
Sawyer. Associate Editor: Adrienne Egolf. Photo Editor: Lori Barbely. 80%
freelance written. Magazine published 8 times/year. "We cover
accessible and once in a lifetime islands from many different
perspectives; travel, culture, lifestyle. We ask our authors to give us
the essence of the island and do it with literary flair." Estab.
1981. Circ: 220,000. Pays on publication. Publishes ms an average of 8
months after acceptance. Byline given. Offers 25% kill fee. Buys all
rights. Accepts queries by mail, e-mail, fax. Responds in 2 months to
queries; 6 weeks to mss. Sample copy for $6. Writer's guidelines for #10
SASE or online.
Note: "A freelancer can best break in to our publication with front
or back-of-the-book stories. It's rare that we will use a writer new to
us for a feature story or column. We would consider it in certain
circumstances, but would want to see the manuscript on spec.
Nonfiction: Book excerpts, essays, general interest, interview/profile,
photo feature. Travel, service shorts, island-related material. Buys 25
feature mss/year. Query with published clips or send complete ms. Length:
2,000-4,000 words. Pays $75-$2,500. Sometimes pays expenses of writers on
assignment.
Photos: "Fine color photography is a special attraction for Islands,
and we look for superb composition, technical quality, and editorial applicapability.
Will not accept or be responsible for unsolicited images or
artwork.
Columns/Departments: Discovers section (island related news), 100-600
words; Island life (travel experiences that illuminate culture),
700-1,000 words; Adventure (things to do), 800 words. Buys 50mss/year.
Query with published clips. Pays $25-$1,000.
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Earning a Living
as a Travel Writer
Travel writing is an art, not a special
talent. It is a skill that allows one to make a living from anywhere in
the world. Travel writing can be a money earner for people who like to
travel, who read about other places, and who have the motivation to earn
dollars for writing about places. You don't have to be a globe trotter to
become a successful travel writer. All you need to have is the desire to
write about travel and the stamina to work hard towards meeting your
goals.
Too many individuals mistake travel
writing for destination-type of articles only. This is misleading. The
genre of travel writing covers a broad spectrum of topics. These include
destinations, people, food, sports, fashion, décor, spa living, arts and
crafts, architecture, and more.
Should you be going to all five continents
every year in order to be a successful travel writer? Absolutely not. In
some cases, there are travel writers who make a decent income of $30,000
a year by never leaving the premises of their town. You can write
articles about your hometown, about a specific craft, local community
news and similar topics that don't require traveling.
The type of income you can make as a
travel writer varies. With the current economic downturn, people are not
traveling as much. As a result, hotels, restaurants, and tourist
destinations are seeing fewer visitors. Nevertheless, the travel industry
is not dead. There are ways to earn an income even during these tough
times.
Typically, a travel writer can make
between $25,000 - $60,000 a year, although some individuals may disagree
with these figures. This is not a standard figure but an estimate. Of
course, the more successful writers go on to make $200,000 a year or
more, depending on the magazines they cover and the scope of their
assignments. Realistically, these high income travel writing jobs are
difficult to secure, especially during bleak economic times like now.
How to Get Started as a Travel Writer...
If you have never been published, one of
your first questions maybe, 'how do I get started?' It all starts with an
idea. Pitch a topic to an editor. See if it sparks an interest. Sometimes
it may take a while to find a home for your topic but persistence is key.
Always keep records of the articles you publish. Once you get the first
article published, use that as a springboard for the second. Initially,
don't get picky about payments. Try to build your portfolio and establish
yourself as a writer.
The easiest and least expensive way to
have your travel articles published is to focus on writing about where
you live, then submit your story ideas or finished pieces to local
newspapers and magazines.
Contracts for writing a guidebook vary
greatly between publishers, with potential returns that are usually poor
and occasionally good. Payment is either via royalties or work-for-hire
(set fee). Many outside the guidebook writing world would be very
surprised at how little some of the better known publishers pay their
writers.
Some magazines like National Geographic
send writers and photographers on paid assignments. They pay well, most
of the time. These are hard to get but nevertheless, possible.
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Myths of Being a Travel Writer
Travel writing has its ups and downs - like most other professions. It
can be a difficult life, but if you enjoy it, it can be a rewarding life.
Here are some myths on travel writing.
Myth #1: Travel Writers are Millionaires
I don't know of any travel writer as of yet, who earns millions every
month through travel writing alone. If they do, they make an income from
a combination of sources to arrive at that million dollar figure.
Some people make a full time living as a travel writer, but they are a
minority. It can also be a long road to arrive at that point. In my case,
I write travel articles, but I also have a full time job on the side that
helps to support my living expenses.
Myth #2: Travel Writing Articles Pay Really Well
With the economic downturn, the pay at travel magazines and the types of
assignments given, have suffered considerably. Rates for a 500-word
article range from $10 to $1,000, the latter being for a seasoned writer
doing a story for a Travel and Leisure type publication. The bulk of freelance pieces pay between
$25 and $200. Big features and cover stories pay more, of course, but
those plum assignments don't come down the pike until you've forged a
long-term relationship with the editor or have become famous.
Myth #3: A destination is a story
Many aspiring travel writers feel that telling an editor they are heading
off to some certain spot on the other side of the globe will result in an
enthusiastic invitation to write about it. What's more, they assume that
many magazines will want to pay big bucks to cover the expenses of the
trip.
Don't assume just going somewhere is a reason to write an article. You'd
better find a good story angle. Also, finding a market for your travel
articles takes time and a lot of hard work. Wherever you are going, you
need to think like a journalist and dig for something an editor will find
refreshing.
Myth #4: All your expenses will be covered
Ads for travel writing courses and workshops love to talk about "all
expenses paid," but this is a rare event for most freelance travel
writers. Yes, resorts and tourists bureaus often invite press people to
come visit, with some or all expenses paid, but the key word is
"invite." If you're managing editor of Islands magazine, you'll
get more invitations than you can possibly use. But that type of
exclusive jobs are rare.
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Dear Friend,
Thank you for your membership. Please
recommend our site to others. If you like to see certain areas of
writing that we have not covered, we'd like to hear about it.
Thank you also for the 16 new members
who signed up in January '09.
Enjoy the month of January!
Preethi Burkholder
Contact: info@giftedhandswriting.com
Website: www.giftedhandswriting.com
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