Transcript The Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop

Going from Good Idea
to Sold Idea:
My Seven-Step Process
for Banking By-Lines
By Roy Stevenson
AWAI’s Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop ● Denver ● July 2009
My Story
• Sold 340 articles in less than two years
• Average of 3.7 articles/week
• How?
Step #1 : Create an Action Plan
• Plan your articles and submissions--use a
timetable
• Don’t blindly fire query letters to editors
• A “scattered” query won’t sell your article
My Action Plan
• Week 1 Pitch Running Magazines
• Week 2 Pitch Fitness Magazines & InFlights
• Week 3 Pitch Travel Magazines
• Week 4 Pitch Military Magazines & Travel
Magazines
Step #2: Diversify to Find More
Story Ideas
• Write about several different topics
• What are your passions?
– Travel & culture
– Military history & history
– Film festivals
– Running & fitness
– Food & wine
• Combine your interests and travel
• Search for magazines & e-zines that
cover these genres
Step #3: You Don’t Have to be
an Expert!
I’m not an expert on…
– Military vehicles
– Pre-1900 artillery
– Ham radio
communications
– Space radio signals
– Volcanology
– The renaissance era
– Belgian beer festivals
– Sculptures
– Champagnes
– Ghost towns
But I’ve had
articles on all
those topics
published.
How?
Consult an Expert
• Cover feature, July 2008 in Popular
Communications
– About a search-and-rescue organization
and their communications equipment
– I don’t know the difference between a
Megahertz and UHF
Consult an Expert
• Send your consultant a gift or treat them
to lunch
• I sent my military vehicle expert a $100
gift card for Barnes & Noble, for all his
hours of military vehicle ID
Co-write with an Expert
• Beers-of-the-World (U.K) magazine has
a feature about Belgium’s Top Ten Beer
Festivals in November
• I co-authored this piece with an expat
friend who is also a writer and a beer
aficionado. We got $340 each for this
article!
Step #4: Research Your Article
Before You Pitch It
• Increases your chances of getting
published
• Shows the editor you’re prepared
• You can use research information in
your query letter
• Pays off when the article is accepted
• Gives you rough notes and a paragraph
or three
Step #5: Find Magazines, Ezines
and Newspapers to Pitch
Where and how?
Magazine racks
• Check at local bookstores and
newsagents
– One of my top sources
– 34% of my successful leads came from
scouring magazine racks
• Check specialty newsagents—they
stock “freelancer friendly” magazines
Internet
• My other top source for leads
– 34% of my successful leads came from
internet searches
• Google your magazine genre
Writer’s Market
• Not my main source--only helped me
find leads for 13% of my articles…
• But you should use it
AWAI’s Weekly “Featured Pub”
• In The Right Way to Travel
• Bonnie Caton searches high and low for
e-zines and magazines
• AWAI has provided 13% of my leads so
far
Step #6: Read the Writer’s
Guidelines & the Publication
• Log on to a publication’s website to see
the Writer’s Guidelines
• Aka Submissions Guidelines
• Aka Contributor’s Guidelines
In the Guidelines, Look for…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Preferred article length
Send in completed piece or query?
The tone of their articles
The style of their articles
Payment details
The right contact person
How to pitch (mail or email)
Format for submitting manuscript (disk,
email, post)
• Photos/captions details
No Writer’s Guidelines?
• You’ll have to fly blind…
• BUT indicate you’ll be flexible
• Write to whatever suggestions the editor
makes
Study the Publication
•
•
•
•
•
•
Average article length
Number of articles each issue
Topics covered in the last 6-12 months
Distribution of short vs. long articles
Illustrations and photos
Advertisers
Study the Publication
• Who writes the articles? Freelancers or
staff?
• A variety of bylines suggests many
freelancers
• Start small – the thick glossies pay well
but can be difficult to crack
Step #7: Pitch Your Story
• Send out a blizzard of query emails and
letters
• The more queries you send out, the more
articles you’ll have published
• Don’t be afraid to pitch any magazine,
ezine or newspaper
• Don’t be put off by rejections
Use Multiple Submissions (send the
same idea to more than one editor)
• Example - One of my distribution lists:
Notes
Sent To
www.writersdigest.com Maria Schneider,
Editor, Writer’s
Digest
$300-$500 for features.
Features 600-3500
words.
Roundup approach—
military mags?
Freelance success.
Circ. 22,000
UK
The Writer
Magazine
Contact Details
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Sarah Lange,
Associate Editor,
Freelance Success
articles 160 words
Leon Ogroski,
Editor, Writer’s
Journal
[email protected]
Mary Gannon,
Editor, Poets &
Writers Magazine
[email protected]
Jonathan Telfer,
Editor, Writing
Magazine &
Writer’s News
Magazine
[email protected]
How to Manage Multiple
Submissions
• What do you do if several editors want
your article?
– Explain the situation honestly to the editor
– Have a back-up idea (closely related to your
original story)
How to Manage Multiple
Submissions
• What if you’re sure more than one editor
will want your piece?
– pitch slightly different topics or variations of
the original story
– Example: I frequently sell articles to running
magazines, then change them slightly and sell
them to triathlon, fitness & health magazines.
– In fact, I select most of my topics with this in
mind.
How to Squeeze the Most Out of
Your Articles
• Submit to publications whose circulations
don’t overlap
– regional magazines
– overseas magazines
– Newspapers
• Resell your article after it’s been
published. I recently sold an article about
avoiding skin damage to 12 magazines for
a total of $1900!
How to Squeeze the Most Out of
Your Articles
• I recently sold an article to a regional
lifestyle/travel magazine about Roche Harbor
Resort on San Juan island for $500
– I then sold it to another regional magazine for
$550 (including Photos)
– I then sold it to 3 yachting magazines for $350
– Total = $1400 for one article!
• I frequently sell the same running article for
$1500 to several different magazines around
the world
How to Deal with Rejection
• Why does a story get rejected?
– They may have recently run something similar
– It might not fit their guidelines/needs
• Don’t get discouraged
Four Lessons I’ve Learned
in the Last Two Years…
# 1: Be Persistent
• For me, it’s led to many new assignments
and repeat business
– Example: Classic Military Vehicles didn’t want to
pay for some museum reviews. I offered to write
them for free. They said $50 was the best they
could do. I wrote 4 reviews… and now have 2
more feature articles.
• If you can’t sell your story idea to
magazines in one genre, try another.
#2: Keep expanding within your
genres and locale
• Aim for many magazines in a genre or region
– I’ll give an article for free if it has sold well
elsewhere
• Boosts my bylines
• Makes selling my stories to other editors easier
• Example: Northwest Travel, Ultimate Northwest,
South Sound, Mid-Columbian, Columbia Gorge,
Kitsap Sun, Sunday Oregonian, Southern
Oregon -- all in the Pacific Northwest
# 3: Pitch Increasingly Bigger
Publications
• Recent breakthroughs for me have
included:
– Scotland, Cruising World, Blue Water Sailing,
Renaissance, Men’s Fitness, Fitness Rx For
Women, Women’s Health & Fitness
(Australia),Tennis View, The Writer, Classic
Arms & Militaria (U.K.).
# 4: Story Ideas Are Everywhere
• On a trip to England last year:
– Came up with15 story ideas
– Have sold 6 so far
Three Reference Books I’ve
Found Useful
1. Getting Stared as A Freelance Writer-Robert Bly
2. The Well-Fed Writer--Peter Bowerman
3. Sell and Resell Your Magazine
Articles--Gordon Burgett
Thank you.