How to be a Travel Writer

by Don George

  Magazine sections

  In the trade, the three parts of a magazine are called the ‘front-of-the-book’, the ‘well’ or ‘middle-of-the-book’, and the ‘back-of-the-book’.

  The front-of-the-book refers to the section of the magazine that appears between the table of contents and the feature stories. In this section, along with all the advertisements, you’ll find snappy reports of hot hotels, spas, restaurants, bars or boutiques that are just opening in a major city; new galleries or museums; inventive and useful new travel products; and noteworthy news such as a major museum moving to a new location or a change in a venue’s status – a new owner, new chef or multimillion-dollar renovation. Slightly longer pieces might include destination news updates or issues-oriented reports.

  The well, or middle-of-the-book, is where you’ll find the juicy 2500–4000-word feature articles illustrated by lavish photographs. These are the high-profile stories that sell the magazine each month.

  The back-of-the-book is reserved for promotions, a few round-up pieces and classified advertisements.

  The best way to break into magazines is to start off by writing front-of- the-book stories. Some publications require proposals for these; others are happy to read the entire piece (after all, the proposal may be as long as the piece) – usually this will be spelled out in the contributor guidelines. These days the path to magazine writing success most often proceeds this way: you write a few of these front-of-the-book pieces, get your name published in the magazine, establish a relationship with an editor at the publication and lay the groundwork for further, possibly larger, commissions. You do these well and, after a year or two, you start working on a ‘favored-writer’ basis, which eventually results in a big middle-of-the-book feature. You do that well, and you’re on your way. Many successful writers have followed this exact path to develop working relationships with different magazines. Never underestimate the power of the front-of-the-book story.

  As front-of-the-book stories generally run from only 150 to 300 words, it’s important to remember that the subject has to be just right. You have to hit the bullseye with your proposal or story, so it’s essential to study the front-of-the-book pieces closely to see what the editor is looking for. Unfortunately, it’s harder to write 250 words than 2500 words. Every single word has to pull its own weight, yet you need to use zingy language and precise, colorful details to convey some feeling for your subject and still get the essential information across. The answer is to edit, edit and edit some more.

  Another point to keep in mind is that it’s never too early to pitch a story to a national magazine. Editors know about most significant tourism developments before they even break ground. Don’t wait until that great new resort or museum opens to propose a story on it; pitch your piece as soon as the plans are announced. Otherwise you’re likely to be told, ‘Oh yes, we know all about that. We’ve already commissioned it.’

  Pitching to magazines

  Magazines are usually published monthly, which means there are far fewer pages to fill each year in comparison with newspapers. However, there are literally thousands of magazines out there. As with newspapers, preferences for how to receive submissions vary from publication to publication and even from editor to editor. Check the magazine’s contributor guidelines.

  Pitching a story to a US magazine is done by writing a query letter. The query letter is your foot in the door, and as such it’s your chance to impress the editor with your perceptiveness and your prose. In the UK, pitching a story to a magazine is a very similar process to pitching to a newspaper (see pages 80–3).

  However, there are some critical differences between the two types of publications to bear in mind before you start shaping and submitting a proposal or story.

  Writer’s tip: The new indie travel mags

  Perhaps as a kind of backlash to the throwaway nature of much online content, a new breed of periodicals has emerged, sometimes quirky, sometimes self-consciously intellectual, usually style-obsessed and always finely crafted (mostly in vegetable inks by a local printer).

  It’s hard not to dub Ernest Journal (www.ernestjournal.co.uk) ‘hipster travel’ when it describes itself as being ‘for those of us who appreciate a craft gin cocktail as much as a hearty one-pot supper’. The new indie travel mags are as much about sensibility as subject – for Ernest, the subjects include slow adventure, workmanship and wild food – and if you have an affinity with the feel, they could be the perfect market for your writing.

  Some magazines are doing something quite radically different. Boat (www.boat-mag.com) is a ‘nomadic’ travel magazine that gathers a team of talented writers and photographers for each issue, moves them en masse to the city they’re featuring in that issue, and covers their food, travel and living costs for five weeks (in lieu of payment) as they live together and create the content. Collective Quarterly (www.collectivequarterly.com) does a similar thing for regions of the USA.

  Another Escape (anotherescape.com) is a beautifully photographed and designed publication going deeper than your traditional travel magazine, covering outdoor lifestyle, creative culture and sustainable living. It ranks high on the ‘intellectual’ side of the scale. Lighter Smith Journal (www.smithjournal.com.au), an Australia-based quarterly, welcomes submissions for unexpected, interesting, funny and complicated stories, including ones that fit the ‘travel’ genre, told with irreverence and style. Its crafty, girly counterpart Frankie (www.frankie.com.au) does too.

  Lead times

  Magazines work much further in advance than newspapers. Printers’ and distributors’ deadlines often dictate that the final page proofs are signed off a month before the edition hits the streets. As a result, most magazines have a much longer planning horizon than newspapers – some editors know the main ingredients of their magazines up to 12 months in advance, and most close their editorial pages three months before the date on the cover; for example, the contents of the April issue will have been finished in December/January. If you want to write an article with a Christmas angle, for example, you’ll want to submit your proposal in February or March.

  Because of these long lead times, it isn’t a good idea to base an article around a subject that is highly topical at the time you’re writing, since it won’t be current by the time the magazine appears on the shelves. The reason that magazines appear to be up to date when we buy them is because their writers have become adept at predicting and anticipating travel trends.

  Keep these timelines in mind when proposing time-sensitive stories, and don’t be late with your proposal. The best rule of thumb is to send in your proposal as soon as it is finished; if you’re writing about a once-a-year festival, the editor will determine when they want to publish it. Many magazines produce an annual editorial calendar that outlines the specific themes they will be focusing on, month by month; for example, March might be the Cruise issue, June the America issue, and November the Islands issue. As with newspapers, this schedule helps advertising salespeople target potential advertisers. This doesn’t mean that an entire issue will be given over to a designated subject, but it does mean that the editors will be producing a substantial package of articles based on that theme. If a magazine you’re interested in has such an editorial calendar (they all should), request a copy and propose stories based on the relevant monthly themes as far in advance as possible.

  Writer’s tip: Think local

  Front-of-the-book stories offer an excellent opportunity to write about your local area. Keep your eyes and ears open, use your social networks, join a few local travel industry-related mailing lists to ensure that you know what’s coming up in your region. And remember, a story that seems well known to you may be intriguing news to an editor at a publication in another part of the country or world.

  Photography

  Magazine publishing has a strong photographic component. At its most extreme this could mean that a magazine might turn down your piece on the best choices for changing money because
it just isn’t interesting visually. They might also reject a good story because the photography will be too expensive (words are cheap in comparison with the photo shoots that are needed for magazines such as Condé Nast Traveler).

  Simultaneous submissions

  It is virtually impossible – and definitely not recommended – to send simultaneous queries (that is, copies of exactly the same query letter) to more than one magazine. Your proposal should be closely tailored to fit an individual magazine, and if you are successful, the magazine will be buying exclusive North American Rights (if you’re pitching in the USA). It is absolutely fine to propose quite different stories from the same trip to non-competing publications (a story on open-air markets for Saveur, a hotel review for Travel + Leisure and an adventure narrative for Outside, for example), but you should not propose the same or similar stories to editorially competing publications.

  Presenting your pitch

  Professional presentation is all-important when sending in proposals and submissions. The content must be logically set out, legible and neatly presented. It sounds obvious, but it’s crucial that you spell the editor’s name correctly. It’s also vital to ensure that your grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct throughout, as obvious errors and sloppy presentation can lead to a knee-jerk rejection.

  Don’t try to use fancy fonts or fussy design elements; just present your story in a simple, clean manner, with ample margins (one inch is fine unless otherwise specified in the contributor guidelines). Some magazines prefer that you double-space your article submissions; again, check the contributor guidelines.

  If you are submitting a completed story, include on the first page: the title (which in most cases will not be the title used if the story is published); your name and contact information (address, home and cell phone numbers, and email address); and word count. On subsequent pages, type your surname; one word identifying your story; and the page number (e.g., George/Delos – 2) in the upper right-hand corner of each page. For the sake of clarity, write ‘The End’ at the conclusion of the story.

  Your query letter should be no longer than one page and should propose no more than three article ideas. It should be a pithy, provocative and compelling condensation of your story, illustrating how well you know the magazine you’re pitching to, how vividly you can bring your particular idea to life, and why you are particularly suited to writing the best story on this topic. Your letter should always include details of any experience or expertise you might have that distinguishes you from other writers. It can also help to enclose copies of your previously published articles (known as ‘clips’) – especially any articles that are similar in style, subject or tone to the one you’re proposing, and that have appeared in reputable publications.

  When writing your pitch, it’s vital to keep in mind everything you have learned about the publication you are targeting. What kind of tone, angle and subject do they prefer? In addition, think about what might actually help to sell the magazine – most editors will tell you that writers rarely give this all-important aspect any thought, proposing stories that interest them rather than stories that interest a particular publication’s readership.

  Addressing your pitch

  You’ll find a listing of a magazine’s editorial staff on the publication’s masthead, usually a couple of pages into the magazine (these details are often also available on the magazine’s website). The best practice is to write to an editor three or four rungs from the top of the editorial ladder – this person’s title will usually be articles editor, features editor, senior editor or travel editor. If you are unsure which editor to write to, address your submission to the editor-in-chief or managing editor, who will pass it on to their assistant to assess.

  After the pitch

  If you haven’t heard back from a magazine after two months, send a follow-up note to check that the editor received your piece, and ask about its status. In as nice a way as possible, mention that if you don’t hear something in the next month you’ll assume that the editor is not interested and you’ll send your proposal elsewhere. If you don’t hear anything in the next month, just move on to the next publication. (Of course, you will probably have to rework your proposal in order to fit that next publication.)

  When you do hear back from the magazine, the response will be either a rejection or acceptance.

  Provisional acceptance

  A magazine acceptance will take one of two forms: a provisional acceptance or a commission. In the UK, provisional acceptances are rare, since British magazines usually use writers who are known to them and who are respected in the industry to write their big stories – which is why it is recommended that you break into magazine publishing by writing front-of-the-book pieces.

  In the USA, if an editor is unfamiliar with your work but intrigued by your idea – or familiar with your work and tempted by but not quite convinced about your idea – they may ask you to write the article without a guarantee that it will be published. The editor will go over the approach, length and deadline of the story with you, but will not offer you a firm contract. This is still an excellent opportunity and you should follow through on it.

  Sample US magazine query letter

  Here is a query letter I sent to the articles editor of the US magazine Signature, which resulted in a feature assignment:

  Dear Ms Shipman

  Every month Signature presents a mix of stories that takes readers beneath the surface and behind the scenes of countries and cultures around the world. One subject that I have not yet seen covered in your magazine – and that I think would intrigue and enrich Signature’s readers – is a new travel option in Kyoto, Japan: travelers can now spend the night at a Buddhist temple in the heart of the city. In marked contrast to staying at a hotel, spending the night in a temple can open up entirely new aspects – and bestow an entirely new appreciation – of this ancient capital.

  I know this firsthand because I recently spent an exhilarating night at Myokenji Temple, about 20 minutes from Kyoto’s main train station. This night was the highlight of my two-week journey through Japan this spring, and I would like to write about it for Signature.

  The article I have in mind would focus on my own experience at the temple: I would describe first impressions of the clean, serene space; a meeting with the koan-quoting, baseball-loving head monk; a glorious evening encounter on the temple’s grounds, when the past seemed to spring to life; and an enlightening immersion in incense and chants at a pre-dawn service the following morning.

  This little-known alternative is open to all travelers, and I would detail the practicalities as well as the poetry of a temple stay, telling readers exactly how to arrange such a visit, and how to behave at the temple itself.

  My own experience in Japan is extensive. I lived in Tokyo in 1977–9 and have visited the country every two years since. I have written about Japan for a variety of publications, including the San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle and Winds magazine, and I speak Japanese fluently. (This is not necessary to enjoy the temple experience, however.)

  Thank you for considering this article proposal. I look forward to hearing from you.

  Working on commission

  This is what every writer hopes for. If an editor is convinced that they want to buy your story, they’ll contact you by phone or email and discuss the story with you, then send you a contract with a cover or commissioning letter. If the editor doesn’t send you a follow-up letter, it’s a good idea to request one. The letter will reiterate what the editor went over with you: the angle and approach your story should take, the length, your deadline and your fee.

  Make sure that your deadline is reasonable, given the amount of research and writing you’ll need to do and any other dictates of your personal schedule; it’s far better to negotiate the deadline at the beginning of the process than to have to ask for an extension at the end. The contract will reconfirm the subject, length and deadline; the rights the magazine is purchasing; the f
ee to be paid for the article; the amount of expenses (if any) you will be reimbursed for; and the kill fee you will be paid if the article is not published.

  When you score a commission, the real work has just begun. Your obligation and goal is to give the magazine what the editor wants. Every article is a compromise between the writer and the editor, but remember that in this relationship, the editor holds the final power to publish or reject your piece. So take the editor’s guidance very seriously.

  If you find that your story is deviating from what you had agreed upon, call the editor and talk it over. Don’t surprise the editor by turning in a story that is completely different from the one they are expecting. The editing process may go smoothly or bumpily, but either way, your job is to work with the editor to make it as smooth as possible. If an editor asks for a major rewrite, make sure you understand why, and what changes the editor is looking for. Occasionally, an editor may ask for so many changes or so drastic a rewrite that you simply can’t agree. In this situation you have the right to say you’re not going to do the story after all, but this should be a truly last-case scenario. You’ll forfeit the money you were supposed to be paid (including the kill fee and any expenses you may have been promised) and also effectively squander any chance of working with that editor again.