It’s difficult to sell stories after you travel. Instead, travel writers should snag assignment letters in advance. Additionally, I believe in preselling as many travel articles as possible.
Here’s How to Presell Your Travel Stories Before You Travel
1.Select destinations that interest you.
Destinations you’re passionate about will provide plenty of story ideas. You’ll enjoy doing your research before the trip, and the trip itself will be more enjoyable. I often turn down invitations for press trips to destinations that aren’t appealing. I know what I write best.
2. Research your destinations.
Use the Internet and guidebooks to read about the place in advance. You’ll naturally generate, identify, and presell more story ideas.
3. Remember where you’ve already published.
Think, “Could I match up this destination with any of my outlets?” They already know your work.
4. Write query letters and fire them out to appropriate publications and websites ahead of time.
5. Once you’ve landed several assignments, contact the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) at the destination. Tell them about your assignments and politely request their assistance with your itinerary, transport, meals, accommodations, complimentary entry to attractions, and guides.
Here’s an example: The Boneyard, Tucson, Arizona.
My wife and I wanted to go someplace warm and sunny one winter to escape the Seattle rain. We brainstormed where we wanted to go, and I said I’d like to see The Boneyard, in Tucson, Arizona.
The Boneyard is an enormous US Air Force outdoor storage facility in Tucson, with more than 4,000 aircraft. I knew I could sell an article about this place. I queried an aviation magazine that had previously published a couple of my stories and got my first assignment for this destination.
My wife researched things to do around Tucson and found a free guide, “100 Things to Do Around Tucson” on their tourism website. Through this listing we learned about Bisbee and Tombstone, mining towns with an interesting history. I remembered an outlet for these, Lost Treasure Magazine, with readers who enjoy searching for precious metals, visiting ghost towns, and learning about mining history. I pitched these stories and got two more assignments.
I also discovered that Fort Huachuca, near the Mexican Border, had several on-base museums about signals and communications, so I pitched that story to a ham radio magazine I’d written for, Popular Communications, and got that assignment too.
Then, I found out that a new resort was opening near Tombstone and pitched that idea to an online travel magazine, GoNomad.com, and they committed to that story.
So, with a day’s research and a flurry of query letters (which took two weeks), I had five solid “Letters Of Assignment.”
Armed with these assignments, I approached the Tucson and Cochise County Convention & Visitors’ Bureaus. They came up with a 12-day customized itinerary for us, including accommodations, most meals, and guided tours and complimentary entry to the various tourist attractions.
It was a memorable trip and we were able to escape the rainy Seattle winter for a couple of weeks. We saw all the attractions needed for the articles, plus a few things we wanted to do for fun.
I delivered the articles, which pleased the CVB media reps and our hosts, and I’ve been invited back to Arizona twice more on press trips. We’ve used this formula dozens of times in several countries and had marvelous travel experiences.
When you produce multiple assignments, the CVBs will want to work with you to ensure your trip goes well and you have what you need to write good stories.
The CVBs know their region intimately. Once they get familiar with you and understand the types of articles you write, they will even suggest places to visit that you might not know about. This usually results in more story ideas to pitch once you’re back home.
You will not get assignments for every story angle you pitch. Even with my acceptance rate of 90 percent, some story ideas are rejected. The idea is to fire out as many queries on different story ideas to as many magazines as you can. It’s a shotgun approach, and should work as nicely for you as it does for me.
BIO – Freelance travel writer Roy Stevenson has had more than 1,000 articles published in 200+ regional, national, and international magazines, newspapers, trade journals, custom publications, specialty magazines, in-flights, on-boards, and online travel magazines. He’s considered one of the most prolific travel writers in the U.S.A. You can read Roy’s bio and see some samples of his work at his writer’s website, www.Roy-Stevenson.com
He produces a free weekly newsletter for aspiring travel writers. It’s considered one of the most informative e-zines in the travel writing business. http://www.pitchtravelwrite.com/pitchtravelwrite-ezine.html
