The Article First

Article First:

The advantages of coming up with your travel writing article idea first is the freedom and creativity it gives you. When you are researching your next great trip, keep a notebook by you and jot down all travel writing article ideas that come up. Then, develop these travel writing articles into full travel writing magazine article ideas. From here, you can look for a travel writing publication that matches your travel writing idea. Approaching travel writing queries this way allows for more travel writing articles to be developed, pitched and possibly sold.

However, this also means you have to search for a travel writing publication who’s needs match your travel writing idea. In other words, you may find yourself trying to fit a travel writing article into a market that doesn’t completely work. Or, you may even take yourself out of the market if no travel writing publication matches your travel writing idea. Coming up with the travel writing article idea first can lead to you trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Ultimately it is the travel writing publication that is in control, not your travel writing idea. They know what they need to sell – and your travel writing idea better fit into this framework or it will remain nothing more than a travel writing idea.

Next week at Klenske, Ink. – Putting the travel writing publication first.

What Comes First, The Story or the Publication?

There are two ways to approach querying a magazine for your travel writing, and both have their advantages and disadvantages.

First, you can start with the travel writing story. You traveled somewhere, or are about to travel somewhere, and you have a great travel writing article idea to pitch to a travel writing magazine. You study the travel writing markets, make a list of possible travel writing publications to pitch your travel writing article to, draft a careful query and send it off.

The second option for getting your travel writing published is to target a specific travel writing magazine you would like to break into. With this approach, you focus on one or two specific travel writing magazines that you want to see your byline in. Next, you carefully study these publications to get a clear understanding of the style of travel writing articles they want. Then you brainstorm and develop a travel writing article idea to pitch to them.

Although the end is the same in both of these approaches – namely to get your travel writing published – the means are different. Essentially, this difference comes down to whether or not the story finds the magazine or the magazine leads to the travel writing story. The advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches to selling your travel writing will be discussed further in next week’s posting, so stay tuned to Klenske, Ink.…