Writing Travel Books and Articles

by Cropp, Richard; Braidwood, Barbara; Boyce, Susan M.

• ISBN13: 9781551801049
• ISBN10: 1551801043
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-08-01
• Publisher: Self Counsel Pr

Summary

-- Travel for Free -- Written by travel industry experts -- Go where you want to go...when you want to If you love to travel and have a way with words, travel writing could be your perfect opportunity! Offering guaranteed job satisfaction and cheap or free travel, travel writing has many fringe benefits -- getting behind-the-scenes information, achieving recognition as an expert, and traveling to your favorite destinations as often as you wish are just a few. This complete guide is ideal for the novice writer, but also is full of helpful tips for the experienced travel writer.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii	(2)
Introduction	xv
1 Starting out	1	(10)
a. Word slave willing to work for free, have computer, will travel...	2	(1)
b. Think small	3	(1)
c. Think business	3	(1)
d. Educate yourself	4	(1)
e. Volunteer	4	(1)
f. Read voraciously	5	(1)
g. Make your livelihood relevant	5	(1)
h. Think creatively	5	(1)
i. Getting rid of that empty mailbox syndrome	6	(1)
j. Internet publishing	6	(2)
k. Starting a newsletter or a magazine	8	(2)
l. Buying a byline	10	(1)
2 Categories, classifications, and other capers	11	(7)
a. Categories of travel writing	11	(2)
b. Market categories	13	(2)
c. The four elements of travel articles	15	(3)
3 A thousand and one ideas	18	(9)
a. Traveling doesn't have to be foreign -- developing the opportunities in your own backyard	18	(2)
b. Brainstorming	20	(2)
c. One picture can generate 1,000 words	22	(5)
4 The writing process -- from inspiration to creation	27	(13)
a. Anatomy of an outline	27	(2)
b. Great beginnings -- how the west is won or lost	29	(4)
c. The middle	33	(5)
d. The ending	38	(2)
5 Photo finish	40	(21)
a. Your first and only technical lesson	41	(1)
b. Features to die for	42	(1)
c. Don't shop 'till you drop	43	(2)
d. The right lens	45	(2)
e. Filters	47	(1)
f. Film	48	(1)
g. Camera protection	49	(1)
h. Before you leave home, and on the road	50	(1)
i. The perfect picture	50	(3)
j. Your safety and your camera	53	(1)
k. Which photos to send with your article?	54	(1)
l. Submitting your photos	54	(1)
m. Other ways to get photos for your articles	55	(2)
n. Getting permission	57	(4)
6 Before, during, and after -- develop your game plan	61	(17)
a. Before you go	61	(7)
b. You're on your way -- making the most of your travels	68	(8)
c. You're home -- tidying up the loose ends	76	(2)
7 Free trips	78	(15)
a. What to say	79	(1)
b. To call or to write?	79	(1)
c. The proposal	80	(2)
d. Who ya gonna call? -- Finding the right contact	82	(1)
e. The players	82	(2)
f. How hard can it be?	84	(2)
g. Press trips	86	(1)
h. The independent itinerary	87	(1)
i. Family and friends	88	(1)
j. Ethics and the bad trip	88	(3)
k. Timing	91	(1)
l. Paperwork	91	(1)
m. Keep in touch	92	(1)
n. To be free or not to be free	92	(1)
8 Putting your best manuscript forward	93	(5)
9 Selling to newspapers and magazines	98	(28)
a. Teaching a hard-working dog new tricks	99	(1)
b. Step one: know your market	100	(15)
c. Step Two: learn to write a good query letter	115	(4)
d. Multiple submissions	119	(1)
e. How much are your articles worth?	120	(6)
10 Publishing your first book	126	(15)
a. The commercial hook	126	(3)
b. The telequery	129	(1)
c. The book proposal	130	(4)
d. Writing guidebooks	134	(2)
e. Negotiating the contract	136	(1)
f. Royalties	137	(1)
g. The indemnity clause	138	(1)
h. Self-publishing	139	(1)
i. Vanity publishing	140	(1)
11 Wringing the most out of your book	141	(13)
a. Ask for marketing support	141	(1)
b. Write a series	142	(1)
c. Offer updates	142	(1)
d. Recycle your research	143	(1)
e. Conduct informational seminars	143	(2)
f. Sell your book to travel agents	145	(1)
g. Lectures	145	(1)
h. Sell a newsletter for updates	146	(1)
i. Run guided tours	146	(1)
j. Look for other writing projects	147	(1)
k. Teach	147	(1)
l. Retail your book	147	(7)
12 The downside of the writing business	154	(4)
a. Don't let rejection stop you	154	(1)
b. Get up faster than you fall	155	(1)
c. Don't take form rejection letters personally	155	(1)
d. Learn from rejection	155	(1)
e. Health hazards	156	(2)
13 Looking good	158	(9)
a. Telephone communication	158	(1)
b. Letters, letterhead, and other paper stuff	159	(2)
c. Your bio	161	(1)
d. Keeping track	162	(5)
14 Your name in lights	167	(7)
a. You as a travel expert	167	(1)
b. Promoting yourself	168	(1)
c. Your contact list	169	(1)
d. Preparing for the interview	170	(2)
e. Stage fright	172	(1)
f. Pay me!	173	(1)
15 I'd like to procrastinate, but not today	174	(5)
a. Set realistic goals	175	(1)
b. Identify your personal top ten list of time wasters	176	(1)
c. Get enough sleep and exercise, and remember to eat	176	(1)
d. Break the project into smaller bites	176	(1)
e. Indulge in a mini vacation -- a day, a weekend, an hour	177	(1)
f. Write something different	177	(1)
g. The endless edit syndrome	178	(1)
16 To have and to hold -- forever	179	(5)
a. To keep or not to keep	179	(1)
b. Organize what you do keep	180	(1)
c. Filing systems	181	(1)
d. Computer files	182	(2)
17 Equipping your office	184	(8)
a. A place to work	184	(1)
b. Telephone and fax systems	185	(2)
c. Answering machine or service	187	(1)
d. Photocopier	187	(1)
e. Computers	188	(2)
f. Communicating	190	(2)
18 Copyright and other legal gremlins	192	(10)
a. Copyright and your worlds	192	(4)
b. Selling the right rights	196	(1)
c. The check's in the mail	197	(3)
d. Protecting yourself	200	(2)
19 Play money and taxing questions	202	(6)
a. The rules of the game	202	(1)
b. Tips on game strategy	203	(1)
c. Identifying receipts as jail bait or gems	204	(2)
d. A business or a hobby?	206	(1)
e. Finding an accountant	207	(1)
20 In closing	208	(1)
Appendix - Resources	209