How To Sell Travel Stories: Advice from Editors

by James Durston

- How to write pitches/queries editors love to read - Why headlines are the key ingredient when pitching to online platforms - Which travel magazines and websites want your work, and how much they pay - The best and worst pitches ever received - How to 'brand' yourself as a writer worth hiring All this and much more in this insightful, penetrating, straight-to-the-point book from a working editor who reveals why he buys certain pitches and bins others. Learn how small changes to how you pitch and write travel articles can result in a massive hike in your success rate. Compact and efficient, this guide to becoming a bestselling travel writer who sells travel articles consistently combines with unique insights into the world of the travel editor, as exposed by CNN Travel's former senior producer and homepage editor, James Durston. Also hear advice and expert thoughts from editors Lonely Planet, The New York Times, Wanderlust, Tatler and more. - A list of 85 titles that want to buy your travel articles and how much they pay - The 5 pitches no writer should ever send - One sure-fire way to become an editors favorite writer Follow James as he moves from a humdrum publishing job in the middle of Mumbai to the neon glamour of Hong Kong. Read his advice on how to pitch stories in ways that maximize your chances of getting through to your target editor. Discover his "5 commandments" of travel writing and hear about the worst and best pitches he ever received. Hear all this in the context of the launch, growth and metamorphosis of one of the last decade's most ambitious and successful travel websites - CNN Travel. If you're serious about selling travel articles as you travel the world, this book gives you cut-through advice direct from the editor's mouth - knowledge that you can use immediately to write effective pitches that sell. This book provides the ammunition to sell multi-fold more stories than you would have without this book, from publications that pay up to and sometimes more than US$1 per word. Kickstart your travel writing livelihood - scroll up and click to buy.

Genres: Writing

171 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 27, 2016

Reviews

[Migdalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of CNNGo with a bit of writing advice

This is the story about how every big company works: a new product is launched, the team works very hard but always feels like they're walking on glass and they could be let go any minute, and how (if the product is successful) little to none of the original people in the team survive at the end. This is the very reason why I hate working for big companies: the fact that you're disposable.

Oh, wait! Wasn't this a book about how to sell travel stories?

The following are the chapters that are actually relevant:
1. Why I'm writing this book
3. The best pitch I ever received
5. The worst pitch I ever received
9. What kind of pitcher are you?
13. Places to pitch and what they pay
15. Plagiarism and the 5 commandments
17. Topics (not) to pitch
19. Comps, fams and junkets
21. Banned words and terms
23. A rambling essay-ish cheat sheet to pitching
Epilogue... maybe

The rest of the book is insider CNN BS I didn't care to read (although I forced myself to read to be able to write a better review). But seriously, you can skip the rest of the chapters.

I also didn't like the author's tone at times, like he feels he's SO great and important, and has this amazing talent for writing stories that you gotta check him out. Ugh! Bragging aside, I still think there's SOME value in the chapters I mentioned before. It's definitely NOT a must-read and I certainly DON'T recommend it, but it wasn't a TOTAL waste of time. I might even take some of his advice.

[K.C. Murdarasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, if padded

This book is genuinely helpful on what and how to pitch to travel publications. The alternating chapters about the writer's life in travel journalism are interesting and well written, but off-topic enough that it felt they were mostly just added as padding. I would have been happy to read a shorter version of this book, with just the advice to travel writers.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful for a newbie

I found this helpful for a newbie. Experienced writers may not find it as useful. Also many funny anecdotes keep it moving.