As children, we learned to draw by joining dots. Landing your first byline as a travel writer can often be as simple—it’s just a matter of finding and connecting the correct dots. The way I landed an article in the October/November edition of World Travel Magazine last year is a great illustration… The first dot […]
My first cover story. I’ll never forget that day! I placed the magazine on an end table and each time I walked past it, I couldn’t believe it was my article and photo on the cover. Was this really happening? Before I became a travel writer three and a half years ago, I’d never written […]
“Tell me you have a headlamp,” my friend Sarah says as I’m packing up all my things. I shake my head no. The sun will come up long before I reach the summit. Why do I need a headlamp? “You need a headlamp, sister. You can buy one at Wal-Mart for $10 bucks. It’s dark […]
It was New Year’s 2014 and time to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Thirty-plus years into a successful nursing career, I was ready for something different. Something fun for my retirement years. A friend told me about the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop. I love to travel and […]
Editors are interested in sourcing the best possible stories for their readers. They’re much more concerned with getting a story that excites them, and which they feel will engage their readers, than they are with the level of experience the writer has under his or her belt. If your story is on-target and constructed soundly, […]
As an editor, one thing I try to hammer home with new writers is that a story can take many different formats. There’s no one-size-fits-all, and that can be freeing. Just thinking of how to present a story differently can turn a marginal idea into a great one. The subjects themselves, what your goals are […]
“The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”—Chinese Proverb Great Escape Radio host, Jody Maberry welcomes Tracey Minkin, Senior Travel Editor for Coastal Living magazine back to the show. Jody and Tracey met at the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop in Austin, Texas last September where they both experienced the excitement and […]
The most beautiful thing about noticing a person’s good work is that it makes me feel good, too. I learned that it’s amazing when you stop to acknowledge the flowers. My travel writing assignment was to experience an 11-bedroom villa on the island of Anguilla. I found that the villa offered so much visually, my […]
As a self-confessed lover of travel and all things related, it’s little wonder the idea of living on a yacht and sailing the world appealed to me. I wasn’t a sailor when I watched the documentary that changed my life. I was a government employee, living the 9-5 existence, entrenched in the rat race, surviving […]
“Networking is about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities.”—Michele Jannae To me, networking is the most valuable tool we have as travel writers. Here’s why. Just recently, I received an email from an editor responding to my query for their publication. That was my 410th accepted article! In just four […]
