As some of the individuals who have attended my workshops start to delve into the world of diving / travel magazines they're starting to come across all sorts of unanticipated hurdles and opportunities. By the end of the workshops none of them were under any illusion that getting published would be as simple as writing a story about their latest trip, bundling it up with some nice photographs and sending it off to an editor.
One of the workshop attendees recently pitched an idea to Hannah James, the editor of Real Travel Magazine. Hannah wrote back to say how although the pitch and proposed article looked interesting, it didn't fit into the magazine's current plans. However, she would keep it on file as there was a possibility it may do in the future. There was also an invite to keep the ideas coming and to submit travel tips and images for the reader's gallery (see below about being part of a magazine's community).
This reply wasn't the final communication between Hannah and the workshop attendee, he got back in touch to explore any future possibilities. Excellent move.
In a rather bizarre and I must say, "Bull in a China shop" way (it's a long story), I managed to ask Hannah some questions about getting published. I found it quite reassuring that her answers linked in nicely with the topics discussed in my workshops as well as confirming the information gleaned from interviews with other editors.
It doesn't get much better than editors telling you exactly what they are looking for - Hannah's replies could well apply to numerous other titles out there:
Q. What is it about an article submitted to your magazine that makes you think, "I wish all contributors would do that..."
A. Ultimately the most important thing is that writers give you what you ask for. It explains exactly what we are looking for in the magazine (200 words and two/three photos). There is a reason why we ask for pitches to come in this format (ie short and sweet); I get around 100 pitches sent in a week, so it’s vital that they are quick and easy for me to decipher – this way, I’m much more likely to read it fully and get an idea for a piece in order to get back to the writer with a yes or no.
It’s always a good idea to consider entry points into an article – ie a piece that is about surfing on the Algarve, for example, should be aware that it needs to appeal to those who aren’t interested in surfing. Promising inclusions on food, drinking, other activities, local walks, the nearby market/town etc will open the piece up to appeal to a larger number of people. This is vital when we have such a varied demographic seen in our readers.
If it is clear that a writer understands the magazine, then it will grab my attention from the onset. If they appear never to have read a copy, it’ll lose my attention in the same way that it would lose the attention of our readers.
Q. What are the biggest mistakes freelancers make?
A. Simple mistakes such as misaddressing the editor, spelling mistakes in the email, not finding out what the guidelines are for pitching ideas or (and this is the ultimate sin) not understanding the magazine are all complete no-nos.
A pitch that comes in addressed to Mr James, Ian (a past-editor) or Hillary (as happened just today!) for example, would suggest that a writer is not paying attention to detail – in turn this would probably be reflected in their writing – not a great start!
Find out the writer guidelines and pitch ideas in the correct format – however, it’s not necessarily a disaster if this isn’t done. Sometimes a piece is already written for example, or a writer could just be showing their enthusiasm for writing and travel. However, it makes the life of an editor much easier if things are presented in an easy to digest manner – the longer a pitch/piece is, the less likely I’ll have the time to read it. Often the reason for turning down a piece is nothing to do with the idea, writing or pitch – it could be a simple case of having already commissioned a very similar piece or recently publishing something on the subject – because of this, it’s always worth sending just a short pitch in to begin with, rather than bombarding editors with full features – chances are they simply won’t have time to get to the end of everything that gets sent in.
The ultimate sin: ALWAYS READ THE MAGAZINE before pitching. I have so many people call to enquire after writing for the magazine – my first question? “Have you read a recent copy?” If the answer is no, then in my mind it is a simple case of time wasting. There is no point in pitching to an editor unless you know the magazine, the market and understand what a magazine looks for. Real Travel has a very distinct style – it’s about real people’s real travels – and therefore, a piece that timelines the political history of Myanmar or a guidebook style run-down of Barcelona’s best restaurants just will not work. Waste the editor’s time by not knowing who you are pitching to and it’s very unlikely you’ll be working for that magazine any time soon!
Ultimately it is simple – do your research before getting in touch.
Q. What character traits / skills do you look for in any regular contributor?
A. Inspirational ideas. An easy, relaxed style of writing. Sticking to deadlines and commissions (it’s surprising how often a writer only sends a few photographs, when it clearly states in commissions that photographs are a vital part of the piece – and, again, one look at the magazine would tell you this). If there are problems with deadlines etc, then honesty is always the best policy. I have no problem (within reason!) with someone missing a deadline if they’re warned me in advance and been honest about it rather than avoiding my calls on the day that the copy is due (this is a surefire way to never work for the magazine again).
Q. Do your regular contributors ever get to the point where you send them on assignments? I presume you have regular offers of press trips from travel companies, PR / Marketing firms and tourism organisations?
A. No. Press trips etc are not something that we would ever offer to writers – the ‘press-trip’ idea just doesn’t fit with the Real Travel style.
Q. Following a pitch, would you ever give a freelancer a letter or e-mail along the lines of, "as long as your suggested article meets the guidelines required by Real Travel Magazine, we would be looking to publish your proposed article." Basically, what could be used as a commissioning letter to gain support with travel arrangements.
A. Nope!
Q. This question kind of links in with the last one, if you knew that a freelancer had put together an article following a press trip, would you still publish it? Not necessarily the guided tour trip with several other journalists, but perhaps similar to the ones I often go on, where you pretty much go as a visitor, maybe with a loose itinerary the tourist board want you to follow, but nothing set in stone.
A. I would opt for something that wasn’t based on a press trip out of choice. Only if it was something that I was unlikely to get any other way would I contemplate using a pitch base on a press trip – particularly if it isn’t a writer that I had previously worked with.
Q. And do you pay?
A. Yes, we do pay – but we don’t have a set ‘per word’ fee. As we welcome contributions from any traveller rather than only ‘professional’ writers, the payment issue is something that is negotiated on an individual basis.
As an aside, the Q and A format I've used above is a really lazy way to write up an interview, you'd never get away with it in most reputable magazines. But as this is a blog, I hope you will forgive my approach on this occasion. I'll write more about interview techniques and how to write them up another time.
If you go to Real Travel's website and take a look in the forums you'll find some advice from Hannah on getting published in Real Travel magazine (copied below). However, you might want to note that her e-mail address has changed (see below for contact details):
Hannah-RTEditor - 02/09/2008 11:03
Most of you will know that we include reader reports in Real Travel – real stories from real travellers – so if you fancy seeing your next trip in print, then here's what you need to do!
Put together 200 words, providing me with a rough idea of how you see the piece working, the angles you would take and the destinations and places included. Try not to include too big a trip – but rather pick out a section of your travels – choose your favourite destination, a particularly memorable moment or an adventure that you feel every traveller should know about.
Along with a couple of photos, send it to mailto:[email protected]">[email protected] and I will get back to you to let you know what I think. Unfortunately it can take a while though, so please bear with me!
Don't forget – it's just 200 words and a couple of photos – and you could see your words and images in print!
Looking forward to hearing from you! Hannah
In my opinion the magazine's forum would also be a good place to get noticed. From talking to other editors, they all like potential writers to be part of the magazine's community through forums (and the letter's pages), as long as you don't go on and on about bizarre and irrelevant stuff, they are an ideal place to get involved and noticed. From forum entries it is clear that Hannah checks and replies to the messages on it.
If I can wrap this entry up with a big thank you to Hannah. Any editor's time is precious, so for her to spend so much of her day to answer my questions is something I really appreciate.
Hannah James
Editor
Real Travel Magazine
Email: [email protected] (please note NEW email address)
Tel: +44 (0) 117 929 7462
Fax: +44 (0) 117 927 6535
Website: www.realtravelmag.com
Address: 2nd Floor, 15-16 Lower Park Row, Bristol, BS1 5BN"
Keep writing...
Brendan
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