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Does Your Travel Magazine Article Pitch Need Help?

In our webinars, retreats, and online pitching programs, I frequently talk about putting my “editor hat” on.

I don’t usually mean these literally–as in “it’s time to edit your work!” I actually mean that it’s time for some very tough love that you rarely get to hear: exactly what an editor would think if your pitch rolled into their inbox without warning.

“What parts of my freelance writing contract can I negotiate?”

We’ve got a new book out, 101 Things You Need to Know to Make it as a Travel Writer, that answers 101 questions that we hear from travel writers all the time that are holding them back from achieving their Dream of Travel Writing. To celebrate the new book, we’ll be tackling a new sticky travel-writing situation each Monday here on The Six-Figure Travel Writer blog.

“What parts of my freelance writing contract can I negotiate?”

Sadly, I can’t remember where I heard this particular piece of advice in order to attribute it properly but early in my career, an established freelancer once told me that no matter how big the publication, if you negotiate on rights, they always have a back-up contract to offer.

“Can time tracking really help my freelance travel writing business?”

We’ve got a new book out, 101 Things You Need to Know to Make it as a Travel Writer, that answers 101 questions that we hear from travel writers all the time that are holding them back from achieving their Dream of Travel Writing. To celebrate the new book, we’ll be tackling a new sticky travel-writing situation each Monday here on The Six-Figure Travel Writer blog.

“Can time tracking really help my freelance travel writing business?”

Yes. Here’s how: At the end of every month, you look back on the data you’ve collected and you say, “Okay, this magazine paid me this many dollars this month. How many hours did I spend on that? Am I at $50 an hour? Am I at $12 an hour? Am I at $125 an hour?”

Why You Don’t Need To Start with $20 Articles and Work Your Way Up

People often ask me how I ended up writing The Six-Figure Travel Writing Road Map, and the answer actually relates to one of my favorite journalists and writing bloggers.

Find Your Next Gig on These Travel Writing Job Boards

If you are new to writing, travel writing, just the particular geographic area or type of travel you’d like to write about, or if you simply need to get money coming in as soon as possible, it can be faster and easier to start with jobs that already exist rather than creating your own.

How Much Can You Really Make as a Travel Writer?

In my post on three ways to earn six figures as a travel writer, I looked at three different paths for earning six figures as a travel writer based on your interests (workwise, not travel-wise) and the type of work that best fits your schedule, motivations and work talents.

But I know the idea of earning $100,000 a year from travel writing seems both far away and a bit preposterous to many folks who are just starting out and trying to figure out how to even earn their first $1 from something they’ve written.

“Normal” Travel Writing Pay Rates

Post “Great Depression of Publishing,” it’s a little difficult to call any freelance rates normal.

I had one writing coach once tell me, when I said that I maintained an hourly rate of at least $100 with all of my work:

Even before I stopped pitching, my hourly rate magazine work was never less than $250 per hour.

A Quick Way to Find Out If a Magazine Pays (Well)

When you pitch a magazine that hasn’t been referred to you as a viable market by another freelancer or been verified in a magazine database like Mediabistro’s How to Pitch guides, Wooden Horse Publishing (now sadly deceased), or the Dream of Travel Writing Travel Magazine Database, you can run into a real problem.