2005 Year in Review -- Successes Abound

SPECIAL EDITION: 2005 YEAR IN REVIEW — SUCCESSES ABOUND

SANDRA KENNEDY (Tualatin, Oregon) Sandra’s been racking up press trips and by-lines this past year, most recently a five-day stay at the Eco Tulum Resort and Spas in Mexico, including comped accommodations overlooking the Caribbean, meals, massage, and renewing her marriage vows with a Mayan Shaman… just to name a few. Her strategy? Sandra studied her Travel Writer’s Workshop notebook, surfed the net looking for additional info on query letters, and developed unique angles for proposed articles. She’s been successful – Sandra’s had six articles (and counting!) published since participating in the Buenos Aires Travel Writing Workshop.

[Editor’s Note: You can read more about Sandra’s success in our e-letter archives, here]

BONNIE MCKENNA (Houston, Texas) We caught up with Bonnie while she was traveling in Thailand… She’s been hired by her local newspaper as a contributing writer. Bonnie gets bylines on all of her stories and photographs. She’s also had several stories about diving published in newsletters and in an e-zine. Bonnie mentions that she contacted “Living Magazine” before she’d even finished The Ultimate Travel Writer’s Program – and they hired her – without even seeing any clips!

BRENDA MCGILL (Oceanside, California) Following The Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop in Washington, D.C., Brenda created a roundup article with five photos for SensibleLife.com. That led to a request by the publisher to write a Valentine’s Day-related feature for the “cover” of the February issue, complete with publication credit.

ELIZABETH BRAND (Sydney, Australia) Elizabeth’s first clip was accepted last September and will be published in “The Traveler” this February. She’s also written three more articles on Sydney that will be published in February/March. Elizabeth comments, “The success here is not just getting published, it’s proving to myself that I’m not crazy for changing careers.”

JEANNE CHRIST (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) English Professor Jeanne Christ has published several articles for a local news magazine, “The Western Gazette.” She’s also currently working on her own Technical Writing textbook.

JOHANNA KATO (Phoenix, Arizona) Johanna writes that she’s an avid reader of “The Write Way to Travel,” where she learned that editor Tom Schueneman was looking for fall color shots for the fall issue of “The Traveler.” She submitted photographs from a previous trip to Kyoto, and was published in “The Traveler’s” 2005 Fall issue. She’s currently working on a piece involving both her writing and photography skills about a recent trip to Juarez, Mexico.

KATHERINE MCINTYRE (Toronto, Ontario) Katherine reworked the lead on an old piece a couple of publications had refused by pulling a paragraph from the middle of the story and repositioning it up top. She submitted it to Canada’s national newspaper, the “Globe and Mail,” and it was published within two weeks. The same week, she had four fall foliage pictures published in “The Traveler” ezine and two reworked pieces accepted by another ezine. Then Katherine prepared an award application for a lodge, (no pay) and the lodge won the award. As a result, Katherine and her family received an “award,” too – a free stay!

TOMMY LAM (Singapore) Tommy wrote to us from the Airport Lounge in Lima, Peru… An expert on wine, Tommy writes regularly for at least three publications, shares his expertise on two radio shows; is beginning to conduct wine appreciation classes, and is writing a book on wine – in Chinese. This Spring, Tommy is leading a Wine Tour in South America, through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.

KAY FELLOWS (Northwestern Illinois) Copywriter turned travel writer Kay Fellows has been busy with photography, writing for the local newspaper, and an occasional magazine article — but much of her time last year was spent putting finishing touches on a tour guide, titled “Upper Mississippi Valley by Motorcycle,” which will be published in March. The tour guide focuses on traveling between the Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Kay also wrote to say she took our advice about online stock photo agencies and submitted photos to Big Stock Photo — they’ve accepted 78 so far.

KERRY STOWELL (Washington, D.C.) Kerry has perfected the skill of finding opportunities in unexpected places: after noticing a small sentence on an NBC.com website inviting readers to submit fall photographs, she ended up with three of her photos displayed on the NBC news — with full credit. Since attending our Washington D.C. photo workshop, she’s sold several photos for between $25 and $100 and she’s received photo credits for several more.

LILY TORREZ (McAllen, Texas) Lily’s work (a review and a photograph) will be published in this year’s new edition of B. Howard’s The Adventure Guide to The Bahamas. Lily attended our guidebook writing and photography workshop there this past November, and B. Howard chose her photo and article as one of three he’ll include in the next edition of his guidebook. Lily’s photography was also recognized on a recent cruise she took, where her photos were picked as one of the top four in two photo contests; one of those two was picked as number four overall, and was included in the voyage’s CD package.

LYNNIA ALLISON (Miami, Florida) Another Bahamas’ workshop participant, Lynnia took advantage of an opportunity right in her own area. She attended and photographed a “Miss Florida 2005 for Transsexuals” contest and was subsequently invited to do a gallery exhibit. Of those she included in the exhibit, four have sold for $500 each and one was auctioned at a benefit for tax credit. Lynnia also has an article planned for publishing in Ocean Wave Magazine and Fisher Island Magazine on the Dale Chihuly-Fairchild Garden Art in the Park exhibit.

ZARA ALTAIR (Carlsbad, California) Zara can definitely testify as to opportunities practically materializing out of nowhere. Her neighbor, a former professional photographer, noticed the “Turn Your Pictures into Cash” binder on her table, and asked Zara to shoot the inside and outside of her house because it was going to be listed for sale. Result: Zara’s first check, for $50!

SUSANNA FIERAMOSCO NARANJO (Lugano, Switzerland) Soon after participating in the Photography Workshop in Paris, Susanna had her very article published, together with several photographs. More recently, Susanna’s photographs have been accepted at a stock agency and some have already sold, earning her a royalty!

MARNIE MCCOWN (Phoenix, Arizona) Already a working writer/photographer, Marnie found the New York Writing and Photography Workshop to be a great refresher of the fundamentals. Through the networking connections made during the course, Marnie had one piece published by Tom Schueneman, of “The Traveler,” and then went on to write marketing copy for him as well. Several of the images she took during her stay in New York have sold as art prints.

NANCY CAPPO (Seminole, Florida) Since the Paris workshop, Nancy has published a book through Apple MacIntosh using her photos and captions. She mentions she’ll be looking for a publisher soon because the response to her work has been astonishing. Nancy has also laminated pictures for sale in the local art market. Fellow artists have asked for greeting cards… all photography-based.

WENDY VANHATTEN (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa) Wendy shares two keys to her publishing success: learning to read and follow writers’ guidelines, and learning to approach the magazines she wants to write for. As a result, Wendy has been published in Marco Polo Magazine, International Living Postcards, and numerous online publications. She is a regular travel columnist for SiouxLand Lifestyle Magazine, and another article of hers was recently accepted for a children’s publication. She reports that a recent perk was receiving five tickets to San Diego’s Wild Animal Park (a $100+ value)… just because she knew how to ask for them!

ROBIN COLES (Winthrop, Massachusetts) Robin exemplifies the importance of being open to opportunities as they materialize before your eyes. Following the New York Writing and Photography Workshop last summer, Robin struck up a conversation with an employee of the Guggenheim Museum and ended up being invited inside to look around and to interview the employee. As a follow up, she’s been invited back for grand openings, with entrée to interview the artists. An article query she sent has been accepted and Robin is finishing up an article on her experiences. She’s also been invited to a luncheon held by the Maui Visitor Bureau and has established a dialogue with them for possible articles. And yet another opportunity — Robin was invited aboard a cruise ship to interview the chefs for an article, and she has made arrangements to interview the chefs of other ships as they come into port.

Related articles and resources:

• The #1 Easiest and Fastest Way to Get a By-line and a Check, by Jennifer Stevens.
• How freelance travel writer, Steenie Harvey travels the world on someone else’s dime, by Steenie Harvey
• Turn You Pictures into Cash
• The Truth about Online Photo Stock Agencies: What They Pay and How to Break in, by Terry Allen

THIS WEEK’S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION

Cat Fancy, the magazine for the responsible cat owners, publishes cat-oriented travel pieces. Most articles run about 1,000 to 2,000 words. Send queries before submitting manuscripts. Queries go to Susan Logan, Fancy Publications, Inc. PO Box 6050, Mission Viejo, CA 92690.

[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.]