First of all, please let me apologize if this isn't an appropriate posting here but...
I am in the midst of creating a new kind of travel magazine - one that will never go to traditional print, but will be completely digital not just online but in the app markets.
In short, I need travel writers who can also provide photos (legally obtained, of course).
My greatest apology is my being so new means I haven't acquired advertising yet for either the website or the magazine, but that's coming, thus, I have no budget to pay anything as yet (but I hope to change that).
Being I've been a travel writer for so long, I'm usually one of the first to groan and say, "Oh, great, another magazine that wants something for nothing." I'm being completely honest and up-front here in saying, I have no budget right now.
If you've decided at this point to move on from this posting, I appreciate your making it this far and, being one of you, completely understand your lack of desire to go any further. We all have to eat, don't we?
However, if you've moved on to this sentence, you're still interested and I appreciate that, too.
The site for this magazine is www.explorationtravelmagazine.com. As I said previous, while there will be a strong online presence so people will continue to visit the site again and again to read regularly posted articles, there will also be a "digital print" edition that will come out every other month. I have available online an editorial calendar and editorial guidelines for your perusal.
This is a magazine focusing on real travel taken by real people. I don't want to disparage the other travel magazines out there because I read them myself and love them. But I am not just a travel writer but a member of the middle class. We can't all take safaris to Africa in our spare time. some of us can only afford a weekend here, a week there, all on a budget (but not too much of a budget. This isn't about "budget travel")
I strongly encourage writers who are looking for a byline to add to their resume and I'm more than willing to work with new writers, however, following a recent seminar I attended where I was approached by everyone and their uncle to "write for your magazine", I also posted a rant on the site so people might understand better just "how" to pitch. I did it rather tongue in cheek but I was dead serious at times. As fellow writers, I think some of you might understand from the where it's coming.
Finally, lately, I haven't been able to get to this site (or others) as often as I once did. Please feel free to contact me at editor@explorationtravelmagazine.com, though. But if you're planning to write me to tell me how I'm the scourge of the writing industry, please refrain.
Replies
I should probably put a note on this:
I'm getting a lot of e-mails from people thinking this is applying for a job. They're usually brief, one or two sentences, and they are asking for a job.
What I requested, and I suppose it wasn't clear to people who are more new to the freelance game (and that's okay, I was there once, too) are pitches for articles, not employees.
On my site are my editorial guidelines with "How" to pitch.
Nancy, it looks very interesting. How's it going so far?
~Vago
http://www.vagobond.com
The site is coming along nicely, I believe, and I'm starting to pick up more site visits every day. I am purchasing the software to do the conversion to digital in the next couple of weeks to get set for the July 1 launch of the "digital print" edition and I will be putting that together one page at a time!
I still do my travel writing and I've mentioned this magazine to a couple state tourism offices and they think the concept is a really good idea, particularly when I mention I will be embedding slideshows on one story an issue The first one will be on the Civil War Discovery Trail, which crosses several states, and should be a nice one.
I believe this is a magazine that can/will appeal to an 'average' reader who likes to vacation but doesn't have a lot of money to take the exotic vacations the larger travel magazines tout. Getting it into the app markets will definitely help with circulation. I know of at least one major magazine and one major book publisher that have gone 100% digital. For the magazine, it was the first time they showed a profit since they came into being over 150 years ago.
I just need some quality stories and photos for each issue. I looked at a couple of the sites that have royalty free articles but rule #1 is nothing can be changed and these are articles that need an editor due to errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Perhaps someone can recommend a higher quality site for low-cost or royalty free articles? I feel if I can just get a couple issues out, I can start selling advertising, thus can start paying writers.
I'm in this group because I'm a writer, although not a travel writer. I'm also a traveler, so although I can't commend you for your authors' fees, I do commend you for the focus of your website. Your emphasis on travel that falls midway between luxury and budget will fill a real need. Good luck.
As a travel writer myself, I understand the contempt for not being able to pay right now; nothing makes me crazier than a magazine that doesn't pay. Which is why I try to explain more fully why it's like that right now.
I appreciate the feedback on the focus, though. I felt there was a real need for people like you and me. We aren't necessarily what one would call "poor" but we also can't afford luxury travel as the norm.