Comments

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  Ed Wetschler January 31, 2011 at 4:37am

  If you're a member of the Atlantic Caribbean or Northeast chapter of SATW -- or if you aren't a member but want to see what we're up to -- join the new group for the June chapter meeting. We'll be posting updates about Pittsburgh and professional development classes, videos and photos of the city, and more.
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  Hal Peat January 21, 2011 at 6:04pm

  Is there really a one-size-fits-all template that works for clients and rates?  Do you charge a multinational corporation on the same basis and pay scale as a small recently opened hotel or other travel industry entity?  Do you take into consideration that your own portfolio is not as extensive as someone who's been onstaff full-time at a huge Manhattan PR firm for years and years, and this PR project represents a nice break for you - so maybe you should in turn be flexible and provide that small client a break too, in terms of pricing?  So I think there may be variables there too.  I'll leave aside the 800 lb. gorilla in the room of such a discussion, being the great recession, which has created this whole wider dimension of potential clients who are not in the market for paying retainers and full-industry rates but still need some publicity functions fulfilled.  For me, at least, that's where the challenge has been recently in finessing a realistic arrangement 
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  Donna M. Airoldi January 21, 2011 at 5:16pm

  Actually, I have seen a leveling off of falling rates, and a couple places I write for recently increased their pay. It's still not great compared to days of yore when I could limit assignments to only those that paid $1/word or more, but it's an improvement. But you're right, Allan, I should have written that "I can't afford to not take those jobs until I can secure more regular assignments for publications that still pay professional rates." Now, that opinion will probably generate some comments on what qualifies as professional rates or not...

   

  As for the terms travel writer versus travel journalist, I think it depends on what part of the industry one is covering and how.  I started my career working for a trade, but the editor considered it a real newspaper and ran it as such. We had beats and were required to break news about the industry, and that certainly didn't mean being the first to write about a new hotel opening or remodeling.  We did occasionally get to go on press trips and write travel destination features (which I too call travel writing, not journalism), but it wasn't often and he doled them out only as rewards for doing well covering the news end of our industry.
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  Allan Lynch January 21, 2011 at 4:49pm

  Donna, do you see rates improving? Ever? Most of the titles I know pay now what they paid in 1990. Cover prices and ad rates have increased, but not editorial rates.

   

  Sam & Donna,

  I don't believe Max said he was approached by someone he wrote about. I think there is a problem if you're hired to work for a client and later expected to write about that client for publication. Now, if you write about a client and they like how you treated them - as in how you interpreted their product or place - I can see working for them on the understanding that the relationship changes and there would be no more 'free' editorial coverage, as in writing about them for media.

   

  I'm an old dog, so I get uncomfortable calling myself a travel journalist. I'm a travel writer. In my old school training and background, journalism is reserved for those covering the news. The launch of a new cruise ship or opening of a new resort isn't quite the same for me. That said, I don't sell out my editorial content in an article. And I'm amused by these policies that don't allow free travel; if someone thinks I'm selling out my reputation for a free hotel room or plane ticket they're sadly mistaken.

   

  When I started writing for one trade magazine one woman I interviewed said, "what is this, this is like a real interview? I thought you wanted me to talk about thread counts and the menu."

   

  Like everyone here I have certain specialities. I'd be a fool not to cash in one the specialized knowledge I have. But in agreeing to write for certain clients or speak to certain groups or consult, I consider our future dealings. If they hire me to help, then their editorial coverage (as in magazine articles or other coverage) is handed off to someone else.

   

  We have to recognize that some clients will come to us because they've watched how we cover their industry or destination or competition. Then we decide whether to accept that business and how to deal in the future. But we all know that. I don't think it has to be spelled out each time we ask a question.
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  Donna M. Airoldi January 21, 2011 at 4:28pm

  Agreed, Sam. I had that dilemma last year when approached by a travel company to do freelance marketing and PR work for them. It would have been lucrative, and I seriously considered it, but decided I could accept the offer only if I were willing to give up travel journalism and cross the line completely to the other side. I wasn't ready to do that at the time. Don't get me wrong, I still pen releases and marketing copy for organizations, because the pay sure beats regular travel writing these days, just none of my clients are in the industries I cover. Though even that criteria gives me pause, and I wonder whether it's ethical, but I can't afford to not take those jobs at the moment until rates for travel writing improve.
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  Sam Scribe January 21, 2011 at 4:01pm

  Smart answers, but wrong question. Max should have asked, Is it ethical to be writing press releases about the industry you cover as a journalist?
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  Lynne Sullivan January 21, 2011 at 2:27am

  I want to add my thanks to Alan and Dick. These rate suggestions are helpful to those of us who rarely do press-release type writing. 
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  Max Pesling January 21, 2011 at 12:38am

  Thanks, Alan and Dick...very helpful input. Best regards...
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  Dick Jordan January 20, 2011 at 8:05pm

  The "Advertising, Copywriting & Public Relations" section of the chapter "How Much Should I Charge" in the 2009 edition of Writer's Market lists high/low/average rates for writing press release at $100/$40/$58 per hour, or $750/$200/$440 per page, or $2/$0.40/$1.02 per word. Presumably travel expenses could be charged in addition, as Allan suggests, if the work could not be done solely in your office.
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  Allan Lynch January 20, 2011 at 7:58pm

  PS - As writers we're too used to lowballing quotes. Editors and publishers have sharper pencils than "real-world clients". So if you think the hourly rate is getting too high, consider a daily rate. When I'm working on a project I bill based on a six-hour day. I may work longer, but it's an easier number. And I also do a weekly rate. If it's something I really want to do, it won't interfere with other deadlines, I might be able to spin it into something more, then I fiddle the weekly rate. Sometimes it's worth a free half day, sometimes it's worth a free day. So I work five days for the price of four. It shows flexibility.