On June 25 we wrapped up our 4-day Travel Writing & Photography Retreat and our 3-day Marketing Master Class for Travel Writers in Charleston, SC. The workshops were a resounding success!
Where The Writers Came From
Eleven excited travel writers & photographers from 9 States attended the workshops. They traveled from Texas, Florida, Washington, Alaska, California, Maine, Illinois, Oregon, & Massachusetts.
The Writers
Most are already accomplished writers in other fields. Janet Rae-Dupree, for example, has been a news reporter, sci/tech correspondent, health/medicine writer, and freelance contributor to dozens of newspapers and magazines over the past four decades.
Sharon McLeod has spent over thirty years “delivering dreary but necessary manuals for High Tech products.”
Kate Dreger is a corporate communications director.
Emily Corak has a freshly minted Master of Fine Arts.
Donna Hall worked in public relations and marketing for 20 years. She is the author of a travel website about Homer, Alaska. https://www.homerbythebay.com
Ava Kabouchy is the author of a book on her four years in Saudi Arabia, “Wanderlust, A New Lease on Life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” She recently published “Where in the World is Grammie Now? The Adventures of a Globetrotting Grandmother,” a book for young readers and their grandmothers. Her superb travel photography can be seen at http://www.avakabouchy.com/about-the-photographer/
Angela Dowdy has a travel website, www.embracesouthernstates.com and writes about people, places, food, and art in the Southeastern United States.
Bonnie McKenna was travel writer for Tribune newspaper for five years and now freelances for Scuba H2O Adventure Magazine, X-Ray Dive E-zine and has also been published in TravelWorld International Magazine.
Jill Friedman writes for various online and print magazines including Maritime Executive, Brazos Monthly, Travel Awaits and Sidelights. Jill’s book “Sail Around the World - and Get Paid For It” is soon to be self-published on Amazon.
This powerful and impressive depth in their writing backgrounds and work experience—and their enthusiasm—made this class a joy to teach.
Topics We Covered
What is Good Travel Writing?
How to Develop Travel Story Ideas That Will Sell
How to Create a Sense of Place With Photographs
How to Craft a Compelling Lede & Summary
Sharing Our Ledes
The Most Common Travel Writing Mistakes
Ten Tips for More Creative Travel Photos
Active vs Passive Travel Writing
Tips for Writing Active & Engaging Travel Stories
How to Research & Write Enticing Travel Articles
How to Edit Stories Before Submitting Them to Editors
Travel Photography - What Magazine Editors Want
How to Turn Creative Sparks Into Compelling Travel Stories
Sharing Charleston Story Ideas
We also took a field trip to Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau to Collect Travel Story Ideas
We Were Gifted Complimentary Explore Charleston VIP Passes
Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau gifted the participants an Explore Charleston VIP Pass that granted them complimentary entry to 22 of the city’s top attractions including the Charleston Museum, Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Boone Hall Plantation, Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon, Old Slave Mart Museum, Patriot’s Point Naval & Maritime Museum, & 5 historic homes. The combined value of these entry fees is in excess of $500! And, boy, did they make the most of this gift! Despite the onset of hot, humid summer days the writers buzzed around Charleston and environs like hyperactive bees, hoovering up the tourist attractions. They had a blast!
By the end of the week, everyone had a publishable front-of-book travel piece to pitch to travel magazines.
What We Got: eBooks
The Art & Craft of Travel Writing (Value $14.95)
Find Your Niche: Uncover Your Most Meaningful and Valuable Writing Opportunities. (Value $12.95)
The Complete Guide To Query Letters For Travel Writers. (Value $19.95)
The Complete Guide to Marketing & Selling Your Travel Articles. (Value $99)
One-on-one Meeting With Roy: All participants receive a post workshop mentoring/consultation with Roy on one story idea. Roy walks the writers through the process of how to get their stories published. (Value: $750)
Our Guest Speaker: Kourtney Jones, Media Director, Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). Kourtney’s presentation on working with CVBs on travel assignments was a smash hit! Her advice was spot on & she really opened up to us with insider advice & secrets about working with travel writers.
Is Our Travel Writing & Photography Retreat The Best In The World?
We think it is! Don’t miss our next workshop series. We’ll be holding our workshops in the Santa Fe, NM, in 2023
Interested in attending our 2023 workshops? Place your name on our interest list here
https://www.pitchtravelwrite.com/travel-writing-workshops-list.html
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