Adryan Dillon | Oct. 11, 2007
Travel writer Doug Lansky is a vagabond. After inheriting money from his grandmother, Lansky defied his parents, left home and saw the world.
But Lansky would hardly qualify his wanderings as mindless. During a travel writing workshop at Ernie Pyle Hall Tuesday, Lansky shared his advice for breaking into the competitive, challenging field of freelance journalism and the impact of his overseas adventures on his career.
During two and a half years of travel, Lansky learned Spanish in Guatemala, picked bananas in Israel and hitchhiked on yachts in Thailand. It was only after a car accident and his resulting hospital stay in Bangkok that Lansky realized he wanted to be a travel writer.
“I looked down and saw my fake press pass I bought on the street in Bangkok, which looks more authentic than any ‘real’ press pass I have ever seen before, and thought travel writer, that would be a cool job,” he told a group gathered in EP 214.
Forced to return home after the accident, Lansky began chasing a career as a travel writer. He experienced firsthand the perils of working as a freelance writer ⎯ a feat with odds equivalent to producing a blockbuster movie, he said.
“I worked 12 or 13 hours a day, writing stories and sending them to newspapers and magazines,” Lansky said.
And after receiving countless rejection letters, he finally received some that said “yes.” His articles appeared in newspapers and later landed him a nationally syndicated travel column, Vagabond.
Lansky says the key to his writing style is innovative descriptions. He said that he eliminates as many adjectives as possible from his writing. He replaces them with non-cliché metaphors like “slow as long division” and “an entrée priced like it is from a chef with a Michelin star.”
“That is colorful writing. Adjectives do not work,” Lansky said. “In all writing but as a travel writer especially, you have to remember your readers are blind from what you have seen. Have fun, really think about what you mean.”
He explained the process of pitching a story as an “easy game to play.” He noted these guidelines:
Query letters should be short. If too long, an editor will not read it and will throw it in the trash. Here’s the format:
But Lansky would hardly qualify his wanderings as mindless. During a travel writing workshop at Ernie Pyle Hall Tuesday, Lansky shared his advice for breaking into the competitive, challenging field of freelance journalism and the impact of his overseas adventures on his career.
More:
Read Doug Lansky’s bio, check out his books and find more tips on breaking into travel writing at his Web site.
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“I looked down and saw my fake press pass I bought on the street in Bangkok, which looks more authentic than any ‘real’ press pass I have ever seen before, and thought travel writer, that would be a cool job,” he told a group gathered in EP 214.
Forced to return home after the accident, Lansky began chasing a career as a travel writer. He experienced firsthand the perils of working as a freelance writer ⎯ a feat with odds equivalent to producing a blockbuster movie, he said.
“I worked 12 or 13 hours a day, writing stories and sending them to newspapers and magazines,” Lansky said.
And after receiving countless rejection letters, he finally received some that said “yes.” His articles appeared in newspapers and later landed him a nationally syndicated travel column, Vagabond.
‘In all writing but as a travel writer especially, you have to remember your readers are blind from what you have seen. Have fun, really think about what you mean.’—Travel writer Doug Lansky
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“That is colorful writing. Adjectives do not work,” Lansky said. “In all writing but as a travel writer especially, you have to remember your readers are blind from what you have seen. Have fun, really think about what you mean.”
He explained the process of pitching a story as an “easy game to play.” He noted these guidelines:
Query letters should be short. If too long, an editor will not read it and will throw it in the trash. Here’s the format:
- The first paragraph of the letter in one or two sentences should explain why the story is important.
- The second paragraph should explain why the article is important for a specific part of the magazine. For this, writers need to be familiar with the publication.
- In the third paragraph, explain why you are the person to do the job. Answer the question, “what can you do that no one else can?”
- Do not attempt to write a main feature in a magazine when you are just beginning. Instead, look at the small stories usually printed at the front of the magazine. Read the last year’s worth of that publication and make sure that your idea is not a story previously printed. Publications are looking for reasons not to publish your story.
- To find out where to send a query letter, call the magazine and speak to the editorial interns. They know which editor will actually read and consider submissions.
- Do not take rejection personally. Try to get 50 rejection letters because it is likely out of those 50, one will be a “yes.”
Lansky’s articles have been syndicated in 40 major newspapers. He has written a travel column for The Guardian, hosted travel documentaries on the Discovery Channel, written for magazines like Esquire and National Geographic Adventure, in addition to writing several highly useful travel guides.
But at the end of the day with all of the success, Doug Lansky says he is simply a happy traveler, the same wandering American, who, after glancing at his counterfeit press pass in Thailand, realized that this is exactly what his life should be.
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