Before you can get your stories published, you need to get them read by an editor. This is where your travel writing pitch comes in. We receive many thousands of them a year at Intrepid Times. Some make us want to stop everything we’re doing, close all tabs, and dedicate the next half hour to a meticulous reading of your story. Others have our fingers itching towards the ‘delete’ button.
Even experienced writers often fumble the pitch. To get yours right, it helps to understand the key distinction: Are you pitching ‘on spec’ or trying to get commissioned? Let’s look at each so you understand these terms and make sure you’re pitching the right way for your desired travel writing publication.
On Spec: For Pieces You’ve Already Written
“On spec” is short for “on speculation.” This means you are sending a complete, pre-written story to an editor speculating that they will find a home for it. Writers early in their careers are often advised against pitching ‘on spec.’ Those giving this advice argue that writers deserve to be paid for their work, and writing on spec creates a very real risk of spending time and energy on a piece that will never be published.
At Intrepid Times, we strongly disagree with this advice. Realistically, most travel writing stories (stories; as distinct from commercially-oriented guides, but that’s material for another article!) are not the kind of thing you’re going to get commissioned for. Unless your very specific experience happens to line up with the very specific niche an editor is looking to fill, it’s unlikely that you’re going to get a shoulder tap for ‘That weird thing that happened to you in a taxi in Tangiers!’
Doing your travel writing pitch on spec is therefore the most realistic chance you have of getting your narrative/literary writing considered. And, even if you don’t get it accepted, at least you did the work! You got the practice, achieved self-expression, and, in the very worst case, have a piece you can publish on your own personal blog or portfolio; every little bit helps when building your profile as a travel writer.
On Commission: For Pieces You’re Planning to Write
Many writers, understandably, want to know that there’s a buyer for their writing before putting the hours in at the keyboard. The ‘On Commission’ approach to pitching means you lay out your idea/proposal to an editor and, if they accept, you have a commitment in place that your piece will be published and you will be paid for your work. This is of course excellent and a major way in which professional writers organize their work.
As your career grows, you will likely develop a network of editors with whom you have relationships and who you can go to for commissions on a reliable basis. They will know you as the writer specializing in a certain subgenre of travel, perhaps you’re the Spain Travel with Kids guy or the Adventure Travel After Fifty girl, made-up examples but demonstrative of the way that getting know for a certain niche can help you stand out and win commissions.
Pitching on spec and pitching on commission are very different. Let’s look at the differences and how to do each of them right.
The Difference: How to Pitch On Spec Versus On Commission
An on-spec travel writing pitch doesn’t have to work hugely hard; its only goal is to get the editor to open and read your story in a receptive frame of mind. An ‘On Commission’ pitch needs to work much harder. In this case, you’re trying to convince an editor to assign you a place in their treasured editorial calendar and a slice of their even more treasured budget to pay you to write a story you haven’t written yet. In addition to winning their interest in the story, you also need to convince the editor that you’re a reliable quantity (i.e. that you will deliver your story on time, to a high standard). The most effective way of doing this is to share clippings of your other published work in reputable publications.
Follow the Publication’s Guidance
We go into detail in our Travel Writing Workshops on some of the more subtle techniques and tricks on pitching on spec and on commission. Still, the most important piece of advice we can give now is to familiarise yourself with the publication’s guidelines! Most publications will tell you exactly how to pitch to them, and they’ll prize writers who follow those guidelines over those who ignore them.
The ‘Chicken and Egg Problem’ For New Writers And How to Solve It
If you need published clippings to get commissioned and published, but you don’t have any published clippings yet (because you need published clippings in order to get commissioned and published!) where do you start?
Our advice is to write first! Write the travel stories that move you and start pitching them on spec to publications like Intrepid Times that accept submissions of this nature. Once you have built up at least three or four links/clippings, then you can start getting bolder and seeing to get commissioned for more ambitious or commercial stories. This way, you get the writing done, you build up your portfolio, and you make both pitching styles work for you.
