In yesterday's e-letter we answered this question from one of our
readers:
"If you're sent to do a piece on a specific location, such as a hotel,
and it turns out to be terrible, do you still have to write the
article as promised? If so, what do you say? If you don't feel you can
in good conscience write an article about it do you have to reimburse
the value of the trip and expenses?"
If you missed that issue, you'll find it in our archives, here:
http://tinyurl.com/2tod9b
Today, scroll down to find out how freelance travel writer and editor
Jennifer Stevens recommends you incorporate your negative experiences
into travel articles so the "downside" won't undermine your stories'
salability.
See below...
Lori Allen
Director, AWAI's Travel Division
P.S. I don't want to bombard you with a bunch of our products in these
newsletters after you just signed up. But at the same time, I realize
that some folks – maybe you – are looking for something in particular
and you'd like to see what's available to help further your travel
writing or photography career.
You'll find our current list of travel writing and photography
products and resources here:
http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/get_started
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The Right Way to Travel
Archived: March 2007
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THOSE PESKY NEGATIVES: HOW TO BE HONEST AND STILL SELL YOUR STORY
By Jennifer Stevens in Colorado Springs, CO
I'll be straight with you: Editors aren't going to give up pages and
pages of copy to an article that discourages readers from going to a
place.
First, the advertisers wouldn't go for it. (Why, for example, would
the Tanzanian Tourist Board fork over thousands of dollars for an ad
that faces an article whose premise is: Don't go to Tanzania, it's a
hole-in-the-wall? They wouldn't.)
Second, people read travel articles to find out where to go. They read
to "live" a little in the story-telling, to learn about the world, to
escape. They do not read to find out how wretched a place is. They can
get their fill of that in Section A of any daily paper.
Travel publications are in the business of keeping their advertisers
and their readers happy. That's how they stay in business.
So does that mean you're to paint a rosy picture of every place you
venture? No... and yes. Here's what I mean:
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*** 1) Find the right publication for your story and turn your
negatives into positives.
Say, for example, you want to write about a 5-day winter backpacking
trip you took in Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado. You dug an igloo
to sleep in, and you didn't see another human the whole time you were
away.
If you wanted to pitch this article to Travel & Leisure, you'd have
your work cut out for you. You'd have to find a way to make your
igloo and isolation story appeal to an audience whose idea of an ideal
Colorado escape is a week at a luxury spa in Aspen. Your entire
article would be full of negatives as far as that reader is concerned.
Those same negatives, however, turn to positives the instant you
switch audiences. Avid backpackers, for example, might find this
story fascinating -- the perfect back-country trip for an avid
backpacker in search of a real escape (for this type of audience, that
is.) So if you're writing for Backpacker Magazine, then you're all
set. That audience will eat it up.
My point: Target your audience correctly, and your negatives will
mostly disappear.
*** 2) They won't -- or shouldn't -- disappear entirely. Your reader
deserves your honest assessment of a place. So include the negatives
as caveats and, when possible, offer solutions and give those
negatives a positive spin. You'll build credibility, and your reader
will appreciate your candor.
For example, let's say you decide to write about your Holy Cross
Wilderness trip for Backpacker Magazine. Your audience is
well-targeted, so you won't have too many negatives. But there are
still a few downsides to this destination: It's really high up and
it's hard to get to.
Now, the fact that the elevations range from 8,000 to 13,000 feet
might not be an issue if you live in Colorado and you're used to
hiking at those altitudes. But somebody coming from a lower elevation
might experience nausea, diarrhea, headaches, and shortness of breath.
You might say, for instance: "Hiking at 8,000-13,000 feet can be
grueling, even for somebody used to those altitudes. But if you're
coming from a lower elevation, be warned: altitude sickness can bring
with it nausea, diarrhea, headaches, and shortness of breath. Nothing
you can't avoid, though, by arriving a few days before your trip so
your body has time to acclimate. Plus you'll want to be sure you take
a bottle of Tylenol and some Tums on the trail." Problem solved (and
negative counteracted).
As for it being hard to get to... again, that's OK as long as you give
your reader fair warning. You're doing him a disservice if you neglect
to mention the harrowing drive over snowy passes. Wouldn't you want to
know?
You could say: "Make sure you rent a 4-wheel-drive vehicle for your
trip as it can be treacherous at times getting from Denver to the
park's entrance. It's worth the effort, though. The views are
glorious, and because few travelers want to be bothered battling the
snow on those narrow, curvy roads, the trails in the park are, as a
result, virtually empty. It's like having the whole of the West to
yourself."
Now you've not only offered a solution to the problem of getting
there, but you've turned the negative around and presented a real
plus, a payoff. There's nothing a die-hard backpacker likes better
than deserted trails.
*** 3) Further downplay the negative by giving it relatively few
words.
A reader once asked me how he could talk about San Antonio
neighborhoods that are great for Day of the Dead celebrations in the
daytime but might be unsafe for tourists at night.
My response? Just say as much. If you've targeted your audience
correctly, and you've painted an enticing-enough picture of these
celebrations, then your reader won't care. He'll simply make sure he's
out of those neighborhoods by night fall.
Just be sure to spend more time talking about the "upside" and less
about the "downside."
Don't say: "Make sure you're out of neighborhood x by nightfall. The
place is known for its violent crimes, and you won't want to be caught
off-guard."
Instead, say: "Plan your visit to neighborhood x during the day, when
it's perfectly safe there. Then head for the evening to neighborhood y
for dinner at restaurant z. There you'll find the best Mexican food in
town."
Now you've made your point subtly and quickly, giving relatively few
words to your negative point and, really, casting it in a positive
light. And your suggestion for an evening activity focuses your
reader's attention on another positive aspect of your story.
*** Three More Examples
I'm including here three more passages. In each, the writer handles
the negative well.
** From an article written by a reader of The Right Way to Travel,
about the Seychelles: Instead of "the wine is awful," the writer
says...
Don't expect much in the way of a wine list, though. Good wine is hard
to come by anywhere in the Seychelles and in this way only, The Mahek
is no different. The beer however, a local brew called 'Eku', is
second to none.
** From a restaurant review in the New York Times: Instead of
"everything is overcooked," the writer says...
...If I wanted a great skirt steak or roasted pork in Washington
Heights at 2 a.m. after a night of dancing, there would be no better
place than El Presidente, on Broadway near 165th Street. But if I
wanted a meal before the party in a place with low lights and a warm
atmosphere, I wouldn't hesitate to pick Bohio....
...In fact, many dishes are cooked a little bit more than I would
choose, not surprisingly. One night I took my friend Raphael, who is
part Dominican and has made a close personal study of Dominican
cuisine. ''Dominicans like everything well done,'' he said, as we cut
into a piece of flank steak ($16) that had been ordered medium rare
but was just a bit pink. Nonetheless, the chewy beef had plenty of
flavor.
** From a Washington Post article on a visit to Sarasota: Instead of
"the shops are very expensive," the writer says...
Our visit takes about four hours, and that's rushing it. But shops in
both downtown Lido Key and Sarasota had caught our attention during a
drive-through, and they beckon. If you come to Sarasota either bring a
lot of cash or decide to window-shop with abandon. The stores tend
toward the high end, offering paintings, sculptures, glass, furniture
and clothing made by fine artists and craftspeople both locally and
from around the world.
[Jen Stevens has spent the balance of the last seven years
gallivanting through Latin America and the Caribbean -- to Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, and beyond reporting on and writing about
the best locales for overseas travel, retirement, and investment. She
is the former editor of International Living and Island Properties
Report, and she was a writer and editor for several years at Trade &
Culture magazine. Jen is the author of AWAI's Ultimate Travel
Writer's Program: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/autofr]
**************************
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