Getting your name on the byline
Posted: September 30, 2012 | Contents: Chapter 5 | Tags: advice, byline, editors, getting published, getting your name on the byline, publish, relationship with editors, travel journalism, travel writers exchange, travel writing, travel-writers-exchange.com, wendy vanhatten | Leave a comment »Chapter 5 discusses guidelines any journalist may follow to increase the chances of getting published. Travel-Writers-Exchange.com’s Wendy Vanhatten offers eleven “Rules” and nine “Do’s” that in addition to increasing a journalist’s chance of getting work published will help to establish working relationships with editors.
Some of her advice includes:
- #1 don’t screw up an editors name,
- #5 don’t ignore a publications past articles,
- #7 don’t be impatient.
Some of the “Do’s” include: after submitting a COMPLETED article to an editor, try to send a pitch for a new article idea.She says it’s much easier to get repeat business with the same editor rather than continuously hunting new ones.Another “Do” that stood out is the use of strong verbs to catch the editor’s attention. Stronger descriptive verbs make the work seem tighter as they paint vivid pictures for the editors as well as eliminate unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.
Though a travel journalist should not expect to get every single work he or she produces published, following Wendy Vanhatten’s Do’s and Don’ts in addition to the guidelines in Chapter 5 is a sure way to increase one’s odds of getting his name on a byline.
