Featured Pub: About.com

From: The Right Way to Travel <thewriteway(at)thetravelwriterslife.com>
Date: Thu Oct 04 2007 - 16:59:39 EDT

Dear Nelson,

This week we depart from our regular coverage to let you know about a unique opportunity that might be just right for travel writers.

Read on to find out how you can score a regular writing gig on a topic you're passionate about -- and get paid to do it.

Lori Allen
Director, AWAI's Travel Division

October 4, 2007

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Featured Publication: About.com
Website: www.about.com

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Become a Travel Guide
By Roberta Beach Jacobson in Karpathos, Greece

Are you the expert that other people turn to for advice when planning their vacations, their weekends away, or even just a day-trip to a nearby town? Are you enthusiastic about your town or region -- and can you share that enthusiasm with other?

If so, perhaps you have what it takes to become an About.com Guide. .
About.com is the web's leading provider of practical solutions to everyday problems. The experts at About.com offer advice on hundreds of topics, ranging from action movies to great getaways. Some topics of interest to travel writers would be the many locations around the country, for which About.com is seeking experts.

The best part is that you'd be covering an area you know and enjoy. This is a great place to share your expertise with others. Plus it's certainly credibility building -- something you'd want to let editors know about when you query them with your article ideas (read: clearly you're a pro, or you wouldn't have this regular gig). What's more, with a guaranteed outlet for your stories, you'll be in a strong position to land spots on press trips, too.

Current topics available (that is, looking for guides) include Louisville, KY, Senior Travel, UK Long-Haul Holidays/Travel, Miami for Visitors, El Paso, TX, and the list goes on and on. You can browse...

(continued below...)

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through it at: http://beaguide.about.com/topics.htm

As a guide, you must --

• 1) have a passion for your topic,
• 2) be familiar with HTML code,
• 3) publish (at a minimum) two full-length articles on your topic every two weeks, and
• 4) post regular updates to your blog site.

The most successful guides also maintain a directory of the best content within their chosen topic and serve as community leaders in the About.com discussion forums.

To get an idea what is required to be successful as a destination guide, take a look at a sample guide site for Cleveland, OH at: http://sample2.about.com/

To get started as a guide, you choose a topic from the list of topics that are currently available. Then you apply online at: http://beaguide.about.com/applynow.htm. You'll be asked to submit a writing sample relevant to the topic you choose, and you'll also be asked to share your relevant experience that shows you're qualified for the job.

If your application is successful, you'll begin a 17-day online training program called "prep". You'll find all the details here: http://beaguide.about.com/training.htm

When you successfully complete "prep" and your site goes live, you are guaranteed to make at least $725 per month -- and it's likely that you will make much more than that over time. Compensation is based on page views. The more people you attract to your site, the more you get paid.

All About.com guides are freelancers who work online and set their own schedules. As a travel writer you'll have the flexibility to log on from anywhere in the world whenever you have the time.

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Travel, Writing & Photography Resources

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• A Fellow Reader from Queensland, Australia Took His Wife on a $2,000 Vacation for $53.67, here how: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/itj/letushelp
• "Do you suffer from "Travel Speak?" Here's the cure...: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/archive/issues/issue_004.php
• The Curse of the Detail Trap: A Simple Way to Identify What to Keep and What to Cut http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/archive/issues/issue_043.php
• Retire and get paid to travel: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/kp/letushelp
• Know a friend or two who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's or photographer's life? They, too, can sign up to receive this free e-letter here: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/eletter
• Learn the Trade Secrets of Traveling the World while Getting VIP Perks... and Paychecks to Boot: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/trc/letushelp

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One of the surest ways there is to increase your chances of landing a by-line -- increase it many, many times over -- is to have an expert give your writing a once-over before you send it anywhere.

Somebody who won't just catch typos, but really give you some insider advice about where your article might be weak and show you how to fix it.

That's what Unlimited Critiques provides... and it's an invaluable program. Visit:
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The Right Way to Travel is a FREE newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.

It is coming to you because you are either a member of The Ultimate Travel Writer's Program or Turn Your Pictures into Cash, or you have opted to receive information about getting paid to travel from the AWAI Travel Division.

(c) 2007 American Writers & Artists Inc. 245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
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Phone (561) 278-5557
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Received on Thu Oct 4 17:15:23 2007