Writer Guide

Last Updated on Saturday, August 28 2010 18:26

About Us - Info

Printed editions of Earthwalkers Magazine will be distributed at local hostels and hangouts worldwide.  To receive updates about paid writing and photography assignments, subscribe to the "writing assignments" newsletter found at the bottom of your Earthwalkers profile. In the newsletter writer compensation info will be attached to each story assignment. Compensation ranges from $10 - $150 USD.

Preference is given to members with active Earthwalker profiles that can showcase their writing and/or photography through their Earthawalker blogs and albums.

Email or submit our article via the website's submit article function.

Contributing Earthwalkers are: backpackers, exchange students, expats, local experts, travel writers, and wannabe travel writers. Did we cover everyone?

Those living and studying abroad have the advantage of time - time to experience local culture and take the route less traveled by tourists and short-term visitors. Your first-hand stories will provide local insight and background information to those who are planning their own trips or just want to learn.

Some Story Ideas: local personalities and communities, hangout spots, trends, effects of globalization, festivals, local slang, how-to's and survival guides…etc.

Local and Traveling Journalists
Stories from local and traveling journalists are important to Earthwalkers and play a significant part in our balance in content. The stories that require research, interviews and in-depth reporting are what we are looking for in our feature stories.

Earthwalkers is looking for consistent and reliable journalists from all over the globe who understand the need to report about our changing world. If you want to be this kind of correspondent writer, we’d love to hear from you.

Guest Travel Blogger
Going somewhere? We want to come too! If you can dedicate yourself to blogging about your trip at least once a week, we’d love to have you as our guest blogger. Give us the play by play.

 

In Every Issue - stories we are always looking for

* Camera Lens: Photo stories from photo journalists. Submit your photos with captions and a short intro.

* Exchange: For study abroad students to share their experiences studying at a host university. This feature should provide insight to those planning on studying abroad. It is to let others know about specific destinations and univerisities from those who have already been there.

* Expat Experience: Stories of or by those living abroad.  Subjects could be but are not limited to: living, working, running a business, starting a career, loathing or starting a family abroad.

* Giving Back: Showcases a nonprofit humanitarian group. Stories about your work with a humanitarian group. Profile piece about people who have started their own humanitarian groups.

* Journal: First person short story, usually about a specific event or turn of events while traveling. This feature could be reflective or just a recording of your adventures. Don't be shy. This features is uncensored (with the exception of excess profanity.)

* Music: Stories of local band or musician that has garnered local fame or travels and performs internationally. Provide summary of band/musician, clip and info on where we can find them throughout the year.

* Occasion: A current or upcoming holiday. Tell us who’s celebrating, why, where and when. Think several months ahead for this feature, as the magazine is monthly with occasional updates.

* Shop: Best places to shop in the world from street markets and boutiques to specialty shops and amazing malls.

* Taste Buds: Tell us about food, how we can find it, make it or eat it.

* Teaching Abroad: Stories about your experiences teaching abroad and/or reviews of your teaching abroad program/agency

* Tips & Advice: Travel tips, advice and "how to" articles

* The Hangout: Short description of a local hangout or hole-in-the-wall venue or restaurant that travelers can get to on their own. No franchises or tourist attractions please.

* Hostels and accomodations: More than just a short reveiw of these places, but a personal story about your experience there and the people who own/manage it. What makes one hostel more interesting than the next?

 

***Travelers, there are no required years of experience, just great story ideas. Use your Earthwalkers profile to blog, upload video and photos. We're always looking for great user-generated content to be featured on the website.
***Journalists and experienced writers pitching feature stories should include writing samples in e-mail. Writers will be chosen on past works but also on how active their Earthwalker user profiles are. Feel free to share and post your writing samples to your Earthwalkers blog.

Earthwalkers editors will edit all stories for publication. Approved stories will be sent to the original authors for their final approval before publication.

Don’t worry, we won’t change much. Editing will mostly deal with grammar and organization. We want your story to stay exactly the way you experienced it.

How to submit a story

For now, it should be pretty straight forward. Once you hit the "save" button at the top, you will be redirected back to the frontpage. This means your story has been submittted. No need to submit again. If your not sure what section and category your story should go under, no worries, the editor will decide that once published.

Your should hear back from someone within two weeks on whether or not your story was accepted. If you've waited longer than two weeks, don't hesitate to send the editor a reminder note. Please message via user profile. You can find the editor's user profile by doing a friend search from your user profile. Search for "editor."

Submission Guidelines

Your story submission should:

1. Be usable for the print edition of Earthwalkers: Stories should be complete in thought and the information should be useful to the reader. Unlike blogs, which are usually personal thoughts and updates for friends and family, stories must be able to reach all audiences.
If writing a story about your personal trip, stay away from giving the play by play (I woke up, ate breakfast, visited the market, went hiking, had dinner, then to bed) but instead key in on one aspect of your trip or day and expand on that.

2. Be you! Let others get to know you. Let your personality come through in your writing. Unless the story is a main feature or in-depth story, let others know what you really think, after all, we’re learning from each other on Earthwalkers and your insights are important to the next traveler. Leave the fluff for luxury travel magazine. Earthwalkers wants you to say it how it is. Give it to them straight.

3. Provide enough background information: Don’t assume that everyone will know what you are talking about when you make references to people, places and things.

Example: “I went to the Capital Hill Block party and I highly recommend it.”
Should instead read more like, “I went to the Capital Hill Block party, which showcases over 60 of the best Northwest and national independent bands, and I highly recommend it. The neighborhood is known for its mixture of arts, music, hipsters and the queer community.”

4. Short and sweet: Let’s face it, it’s hard to capture and hold people’s attention these days. Unless you’re writing a in-depth feature, try to keep your story less than 700 words. But wait, there’s more!? Do it in creative ways, such as using video or photos. Say your story has several parts to it. Break it up and relay part of that information in text, the other using multimedia.

 

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