The Database Project

In addition to working on an article or two, I've been immersed in my database project: matching story/article ideas with submission guidelines from print and online publications.

My girlfriend figures it's a waste of time -- that I should "just write". But I'm finding it useful to create an organizational system from which to pitch or submit stories.

Since selling an idea means knowing your readership, understanding the publication and convincing the editor you're the one to write on your topic, here are some categories I've found useful to catalog: 

Writer's Guidelines: Compensation or Karma?

When I first began submitting travel stories, I had little idea how to go about the task. Writing, on its own, is challenging enough. (I've been afflicted with a serious case of writer's block for about a month.) Writing for publication is another story...

Initially, I was so thrilled to see my first two stories published online (with a beautiful layout) at Vagabondish.com that I didn't seriously consider whether or not I should pitch them to a paying market. Later, when I received my first check (a $100 honorarium) for one of those stories, "Rite of Passage", published in the anthology The Best Women's Travel Writing 2009, I understood the importance of monetary compensation.