Getting my name in print in Lonely Planet

Anyone wanting to get published in travel magazines might be interested to follow my story to doing just this – to see just how achievable it can be. She says. You might remember previous posts about my photjournalist coach, Brendan, setting me tasks to get my name in print. Well here’s how I’m getting on with breaking into Lonely Planet magazine as featured on Brendiver’s World.

Seeing my stories in black and white in those shiny travel magazines seemed to be a long, long way off when I first decided I really wanted to give travel/adventure journalism a shot. But Brendan is showing me how to take baby steps to achieving this goal. To start with, he tasked me with finding opportunities that Lonely Planet is serving up to readers. And lo, in May’s edition of Lonely Planet the generous editors are asking readers for their contributions – could this be my way in? If they like the first snippet of what I can write, and then maybe the second, will they start to notice that I’m somebody they could trust to actually write up a feature piece for them?

Beavering away at the research

Well, I’m not getting ahead of myself. Let’s get back to those baby steps. On the first page the editor of Lonely Planet magazine himself, Peter Grunert, is asking for inspiration on where the most beautiful places on earth are from – yes – the readers! So right there, an opportunity and email address for me to write up my experiences of beautiful lands. I’ve already got a few ideas rolling around in my head, but you’ll have to wait and see what actually gets submitted for now.

Then flick a couple of pages and you find the ‘Share with us’ section. There’s the chance to review a hotel (and they’ll pay for a stay of up to £150) if you can convince them a particular hotel is worth checking out. They also offer readers the print space to talk about their memorable holidays – their first, best and worst. Now I generally always enjoy my travels, but the worst sprang to my mind in a flash. Hands down, it was a week in Prestatyn, Wales with the family when I was 10. The beds were flea-ridden and I came home covered in bites. You should only bear those kinds of scars if you’ve been somewhere exotic!

Then there’s the ‘Postcards’ section. This part of the magazine offers the chance to send in your pictures and the stories behind them. Excellent! The pictures featured don’t have to be necessarily taken with a really expensive camera from what I can see, but they all provide good angles to write a story from. The words sometimes tell you a different story from what you’d assume by just looking at the photograph on its own. Again, I think I’ve got a few cracking photographs from recent travels that could provide a springboard to tell a good story. But like the photos, it needs to be a snapshot. The accompanying stories can’t be more than 100 words from the entries I’ve read.

Delving further into the magazine leads me to another chance to get involved in this travel publication. The Lonely Planet team are giving readers a say in the first ever Lonely Planet awards. Following the online link takes me to where I can give my input on what’s the greatest wildlife encounter? What’s the greatest outdoor activity? The page reads: “These are the first travel awards to focus on the experiences that inspire us all to travel, from those you’ve had to those you dream of having.” I’d love to have my say and just by taking part I could win a trip to Thailand and Cambodia. I never win random online draws and competitions, but I like the idea that by getting involved, my name’s at least in the hat!

Going online gives you more chances to get involved in some way with Lonely Planet – there’s a competition to win more goodies by submitting your favourite travel photo. I’m finding that once you actually start looking, there are more ways than you think to get your toe in the travel magazine door.