CONTRIBUTORS’ GUIDELINES
Second Chance Travels is unabashed about our passion for women’s travels and discovery. Our sole aim is to inspire readers to fall in love with travel and to follow their dreams. This new digital publication contains a vibrant mix of immersive experiences that whisk readers away to unexpected locales, along with practical information that proves how accessible such adventures can be. Plus, Second Chance Travels introduces readers to other women who are living their dreams, along with the social media connections to keep up with them later. Together we will build a network of fulfilled women.
Second Chance Travels: For Women on the Go
The publication is updated weekly, and includes a bi-weekly newsletter that is emailed to a list of subscribers (not spam). We have a growing readership. We are written by women for women.
We are looking for contributors who can knowledgeably write about (and photograph) local sights, scenes, and activities, as well as individuals as they relate to travel, food, adventure, women’s golf, and personality profiles. As a new publication, we are seeking writers interested in growing with us. Please find descriptions of the individual sections below.
We want well-written, positive articles that are candid, honest, and most of all helpful and encouraging. Remember that your audience may not be as well traveled as you, and they need your inspiration to venture forth. We are in the market for offbeat articles, particularly ones with fresh approaches to familiar destinations. More than listing what to see and do, help readers see it, hear it, even smell it. Talk with locals and include them; their voices are critical to painting a full picture.
Writers are expected to verify all facts in the story.
Style
The tone of Second Chance Travels ranges from chatty and friendly to inspirational. Stories should always capture the readers’ imagination with irresistible leads, informed quotes, colorful descriptions, clean transitions, and strong endings. We accept first-person pieces when the writer’s experience helps illuminate a larger point about the destination; otherwise, stories should be in third person. In general, we follow AP guide, with the Oxford Comma.
Pitching
Please note: Do not send unsolicited manuscripts. Send ideas only, not completed features, via email to Annette@SecondChanceTravels.com. We do not accept pitches that have the main aim of promoting specific products or businesses.
Pitches must be thought out, well written, and focused. Do not send lists of incomplete ideas. Like a completed story, queries should have a headline, deck, and lead. A well-crafted pitch will usually run a paragraph in length, in which you explain how you envision the completed story and why it would be perfect for Second Chance Travels. Please become familiar with the website and its categories before pitching. And please explain how you plan to illustrate the story (see Photos below).
First-time contributors should include a one- or two-sentence bio, including occupation, place of residence, and where your previous work has been published. Please also include links to your social media sites. Those will be posted with your stories so you can pick up followers through Second Chance Travels. Please also attach two recently published stories as a reference. If you are new to freelance gigs, then we will ask for a complete story on spec before your initial acceptance.
If a story is commissioned and then not accepted for publication, we pay a $25 kill fee.
Story Categories: Stories range from 350 to 2,000 words.
Adventures: Stories highlighting destinations across North America and the world must have strong angles and interesting approaches. We tend to avoid simple profiles and general tourism features that highlight where to shop, eat, stay, but want you to include those in an If You Go sidebar (see below). Remember that your audience needs you to encourage them to take an adventure—these are not hard-core travelers. Think soft adventures.
Culinary: These pieces feature an engaging approach to food and travel. This is where the story on street food in Portland goes, or a feature on Raleigh’s Ashley Christensen’s latest restaurant. Your story could focus on traveling on a diet—or even taking a trip to kick start a diet. Or, what to do when your host offers you a tall glass of ice cold buttermilk that you must drink. Be creative here.
Lodging: Women who don’t travel much worry about where to stay, and today the options are wider than ever before. Lodging stories feature resorts, hotels, Airbnb, couch surfing, and even camping and glamping.
Golf: The old boys golfing era is over, and women’s golf is the major growing segment of the game. These stories feature golf resorts around the world, and look at them as a woman’s destination. We want to know how welcoming these places are to the woman golfer.
Personalities: These features follow a Q&A interview format with women who have grabbed their second chance at happiness and are living their dreams. Subjects must have a social media presence and be willing to post those connections for our readers. This is the heart of Second Chance Travels, and we will build a community through these stories.
Tips: Keep your reader in mind as you explore pieces that help lesser-traveled women put this dream together. Maybe it’s an interview with a psychologist who studies women, or maybe you have simple packing solutions. Maybe the tip is on how to pack shoes. Have fun with these.
Blog: This is the place for newsy items. The staff will probably write most of these, but we welcome themed blog pitches from writers wanting to post several items over the course of a week.
Fact Checking
Writers must fact-check stories, especially proper names, locations, prices, phone numbers, and websites. This is a requirement. Should your story publish with unchecked, incorrect information, you will not be hired again by Second Chance Travels.
Photos
Stories with photos are more likely to be published. However, you must have clear rights to use the photos, and you must declare the source and photo credit for each photo submitted. Lack of photos with cleared rights will keep a story from being accepted.
High-res jpeg files may be uploaded to DropBox and shared with Second Chance Travels. High-res jpeg files may be sent by e-mail. Photos should be sent one per e-mail, with the proper caption and photographer’s ID on each.
If You Go Boxes
Writers must supply this additional information in condensed form. Depending on the scope of the story, we try to give readers as much practical information about how to enjoy a destination as possible. That includes the following categories:
- Where to stay: Names, websites, room rates, and a short description for up to three hotels in a range of prices.
- Where to eat: Names, websites, a short description of the food, and the range of main-dish prices for up to three restaurants of varying price ranges.
- What to do: Name and website for corresponding visitors bureau. Name, website, and entrance fees for any attraction mentioned.
Stories with a narrower angle may not need all of the above information. For instance, a story on bargain shopping in Paris may require only information on the stores mentioned; a story on a honeymoon expedition to a specific lodge in Belize may require all the above information except where to eat and where to stay if the package is all-inclusive.
Subsidized Stories
We do accept articles where the writer accepted subsidized research on a press trip, but only when clearly noted–and the story will notate that for the reader. We do not accept articles about places or subjects in which the writer has any personal or professional interest that could compromise—or appear to compromise—her objectivity. In other words, no press trips, no freebies from resorts or travel agencies, no writing about the resort owned by your cousin.
Fees/Expenses
Payment is processed within one month of publication. We do not pay travel expenses. The writer and commissioning editor will agree upon the fee at the time of commissioning. Payments are made by check.