Great Escape Publishing

Posted December 10th, 2009 by Bonnie Caton & filed under Travel Writing.

New England’s Regional Go-To Pub

“We want to discover new writers. It’s why we come into the office every day: to put out a magazine that excites us. The competition is stiff; the bar for what we publish is high. But I have so many stories over the years about unpublished writers breaking in that I know it can happen for you.” — Yankee Magazine editor Mel Allen

Yankee Magazine — a print and online publication — publishes stories, photos, and videos for its residential New England readership. Stories cover the six New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

New Englanders depend on Yankee for tips on the region’s best restaurants, where to spot fall foliage, places to stay on a road trip through the North East, as well as stories about events and people in the New England community.

Yankee accepts freelance articles in its Home, Travel, Food, and Non-Fiction Editorial sections. All of those sections look approachable for new freelancers, though you might consider starting with the travel section, where current story titles include:

Newport, RI: 30 Days of Christmas
Month-long tradition of giving and goodwill, by Annie Graves
Holyoke, MA: Dead Frog Circus
Wistariahurst Museum’s creepy curiosity, by Justin Shatwell
Best 5: Eco Shops
Green goods for home and on the go, by Christie Matheson

Yankee Magazine Editor Mel Allen is happy to work with newbie writers (as you can see in his quote, above) and even wrote an article with five tips for breaking into his magazine.

As always, before sitting down to write your story, give the magazine a read to make sure that your idea fits with the content and that you’re not writing about something that’s already been covered. You can read stories from all of the magazine’s sections here.

Also, before sending in a story or photos for publication, be sure to read through the writer’s guidelines.

Send your story query or manuscript (with a cover letter) to Associate Editor Debbie Despres. It isn’t clear how much the magazine pays per article, but — on the upside — articles are paid on acceptance, so you don’t have to wait for your piece to be published to get a check.

Yankee also buys photos and gives assignments to “experienced professionals.” However, the guidelines don’t ask for examples of published work… just samples from your portfolio. This is where having a photo website, or some place where you can link to your shots, really comes in handy.

[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.]