One Thing Every Writer Hates & Tomorrow I'm Flying Across The World!
A PR PSA plus my favorite recently published work and sources I'm looking for!
You should see my bedroom floor right now. I can’t because it’s covered in clothes, packing cubes and bottles of sunscreen.
Packing for a year of travel in different climates is a special kind of stress. Every year, my partner and I repack and restock at my parent’s house in Massachusetts. We’re incredibly! excited about our 2023 travel plans, but damn, after four+ years of traveling full-time, fitting your entire life into two suitcases is still akin to Sophie’s choice.
Tomorrow we’re on an early morning direct flight from Boston to Honolulu for a three-day layover to break up the long haul to Australia. After three years away, we’ll be spending the festive season with my partner’s family, and I can’t wait to spot kangaroos and eat chips with chicken salt.
PR PSA
Last week fellow freelance travel writers sounded off about one of my biggest pet peeves when working with PR.
More and more often, writers are being asked to source images for their articles. This can be a frustrating extra task when PR sends massive image files or links with an expiration date. If I had a dollar for every time I got a WeTransfer link that expired before my article was even due, I could quit freelancing!
It’s always best to send Dropbox or Google Image links. But to be honest, it’s fine as long as it doesn’t expire. I then take them and insert them into my Google doc for my editor to access.
The issue with sending an expiring image link is it makes our jobs harder. We then have to either download them onto our desktops and remember to attach them in the email to our editor (which isn’t ideal for them either), download them and create out own Dropbox link (which takes up space) or just let them expire and expect an email from an editor requesting new images (which means we have to come back to PR).
So long story short, please never send out expiring image links. K? Thanks!
My Favorite Recent Stories
National Geographic UK: The gentle giants of Hanifaru Bay, Maldives
Essentialist: Just Back From Soneva Kiri
The Points Guy: The 18 Best Places To Travel in 2023 - Jordan
Amplify it! When you share coverage I’ve written on social media, please tag me on: LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter (for now). Don’t forget to connect with me there too!
!Editorial Needs!
T List - Wanderlust
*Always looking*
Looking for luxury, independently-owned (no chains) boutique hotels opening in February/March.
Must be available for exclusive coverage with T List.
I’m Taking On New Clients In 2023
In January I’m taking on 1-2 new copywriters clients. If you or a colleague are in need of website copy, blog posts or social media copy, please reach out to me at klockhart14@gmail.com
My Upcoming Travels
December - Honolulu & Australia
January - Australia & Vietnam
February - Vietnam & Laos
If you’d like to work together while I’m in any of these locations please send me an email at klockhart14@gmail.com
Please Share This Newsletter With Your Colleagues
I’m always looking to grow and develop my network of travel and food publicists and friends. If you find my newsletter helpful, or if you know someone who might, please share it with them. Thanks!
Other journalist newsletters you should definitely subscribe to: Follow my friends and brilliant colleagues so you can stay up-to-date on their pitching needs too: Jill Schildhouse, Alice Dubin, Aly Walansky, Cassandra Brooklyn, Ali Wunderman and Elen Turner.