Freelance Writing: Copyright and Travel Writing - Two Questions. Two Answers!

Some great questions coming in!

The Squeaking Noodle will always try to answer your questions on writing and freelancing or find the information you need to help you on your way. Please jump in and add your comments to the following and thanks Kate for asking.

"Dear, dear Squeaking Noodle:

Thank you ever so much for answering my question about telephone contacts with editors. Now I have two other questions I hope you'll address:

What kind of rights do British newspapers demand from freelancers? I found one statement from The Independent, but haven't been able to locate information for any of the other national newspapers."

It would take forever and a day to understand the intricacies of copyright, especially now that most papers and magazines publish their archives online. Where does that leave us? Exactly. Who knows? Sure we own the copyright, but how many of us really understand what happens to our work when it pops online.

Here are two links that explain copyright better than I ever could. All I can add is, make sure you ask when you first get commissioned. Also, there is a big difference if the magazine asks you to write something as opposed to you offering them an idea or story. Same with pics - ever noticed how eager publications are to use their own in house snappers? Well, it's for a reason, use someone else's pics and they're not theirs to sell on and on and syndicate. The staff snapper snaps for a living and his rights to his pics are pretty much the price of his job.

Anyway, these links will give you plenty to think about and if you're reading this from the States - the pea fog has lifted here and the food is getting better, but you know that already.

Copyright and Authors'Rights Background - good for overview in US and UK.

National Union of Journalists take on copyright in the UK - 10 Things every Journalist Should Know About Copyright.

And if you missed this the first time around. Here it is again: The Citizen Journalism Debate from the The Guardian.

Thank you to Patrizio Rocco for the wonderful illustration.

Next up.


"I'm particularly interested in writing travel articles. In the U.S., newspapers want completed articles, not queries. Is this the case on your side of the pond?"

Again, please feel free to comment or email. Don't worry - your answers can be anonymous, just choose anon option in the comments bit under this post.

Again, it's only my opinion, but how long is a piece of knicker elastic? When it comes to travel writing, think of it this way. Everyone who can hold a pen wants to write about travel. If you have to ask why? Ask someone else.

Travel writing is one of the most sought after staff jobs. Notice, most travel editors stay in their jobs until they are carried out kicking and screaming or in a wooden box. They ain't giving up that plum post any time soon.

So, if you are a freelancer looking to break in - you can. Sure! Just remember, do the day job and treat travel writing as a perk. Pitch one or two stories a year, enjoy the trip, savour the delights and get back to reality and PLEASE do not promise to write about somewhere just to get a free trip, because it really does ruin it for everyone else and it gives us all a bad name.

Forget travel books - how long have you got? No money and more work than it's worth. Take your time, choose a destination, find the perfect and original angle and you will get a trip of your dreams, but think again when it comes to making a living out of it. A couple I met (I won't mention names) earned $10,000 for a 400,000-word travel guide. IT'S NOT WORTH IT! They didn't think it was worth it and who made the cash and who went to horror holes for peanuts. Go and check, ask travel eds - who by the way, will tell you it's crap and tiring and you wouldn't like it. They are lying! Of course, travelling gets boring - eventually, but come on guys. WE ALL KNOW IT'S A CUSHY DEAL!

So, Kate - re your question. UK editors are happy to see your pitch, some want the full article, some don't. My advise would be to think out of the box. Competition is so tough, that you need to shine. Got a trip to the Seychelles you want to write about? Forget it. The Ed will nab that one. Think more in terms of eating snails from the mouth of a goat in Slovakia or cycling for 117-hours through a forest in Russia with no supplies. Getting it yet?

I do wish you all the best. I have written many travel articles and sampled the life of luxury along the way, the life of someone who could afford to do these things for real, but I treat it as something you do seriously, but occasionally. Do it properly, get the coverage you promise and enjoy it, but in the meantime, get on with writing about everything and anything else.

That reminds me, you could go the other way and find something spectacular to write about which involves travelling to the other side of the world and then sell it to one of the papers as a reportage piece. Think out of the box and you'll be fine!

Keep up the good work!