How I Secured a Writing Assignment About My Caribbean Vacation

Pitcher Bobby Ojeda and
center fielder Lenny Dykstra
playing volleyball on the cruise.

Seven days and seven Caribbean Islands by themselves would have given me a lifetime of memories for this cruise, but what made it even more special was the fact that it was a publicity tour for the New York Mets and I got to meet a few players as well as other members of the team.

The year was 1986 and the Mets had just won the World Series. It was their first World Series win since 1969. I was 28 and a dedicated Mets fan at the time. (I actually switched teams years later and became a Yankee fan.)

At the time, I worked for the Stamford Advocate, my local newspaper, but in sales, not editorial. I had written a couple of freelance pieces for the paper and I secretly wished I could get them to approve an article about my cruise for the sports desk.

On Friday, the day before we were to leave on the Cunard Countess out of Puerto Rico, an editor came over to the sales department and said there was going to be birthday cake for a reporter named Eileen at 3:00 and invited everyone in the sales department to come down. I ended up standing right next to Bob, the sports editor, as I ate my piece of cake so I made my move. Only half-joking, I said, “You should have me write an article about my cruise with the World Series winning Mets.”

I went back to my desk thinking nothing was going to come of it, but 10 minutes later, Bob came over to me and said “yes, we want you to write the story.” I was walking on cloud 9! In the end, the newspaper gave me almost a full page. And to this day it is still my favorite article, even though I’ve written as many as 2,000 pieces of content.

Are you interested in writing about a travel destination?
Don’t be afraid to solicit publications—there are plenty of opportunities out there for firsthand travel experiences, but you should do it at least two months before you leave to ensure they can fit you into the schedule. If you get approved, be sure to ask the editor what key points he or she would like you to focus on and who the audience is so you know who you’re writing for. Finally, once you hand the article in, be sure to have another idea ready to pitch. In other words, “strike while the iron is hot.” It doesn’t have to be a travel piece unless the publication is travel niched. Check the website to see what other opportunities exist and say, “I see that you cover a lot of… I have seven years’ experience in that area…”

Good luck and happy writing!

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