My first published article was in Northwest Travel magazine. I had one publishing credit (a minuscule sidebar on poinsettias) so I had to sell the editor on the strength of my idea. I was living in New Westminster, BC and was taken with the community's rich history. I wanted to break into travel writing so New Westminster seemed to be a good starting place.
I checked Writer's Market and decided Northwest Travel would be a possible market for my idea.
My letter to Northwest Travel, is a good example of a basic query letter. I would change parts of the letter, if I was writing it now, but it got the job done.
My article, New Westminster: Dine and Dream in History, appeared in the March/April, 1997 edition of Northwest Travel magazine.
For this article, the actual query letter is blue and my comments are black.
Northwest Travel
PO Box 18000
Florence OR 97439
Dear Judy Editor:
Address the query to the right editor. Look at the magazine's masthead and choose the editor most closely aligned with your type of article. Some magazines have travel editors, others have individual editors for each section of the magazine i.e. an editor specifically for weekend getaways.
Choose an editor most appropriate for your idea and then carefully note the correct spelling of the editor's name!
Sitting in the elbow of the Fraser River, New Westminster is a grown up frontier town paying homage to its pioneering past. Strolling the city's streets, we glimpse the ghosts of the settlers' spirits. Apparitions of horse drawn buggies, swinging saloon doors and weather worn boardwalks mingle with the hustle and bustle of present day life.
Grab the editor's attention from the start. When I wrote the query, I had not finished the article but I had a rough copy of the basic manuscript. I worked on the article's opening and used that to start my query.
Less than an hour from the U.S./Canadian border, New Westminster, British Columbia is a great getaway to the pioneering past. A number of the city's heritage homes provide attractive sites for Bed & Breakfasts and restaurants. 'The Nels Nelson Mansion' and 'Hillhouse,' built in 1913 and 1910, provide intimate and relaxing Bed & Breakfast accommodation to travellers and The Keg Restaurant is housed in the original 1899 Canadian Pacific Railroad Station.
