But, wait! If you want to give your article the upper-hand and improve its chances of getting published, follow these tips and tricks for writing a great article... then submit it and claim your glory.
- Give us a reason to believe you. If you want to write about the best ways to mount a camel, then you should probably give us some background on why you're an expert on camel-mounting. Don't forget the where, when, why, how and what of that background, too.
- Our readers are pretty knowledgeable, but explain things thoroughly anyway. Don't just throw out a reference to the Siang River without any explanation. Anything that might not be familiar to all our readers should be defined or elaborated. Example: Everyone should raft down the Siang River, a part of the largest river system India, Brahmaputra, that's popular with white water rafters.
- Tell us something new. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to give us information, insights or perspectives that we haven't already heard a hundred times before. We're not looking for an article about how staying in a hostel is a cool experience; most of our readers have already been there, done that. But a hostel with monkey butlers? Now that we want to hear about.
- Do your research and check your facts. There's nothing worse than an article littered with mistakes and inaccuracies. Don't mix up Monaco and Morocco, and remember that Africa is a continent, not a country.
- Funny is good, but keep it appropriate. A little lightheartedness and humour can go a long way, but don't overdo it, and make sure it's appropriate. So if your article mentions an orphanage burning down, skip the jokes. Example: Monkey butlers! That was funny, right?
- Paint a picture, and be specific. We love stories that, well, tell a story. Specific anecdotes that illustrate your point are a great way to bring your story to life and demonstrate your points. So, instead of talking about how scary shark diving is, show us how scary shark diving is.
- Deliver a polished product. A good way to get overlooked is to submit an article that's difficult to understand, awkwardly worded or littered with grammar and spelling mistakes. Read your article thoroughly before you submit it; even better, read it aloud so you can hear if it just doesn't sound right.
And if that's not enough, check out these suggestions on how to write a BAD travel article - sometimes you can learn more from a list of DON'Ts, than from a list of DOs.
If you keep all these things in mind, you stand a much better shot of getting your article published with Verge. Good luck, and happy writing!
