This week I'm breaking down something almost nobody talks about: why your email subject lines might be the real reason editors aren't replying to your pitches (or even opening them).

I'm sharing the exact subject line formulas I use (including one that took multiple rewrites before it finally landed a commission), the difference between a subject line and a headline that almost every writer gets wrong, and how to tell whether your subject lines are the problem in the first place.

Love the show? Share it with a fellow writer or leave a review 🙏🏻

Sign up to get weekly email newsletters all about travel writing here.

Let's connect! Come say hi on Instagram.

Happy writing + travelling! - Lindy

This week I'm joined by Fiona Tapp, award-winning travel writer, editor, and my co-coach inside The Travel Writer Accelerator.

Fiona is a Londoner who's been based in Ottawa, Canada for 20 years, which makes her the perfect person to unpack exactly how press trips and pitching work differently on each side of the world.

We get into all of it, including:

• Why Australian writers are expected to confirm commissions before they say yes to a trip (and how to handle it when you can't)
• Why North American writers almost never pitch before a trip and what editors actually want instead
• The document Fiona sends PRs who push back on her - and why it works every time
• The unspoken triangle between writers, editors and PRs (and why the press trip is almost treated like a secret in North America)
• How many stories a good freelancer should realistically expect to place from a single trip, and what's changed in the PR world post-COVID and what it means for your relationships with PRs.

Plus: payment terms and the hidden costs of press trips

🎓 Fiona and I work together helping writers land regular travel writing commissions inside The Travel Writer Accelerator — find out more here

Love the show? Please share the love with a fellow writer or leave a review 🙏🏻

From Silence to National Geographic and BBC Travel: Jade Raykovski's Travel Writing Breakthrough

For years, Jade Raykovski pitched without seeing much success.

Rejections, when she got them, were rare - mostly she heard nothing at all.

Then something shifted, and in a relatively short space of time, Jade went from wondering if travel writing was ever going to happen for her to landing commissions with National Geographic, BBC Travel, and a growing list of other publications.

In this episode, we unpack exactly how that happened.

We talk about:

• How a seven-week solo trip to Europe, taken just days after Jade quit her job, turned into 10+ commissioned articles
• The moment a small mention of a local festival in a pitch became the seed for a National Geographic commission
• How a rejection on one story idea led to a BBC Travel commission on the same idea — and what changed in between
• What it actually feels like opening an email from a major publication's editor

If Jade's story resonated with you and you'd like support building this kind of momentum in your own travel writing, applications for The Travel Writer Accelerator (TWA) are open now. Apply here to join The Travel Writer Accelerator