We are actively seeking new writers for Resonate, especially those eager to write about the places they call home.
The article types we seek at Resonate are:
Destination Guides
These detailed guides have specific information about a particular place (generally a town, city or region) written by a local ‘expert’ who knows the place particularly well. In most instances, these are authored by locals who are natives or have put down roots by living in the destination longterm.
These follow a comprehensive template with several prompts that encourage writers to share their insider tips about the place that only someone who has extensive knowledge would know. This includes information about the best places to visit under several conditions, where and what to eat and drink, where to shop locally and what to buy, how to get around, what to do outside, how to connect with local people, where to get away from crowds, and the best times of year to visit for certain activities. Links to businesses and trusted official tourism sites are requested where available.
At least one high-resolution, landscape-oriented header photo is requested to run with the guide at minimum; ideally, we’d like an image for each of the guide’s sections, to match up with the text. If you can, show our readers your city as you see it.
Generally 1500-2000 words. Pay is €100 (if you are a professional writer, our fees are negotiable).
Click to read examples of Destination Guides
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Burning Issues
These articles address specific, critical issues in tourism. They consider the scope of the issue and possible solutions or the current status of a response to the issue. These articles might address an issue related to tourism in a specific destination, or they might address a more general tourism topic (but please avoid generic topics like “sustainability” and “carbon emissions”). It is ideal to bring in the voices of the people involved. While these are occasionally how-to articles, ideally they are not.
They may be written from a first-person perspective if the writer has participated in an activity addressing this issue, but they are more likely to be written in a third-person perspective. Keep in mind that the audience is travellers, so topics must be relevant and accessible to them, evergreen in nature (not tied to a timely news hook), and content should be free of jargon and buzzwords.
At least two high-resolution landscape-oriented photos are requested to run with the story.
Generally 600-1000 words. Pay is €100 (if you are a professional writer, our fees are negotiable).
Click to read examples of Burning Issues
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Game Changers
These articles focus on a person or multiple people who are doing notable work in some way related to tourism. The point of the article is to highlight the person, what they are doing, and why they are a Game Changer. These might be grounded in a specific place, but that isn’t always the case. The Game Changer should be actively included in the article, with quotes from this person, giving readers the feeling like they’re standing in a shared space with them.
Please bear in mind that what we want is a spotlight on the Game Changer themselves as an individual, rather than focussing too closely on any one organisation they’re working with in particular. Otherwise, it starts to become about the organisation instead of the person — and that’s what we need to be careful to avoid. Apart from all the other considerations, we ultimately ask ourselves: how does this Game Changer’s story link to travel and tourism? Is there a clear connection for readers?
They may be written from a first-person perspective if the writer is interacting with the Game Changer, but they are more likely to be written in a third-person perspective.
At least two high-resolution landscape-oriented photos are requested to run with the story.
Generally 600-1000 words. Pay is €100 (if you are a professional writer, our fees are negotiable).
Click to read examples of Game Changers
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Local Stories
These are first-person stories (“I,” “me,” “we,” etc.) about place-based experiences, cultural traditions, or daily aspects of life told from the perspective of people who identify as ‘local.’ These aren’t chronological or itinerary-focused stories but rather narratives that capture something special about a place. They should have a story arc of some sort, with a theme, lesson, or common thread tying the piece together. Transport us with sensory details into this unique story that can only be told by you — the person who had this experience and knows this place inside and out.
At least two high-resolution landscape-oriented photos are requested to run with the story.
Generally 600-1000 words. Pay is €100 (if you are a professional writer, our fees are negotiable).
Click to read examples of Local Stories
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Travellers’ Tales
These are stories written about a place-based experience by someone who has visited the destination. These are written from a first-person perspective and invite the reader in to observe and “participate” in this uniquely personal story.
While Resonate is a travel storytelling platform, the purpose of Travellers’ Tales is not to detail where visitors should go or what visitors should do or see. This is your story about something specific that happened, someone you met, something you learned, etc. while travelling. These aren’t chronological or itinerary-focused stories but rather first-person narratives that capture something special about a place. They should have a story arc of some sort, with a theme, lesson, or common thread tying the piece together. Transport us with sensory details into this unique story that can only be told by you — the person who had this experience while travelling.
At least two high-resolution landscape-oriented photos are requested to run with the story.
Generally 600-1000 words. Pay is €100 (if you are a professional writer, our fees are negotiable).
Click to read examples of Travellers’ Tales
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Photo Essays
Photo essays may be Local Stories or Travellers’ Tales. These are place-based stories told through a series of original photos. These essays should include 10-14 high-resolution photos, each of which is accompanied by a 50-100 word caption, and a brief essay introduction of 2-3 paragraphs. Together, these photos should tell a cohesive story about an experience, custom, tradition, event, or interaction grounded in a particular place. To make the most of the images we publish and to share them with as wide an audience as possible, we also use them for marketing purposes in channels including (but not limited to) our social media accounts.
When pitching a photo essay, please send several sample photos along with a story pitch.
Click to see examples of Photo Essays here
To Pitch
We are very intentional in the stories we accept. Before pitching, please consider the following:
- This is a travel storytelling platform, and we only publish stories about places that are meant to be visited. If you are uncomfortable with sharing your story with potential travellers, it is not the right story for Resonate.
- Stories should not be influenced by external forces. Please disclose any conflicts of interest, including whether your story was in any way compensated or supported with a press trip.
- Traditional travel writing has encouraged and rewarded parachute journalists sharing stories that weren’t rightly theirs to share. When crafting article pitches, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is it appropriate for me to write this story? Or is this someone else’s story to share?
- How does this destination and/or community benefit in a holistic way from this story?
- Are travellers welcome in this community?
The Resonate.travel storytelling platform prides itself on publishing articles that are rooted in sustainable travel efforts and centred around local communities. We achieve this through responsible travel writing.
To honour these principles, a rigorous editorial review process is in place and stories must meet our acceptance criteria to qualify for assignment. To be published on Resonate, before submission of pitches, articles must go through a screening process to ensure we publish only ethically sound content.
Potential contributors should follow these steps:
- With your story in mind, once you’ve read these Writers Guidelines, then take a look at the Responsible Travel Writing criteria, carefully reading through the checklist and content guidelines to ensure that your story is suitable for the Resonate platform;
- When you believe that your proposed story meets all of the criteria laid out above and on the Responsible Travel Writing page, you can send in the pitch;
- If you are in doubt, you can send our Content Manager an email at content@ethicaltravelportal.com and request further guidance;
- When your pitch has been approved by the Content Manager you will receive the assignment contract; by signing the contract you will affirm that you have completed the screening checklist, read all the guidelines and that your story meets all of the criteria. You will acknowledge that the story fulfils our mission of promoting responsible travel through local narratives.
We encourage people who don’t consider themselves to be professional writers to reach out. We are open to working with and coaching passionate storytellers from around the world.
Before pitching a story idea to us, we ask writers to review and take into account all of the information above to ensure their idea works for Resonate. Potential writers for Resonate are also required to check out the Responsible Travel Writing criteria to confirm that their idea is suitable and meets our content guidelines.
Once you feel that you can meet all the criteria, send an article pitch clearly outlining your idea and clarifying what section your article fits in. Do not send completed manuscripts.
