The Everywhere blog

You have questions. Your editor has answers. Here are some helpful hints on how to improve your chances of getting published in Everywhere magazine.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH POSTCARDS? WHAT ARE THEY?

A Postcard is basically a comment about a specific place. We call them Postcards because we're looking for something more than just a few words along the lines of "this place rocks" or "this place sucks." A Postcard is meant to be like a postcard you'd write while on vacation. It should provide some detail about your experience at the place: where you went, what you were doing, what you saw, and what made the place memorable.

WHY SHOULD I BOTHER WRITING POSTCARDS?

Simple: Writing a good postcard is probably the easiest way to get published in Everywhere. In fact, there's a whole section of the magazine devoted to Postcards. You don't have to write a lot in a Postcard, but a one-sentence Postcard ("I had fun here!") won't do you much good either. Ideally, a postcard should tell a short story about your experience at the place, so something about a paragraph long is ideal.

I'M A GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER, BUT I CAN'T WRITE. CAN I STILL GET PUBLISHED?

Yes, but remember that Everywhere is a travel magazine, not a photography magazine. Travel magazines are meant to be read, not just looked at, so photographs that include some extended caption text are generally more likely to be published than those that simply include a basic title or label. (See our suggestions on how to write Postcards, above.) Don't be intimidated: We're not looking for perfect prose, but we are looking for enthusiasm and descriptive detail. A few words can make a very big difference: Sometimes a good caption will transform a mediocre travel snapshot into a publishable gem -- if the text turns the photo into fun a little story.

I'M A GREAT WRITER, BUT A HORRIBLE PHOTOGRAPHER. CAN I STILL GET PUBLISHED?

Absolutely. Again, because Everywhere is a travel magazine, not a photography magazine, we can always pair your excellent words with an excellent photograph from someone else in the Everywhere community. So, for example, if you've been to Grand Canyon National Park, but you didn't take any pictures during your visit, don't let that hold you back. Write a Postcard or an Article about your visit. If the Everywhere community likes your excellent prose, we'll pair your words with some equally excellent photography from another member of the community.

I'VE CREATED A DOZEN NEW PLACES ON THE WEBSITE. AM I AWESOME OR WHAT??

You may well be awesome, but quality counts more than quantity. Creating places is important, but what matters most is what you have to say about the place based on your experiences there. So if you create a place, and you really loved it, tell us about that, either in a Postcard, an Article, or a detailed photo caption.

WHAT ABOUT PLACE DESCRIPTIONS? ISN'T THAT THE SAME AS WRITING A POSTCARD?

Nope. Place Descriptions are meant to be generic summaries of a place: What it is, what it offers, and basic travel details. If you're adding a new place on the website, your best bet is to write a basic description during the "create a place" process, and then add a Postcard that describes your experience at the place in greater detail. We do not plan to publish place descriptions in the magazine, but we do plan to publish lots and lots of Postcards.

ANY OTHER TIPS ON HOW I CAN GET PUBLISHED?

Sure! Everywhere needs many different kinds of articles, including how-to tips, testimonials about your favorite travel gear, handy lists, short-form stories (with great photos) for the front section of the magazine, and pieces that provide insight or advice based on your own travel expertise. Each issue will include several pieces in each of these categories, which means there are many more opportunities for you to get your stuff in print. So don't just think in terms of long-form features or photo essays. You've got lots of brilliance to offer, and we need it all!

WILL I GET PAID IF MY STUFF IS ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION?

Oh yes. Published contributors receive $100 and a one-year subscription to the magazine. You can receive this payment either for your words (in the form of a Postcard or Article), or for your photos, or both.

OK, GREAT. SO, WHEN CAN WE SEE THE MAGAZINE?

All of the above will make a lot more sense once you see how Everywhere looks in print. Copies of Issue 1 will be available at a newsstand near you in mid-December, but in the meantime you can get a preview by downloading the Sneak Peek.

Hopefully, seeing the magazine will answer many of your questions about what we're looking for and how the material you submit on the website will look when it appears in print. And remember, we're counting on you to help us build Issue 2!

When 8020 Publishing asked me to edit the first issue of Everywhere, I immediately headed to the local newsstand to see what the existing crop of travel magazines had to offer. One thing quickly became obvious: Judging from the covers I saw arrayed before me, today's travel mags seemed to assume that I either wanted to read the Ultimate Guide to 31 Getaways in Tuscany, or that I was gearing up for an arduous backpacking trip in the Alaskan wilderness.

That struck me as an absurd distinction. In the course of a typical year, many people do both—they indulge themselves with high-end luxury vacations, but they also enjoy leaving it all behind to follow a few roads less traveled. It's not a question of money, really; globe-trotters of modest means are usually resourceful enough to figure out how to get a slice of the high life, while many affluent travelers figured out long ago that there's not necessary a correlation between how much you spend on your vacation and how much you enjoy it. In the end, what matters most is the quality of the experience and how well it matched up with your expectations.

It makes perfect sense for Everywhere to be the magazine that will resolve the schizophrenia I noticed at the newsstand. This magazine will be made by its readers, so it stands to reason that our readers will have a full range of travel tales to tell. That explains why you'll find our cover story on cosmopolitan Tokyo running right alongside our photo essay on the awkward intimacy of going home for the holidays. It also explains why you'll find Esther Dyson's tour of the world's best hotel pools bumping up against Gary McLaughlin's tips on how to behave if you're stuck in a snow cave. The juxtapositions may seem extreme at first, but I suspect they reflect different facets of the trips you'll take in the course of a typical year—OK, minus the snow cave bit, perhaps.

The first issue of Everywhere is actually a prototype. Naturally, our goal is to introduce ourselves to readers and advertisers. But even more, we really want you to see what we're trying to do—how we display photos, how we tell stories, and what kind of stories we want to tell. That way, we hope you'll understand how you can contribute to future issues of Everywhere by joining our community at everywheremag.com.

Every great travel tale has to start somewhere, and our journey is just beginning. Welcome aboard!

Todd Lappin
Editor
Everywhere magazine

Everywhere Magazine was born from a basic idea: Travel is all around you. To us, this sentence embodies the belief that travel is not something to be enjoyed once a year, but every day, no matter where you are. Whether you are looking for something exotic or close by, travel should be accessible and something that you can do at any time.

We’re different from other travel magazines because each issue of Everywhere is created by the world’s largest and most experienced staff of travel experts: you! As more and more people are traveling, taking great photos and collecting great stories, we feel like there has never been time to make the worlds most relevant travel magazine. It's your insider perspective and expertise that makes Everywhere much more interesting and authentic.

So jump in and discover some places, read some articles, and if you have a cool place or two that you love, let us know about it.