Writers’ Guidelines

To get an idea of our style, you can sign up here to receive the free daily Postcards.

International Living’s general themes are retiring overseas, how to get the best deals when traveling, real estate bargains outside of the U.S., how to set up a business outside of the U.S., items that you find overseas that may sell well in the U.S. market (import-export), foreign investment…basically anything that involves saving or making money outside of the U.S.

The countries that have our attention right now are Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Belize, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Costa Rica,  France and Italy.

If we use your Postcard or information we will pay you $75. You can send Postcards (approximately 500-600 words) to Erica Mills at postcards@internationalliving.com.

If you are familiar with International Living magazine and want to contribute, you can contact Managing Editor Eoin Bassett at editor@internationalliving.com. But first, see our magazine guidelines below.

International Living Magazine is Looking for Writers…

We know from experience that there are a host of places around the world that are cheaper, healthier, safer and freer than you ever thought possible.

Can you write about them for us?
You read about one side of the world in your daily paper, you see it on TV newscasts. Murders. Wars. Airplane crashes. Politics. But there is another side of the world…one you can’t find out about by reading the paper, certainly not by watching TV. It is a world of delightful opportunities for fun…pleasure…financial security and profits…romantic discoveries…adventure… It is a world full of things you can do to make your life more fun—and more profitable.

International Living magazine aims at providing a scope and depth of information about global travel, living, retiring, investing, and real estate that is not available anywhere else at any price.

We are always on the look out for good articles.

The countries that have our attention right now are, primarily, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Belize, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand.

What do our readers want?
You aren’t writing for the IL editorial team, you are writing for our readers.

Our readership is predominantly North American, from the U.S. and Canada. They love beaches, mountains and countryside. Some of them love the city. They want to live overseas, either part-time or full time; they are interested in overseas real estate; in travel writing and photography (like you); in non real estate global investing…anything to do with making or saving money outside the U.S.

They want more travel stuff…46% want more on working overseas… Most of them want ways to stretch their dollars and simplify their lives…

Are you an expat? Then our readers want your story.

Types of Articles and Tips on How to Write Them

Our readers want good advice and insider tips on cheap travel: This article shows readers how to travel cheaper, better, more comfortably, or more efficiently. Like saving with travel auctions…couch surfing…new-and-improved hostels in Europe…best ways to change money overseas… packing tips… how to fit more in your suitcase… (these have all been done, by the way).

Articles about a community where our readers might want to live: This could be a region in a country or a city, town or village, or even a neighborhood. Talk about what the destination has to recommend it, what life is like there. Include specifics like prices for everyday things, access to health care, etc. You can write this about your own experiences, or visit a place and find out from the expats living there.

Our readers like profiles: This article is meant to inspire. This could be your story or that of someone you interview. It’s a profile of an individual or couple living the dream. They’ve moved someplace new—full or part time. Whether you’re telling your own story or that of another person answer these questions:

• What made them pick up and leave their “old” life and start over in a new place? What were you looking for? What motivated them to “leave home”? And, for that matter, where was “home”?
• How does their new place fulfill what they went in search of? Why there as opposed to someplace else?

• How is life better there? Can you give some specific examples? Show the contrast between that old life and their new one.

• What were the biggest challenges they faced in moving overseas?

• What sort of advice would they offer somebody interested in doing what they did?

• What’s their situation now? Where are they living and investing?

• Remember to get the person’s full name and permission.

Our readers like entrepreneur profiles: Have you started a business overseas? Or are you a writer who knows someone who has? Cover the specific elements, how they got started, tips and advice…

Our readers are interested in health care: This can be a first-person account from somebody who has just benefited from health care abroad. It could also be a how-to piece about insurance or special facilities available overseas (How to Cover Health Costs Overseas, for instance).

Our readers want practical advice about retiring overseas: This is a practical piece about retiring overseas. It passes along useful how-to tips, money-saving ideas, ways to “prep” for a move or adjust on the ground. This could deal with banking, staying in touch, managing all the “administrivia” of life overseas. And it can also be advice-driven (like “five questions to ask yourself before retiring overseas”).

Our readers want the insider intelligence that you can only discover on the ground: Pull back the curtain and share with readers a recommendation or some guidance they wouldn’t easily figure out on their own. This has a lifestyle and/or travel angle and can be quite narrow in scope—it could focus on a specific neighborhood in Paris, or on a great place to learn to dive in Mexico. There are millions of these articles waiting to be written. Which one are you going to do?

Our readers are interested in travel and adventure: Here we talk not about living or investing in a destination, but what to see and do there. Several kinds of articles can fit here: destination-driven (like what to see and do in Merida), activity-driven (a hiking trip in Ecuador or bird-watching excursion in Panama), or even a round-up (three Mexican beach towns nobody talks about). This piece should have a meaty need-to-know sidebar with specific travel recommendations, where to eat, stay, when to go, how to get there.

Our readers like reading about new destinations: Have you been to a place where you were the only foreigner? Have you had an adventure off the tourist trail? This is a travel article about unusual destinations or unusual activities.

One-way to write an article is as a round-up… Three ways to do… Five places to…Where to Take Your New Bride: Nine Top Honeymoon Destinations in…The Six Top Destinations to Buy on the Beach in…

…Just remember, it needs to have that unique IL take.

The bit you really want to know about…. Payment is upon publication. We pay $250 for 840 words and $400 for 1,400 words.

We’re also looking for short blurbs of 100-200 words that offer a suggestion for something to do; an insider recommendation for a place to eat, a hotel, an activity; a newsworthy note about something going on in a place that’s on our readers’ radar screens. We include these in our Globetrotter section each month as well as in our bi-monthly Lifetime Communiqué. These pay $25 each if selected for publication..

Before you get in touch…

Get to know our style. You can sign up to our Daily Postcards free of charge. Make sure you read some of these and have a look at the other content on our website before sending an article or pitching an idea.

When you are familiar with our style you can send article ideas to the managing editor, Eoin Bassett at editor@internationalliving.com. We also accept unsolicited articles on spec. If you want to send your finished article we’re happy to review it, but please do not send photos with your first submission. And make sure to take the editor’s advice…

A Few Tips from our Editor…

• We are not a travel magazine. We are the niche publication for living and retiring overseas. No descriptive, run-of-the-mill articles. That’s not to say we won’t accept articles on gastronomy in Paris, or sight-seeing in Rome. But you’ll have to work harder to get the inside track, to find the facts that no one else has. If you can find it in the weekend section of your average newspaper, send it to them instead.
• Be original: I get hundreds of articles about Thailand every year—most of them about Chang Mai and Bangkok… how is yours going to be different? Are you retiring there to become a Buddhist monk? That one I would read…

• Make recommendations in your article. We want your opinion. Tell our readers how to do things, how to catch a cab, order a meal, buy a souvenir, start a business, buy real estate, find a new place, a hidden gem.

• This is the age of the Internet. But before you get mired in the online research, remember, our readers can Google too. Original tips and advice will stand out and put your article on the top of the pile.

• Never start a story at the beginning.

• Don’t be boring. Whether you have 840 words or 1,400, use them wisely. Pack the important stuff in. Don’t waste 200 words explaining how to catch a bus…

• The best writing seems effortless because it’s easy to read. But it’s actually the hardest to write. The key to this is editing—re-read your articles with fresh eyes and a red pen in your hand.

• Always proofread your article before submission. Print it out. The human eye works better from a printed copy. Better yet, sleep on it. You’ll be amazed how many mistakes you can catch the morning after over breakfast.

• One of the best places to get article ideas is on our Facebook page. Find out what our readers are talking about.

• A word on photos: Tell me if you have some. And if asked to send a few, just pick a couple of your best. If you want them looked over immediately, make them low-res. Better yet, use an online gallery and send me the link. I won’t download a zip file to look through a hundred photos, but I will click on a link.

Please use this template when submitting articles:

Name:

Date:

Word Count:

FK Grade: [Microsoft Word allows you to do this. It’s a measure of the readability of your article. At International Living we aim for an FK grade of eight]

YOUR HEADLINE  HERE

The text of your article here in 12 point, Times New Roman.
ENDS [This shows the editor they aren’t missing any of the copy—believe me it happens]

Some Online Resources to Help You

Download the IL style guide and use it.

For tips and advice on writing travel articles and how to make money from travel writing see www.thetravelwriterslife.com and subscribe to the free e-letter available there. It’s always a good (and useful) read.

There are plenty of dictionaries online such as Merriam Webster: www.merriam-webster.com

The Economist has an online style guide with plenty of useful advice: www.economist.com/research/styleguide/

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is online at:  www.crockford.com/wrrrld/style.htm