Writers Guidelines

Write for Us at PlayStayEat.com

PlayStayEat.com welcomes great writers who are reliable and easy to work with. We are looking for Guest Contributors for single articles as well as Regular Contributors (see below).

Guest Contributors can query for individual guest articles for PlayStayEat by sending a traditional query to [email protected]. Include a detailed query for proposed story.  Guest Contributors are welcome and can later apply to be a Regular Contributor if interested. If the query is accepted, please follow the guidelines below for Text (800 – 1,500 words), Photo Submissions (8 – 12 quality photos) and Social Media. 

Since we are a new publication, beginning pay is $10 per article. Payment will be made via PayPal.

Guest Contributors

STAND ALONE ARTICLES

Stand-alone articles are single articles about a destination. Writers are expected to highlight some of the best places to Play, Stay, and Eat at a special location in the US or abroad. Follow the guidelines below (800 – 1500 words with 8 to 12 quality photos) for text and photos. Most articles published at PlayStayEat are Stand Alone Articles. 

Writers can query for individual guest articles for PlayStayEat by sending a traditional query to [email protected]. Include a detailed query for proposed story.  Guest Contributors are welcome, but preference will be given to Regular Contributors. If the query is accepted, please follow the guidelines below for Text (800 – 1,500 words), Photo Submissions (8 – 12 quality photos) and Social Media below. 

Text for articles

  1. Submit text as a Word document along with photos via a Dropbox link in a folder. Submit one folder for each article and related photos
  2. Regular Contributors and Guest Contributors): 800 – 1,500 words
  3. Use subheading every one, two or three paragraphs
  4. Indicate recommended placement of photos within text:  Insert Ca’Pisani Hotel in Venice near the Accademia © Scott Kendall
  5. See Photo Submission Guidelines for photo details

Photo Submission Guidelines

  1. Only good quality photos (no blurry, fuzzy, boring photos). Take a few minutes with a photo editor to lighten, brighten, and sharpen.
  2. As close to 150 KB in size as possible (BulkResizePhotos.com is an easy-to-use website to resize photos to 150 kb)
  3. File names for photos should include a descriptive name using at least one or two keywords and should be the same as the caption that will appear with the photo in the article as well as photo credit:  Ca’Pisani Hotel in Venice near the Accademia © John Doe. If it is your photo taken by you, include (Description of photo © your name) in the caption.
  4. Please be sure you give proper credit to photos that are not yours. Even if the photo is free, you may still need to give attribution to the photographer (Description of photo © photographer’s name)
  5. In your word document, include the recommended placement of each photo within the text:  Insert Ca’Pisani Hotel in Venice near the Accademia © John Doe.
  6. If credit is not indicated, I will assume it is your photo. If not, include credit:  Ca’Pisani Hotel in Venice near the Accademia ©  VisitVenice.
  7. Include keywords in metadata as much as possible for images and videos.
  8. For videos, include link to video (usually to a youtube video url).

Social Media

Social Media is an important extension of our work as travel writers. In addition to the written article and photos, writers are expected to engage potential readers with a mix of social media. At minimum, writers should post at least six times for each story, ideally during the research/visitation phase and again at the publication of the article. Inclusion of links to playstayeat.com and appropriate hashtags are important, including #playstayeat and #(destination/attraction) and others. Appropriate outlets would be a combination of:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TravMedia
  • LinkedIn
  • Others

As an example, a writer would post 3 FB and 3 IG or more while on site. Upon publication of the article, the writer would post at least 3 FB and 3 IG, and post the story on TravMedia.

More details and instructions may be discussed with Regular Writers before first assignments.

           Send all SUBMISSIONS to

       [email protected]

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Submitting stand alone articles with photos

Submit one folder in Dropbox with your text document and photos (8 – 12 quality photos). Name the folder:

PlayStayEat [Destination and title of your article]YourLastName

Regular Contributors Submitting at Least 6 Articles Per Year

Steps to becoming a Regular Contributor for PlayStayEat

Writers who would like to be a regular contributor (at least six articles in a year)

  • Fill out the application at PlayStayEat below
  • If accepted, you will have six guaranteed bylines in the next year with the opportunity for more by mutual agreement
  • Your photo and biography on Contributors Page after initial article is approved and published
  • Links to and from your website/blog to PLAYSTAYEAT.COM

Application to be a Regular Contributor to PlayStayEat.