Anticipating what publications will accept is a big part of freelancing, and accomplishing this is no simple task. There are, however, a few tips that I've picked up that make the task a touch easier.
-Look for themes: For travel stories especially, look for themes that you could center stories around. A trip to a certain country could focus on its colonial history, beaches, ski resorts, etc. An article pitched with a specific focus comes off as more professional than a travel such-and-such locale.
-Anticipate holidays and festivals: Many publications produce issues related to various holidays or events--everything from New Year's to the local anniversary of a city's founding. These are great opportunities to contribute content to a publication, but the trick is that you have to anticipate the holidays and be able to get a related story on track well in advance of the actual holiday. For this, try focusing on preparation work or events that are in the preparation stage.
-Check out the columns a specific publication has: Magazines virtually always have a number of regular columns that are great targets for pitches. A Hong Kong-based magazine might have a 400-word news/event feature, for example. To pitch to a specific column (e.g., "This would be a great fit for the Kooky Hong Kong News of the Week column") is a great help.
-Research who writes the columns: To go along with the above, make sure to check through the magazine's past issues to see if the column has a regular, employed contributor from the magazine. If so, they're almost certainly not hungering for freelance contributions. Some publications take freelance work cover to cover, but most only take freelance for certain types of columns.
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This is my UM Alumni blog, focusing on my career freelancing.
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