Okay, so "frequently asked" is rather relative, but we do get a lot of these questions. Hopefully this faq section can act as a map, directing you to other spots on the site as well. Kind of like an index, or a site map, but not quite. Okay, let's get to the questions.
What is "The Long Trip Home?"
Are you a paying site?
Where can I find guideline information?
What is the "spotlight" category, and can you send me a list of upcoming spotlights?
Where are the archives, damn it!?
Where can I find a good hotel, for cheap, in Paris, in April?
Do I keep copyrights to articles that I submit to your site?
How can I make your day?
I loved that article about Hawaii! You should let the author know that he did a great job!
None of these are my question!!
1. What is "The Long Trip Home?" We are an online literary magazine for travelers. We're not guidebook people, we're creative travel journal people. We give writers (who just happen to love travel) a place to put good, creative writing, and we offer expertise in terms of editing and reviewing articles. We are also a great site to read said creative travel writing. You might wanna learn about places you want to visit, places you dream of, or just places you think sound kinda fancy, or remote, or romantic, without the feel of reading a day-by-day travel guide and map. Or you just might wanna read great writing. We have travel journals, creative travel essays, photojournals, fiction and poetry, and a lot of other kinds of creative writing. Come here when you want to find travel the way it was meant to be: well-written. If you're interested in learning where the title "The Long Trip Home" comes from, click here for "What's In A Name?"
2. Are you a paying site? We'd love to be, but unfortunately we do not pay our contributors. One of these days, we hope! Seriously: we cannot offer paid compensation for articles contributed to this site (mostly because we are all volunteers too). We only have one advertiser on the site: Amazon.com, and we only earn money from them based on books or other products bought on the site. (So far, this option has not been lucrative at all, but we do love our suggested reading sections, so we're not letting go of the Amazon thing any time soon. See more about this in other questions below, specifically: How Can I Make Your Day?) So, while we do not pay money, The Long Trip Home does encourage its contributors to include their URL and/or their email address links in short bios that accompany their articles. This is a good way (we've seen) for contributors to earn some exposure. People have even said that the exposure on our site is worth the lack of monetary payment. We'd like to agree (of course, we're rather biased).
3. Where can I find guideline information (word count, what kind of articles you are looking for, etc.)? Click here to be directed to our guidelines page. Basically our word count limit is 1500 (give or take). We have a category list that you can check out on our guidelines page as well. And we love pictures--submit pictures! Seriously, pictures help articles, and we are in love with photojournals as well (just ask our photo editor). Submit photos as large as 4x6 inches in size (or smaller), 72 dpi jpgs (preferrably), or 72 dpi gifs. (note: if you want to submit photos to accompany a written piece, please wait until the written piece has been reviewed and, if it is accepted for the site, we will contact YOU about the photos. do be sure, though, to mention that there are photos available when sending your written submission.) Send submission to thelongtriphome@yahoo.com
4. What is the "spotlight" category, and can you send me a list of upcoming spotlights? The Spotlight category changes quarterly (updates in January, April, July, and October) and, as the term suggests, it focuses on a certain aspect of travel. For instance, December 2001's spotlight was Florence, Italy. February 2002's spotlight was Love on the Road.
Our July Spotlight is Central America: Submission deadline July 1st. For a more complete list of upcoming spotlights, see our Guidelines.
5. Where are the archives, damn it!? They are up! They are up! Geez. No seriously, we kind of slacked on placing those archives up, so we understand all of your concerns, but now they are up to their full potential and glory--a shining example of past travel pieces on The Long Trip Home! Check out the Archives section to see a full list of spotlights as well as archived articles from the other categories. This section will continue to be updated quarterly.
6. Where can I find a good hotel, for cheap, in Paris, in April? Okay, first off, you can't find a good hotel for cheap in Paris in April. Not gonna happen. Too busy (haven't you ever heard that "I love Paris in the springtime" stuff?) BUT, the point is we're not that kind of travel site, although sometimes (if you're lucky) you can find the answers to these sort of questions by perusing our site. Check out our links page, or just visit Fodors or Lonely Planet. Their somewhat-caustic but often-knowledgable forums can help you out.
7. Do I keep copyrights to articles that I submit to your site? Yes you do. We do not take any of your copyrights away. We wouldn't even know how to start to do that (we're still new at this, as you can see). Because we do not offer payment, the articles you submit are YOURS, and you definitely keep all copyrights to them. This is true with photos as well. If you want an article removed from our site (that has already been accepted and placed online), that is fine too. Just email us about it to let us know.
8. How can I make your day? Sure, so it's never quite been worded like that, but if you're wondering how you can help out The Long Trip Home, here are a few ways:
1. Contribute your articles to us. If you're a writer or a photographer who happens to love travel, submit your writings and photography to us! Check out our site to get an idea of what we like (although we are always open to new writing styles!), and then just start writing! Check out our guidelines page too, to find out what we're looking for in terms of word count, etc. Good writing is a great way to help us out.
2. Click on an Amazon link within our site (like this one) and purchase a book, or two, or ten from those kind people at Amazon! What you buy there benefits us (we get a portion of the profits), so you're getting your favorite book PLUS you're helping us out! So try it out. You can also visit some of our Suggested Reading if you're not sure what to buy. We have one per category, and if you buy those books, we get a little bit more of the profits. So get shopping and read some great books (or buy something else, like a nice CD or DVD! or even kitchenware!). They've got lots.
3. Link to us! You can include a link to our front page URL: http://www.thelongtriphome.com . You can also use one of these small banners to link to us. We appreciate it GREATLY! :) The more links, the merrier.
First, copy the above image onto your hard drive. Upload image and update the image source tag (IMG SRC="...) if needed, to reflect your URL. The link is already present in the http info below, which you must copy into your code:
First, copy the above image onto your hard drive. Upload image and update the image source tag (IMG SRC="...) if needed, to reflect your URL. The link is already present in the http info below, which you must copy into your code:
9. I loved that article about Hawaii! You should let the author know that he did a great job! Thanks! We will! If you email us with your praises about an article that you think is great, we tell the author right away. So keep that up--it's great to hear when you are enjoying the site.
10. None of these are my question!! I have a different question altogether! I'm getting frustrated now. Okay, calm down. Take a deep breath. Now, email us your question. We'd be happy to answer it. Thanks!
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