The Writing Coach Podcast 8: Backstory of a New York Times travel feature with Sarah Khan
08: Backstory of a New York Times travel feature with Sarah Khan
Sarah Khan is a freelance travel writer for the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Travel + Leisure. Today Sarah shares the backstory of her award-winning feature for the New York Times, “A Muslim American’s Homecoming: Cowboys, Country Music, Chapatis.”
Subscribe to The Writing Coach Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, or RSS.
Sarah Khan is a freelance travel writer for the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, and Travel + Leisure.
In today’s episode, she shares the backstory of her award-winning feature for the New York Times, A Muslim American’s Homecoming: Cowboys, Country Music, Chapatis. We discuss the origins of the idea, as well as pitching, reporting, and writing the article, and responses after publication.
Sarah breaks down her processes and shares insights and tips about:
- Working with local contacts
- Finding multiple stories from each trip
- Writing through self-doubt.
Featured on today’s show:
A Muslim American’s Homecoming in the New York Times
“I had crisscrossed the country expecting to find cowboys and megamalls, humble churchgoing folk and racist old grandpas. But it’s hard to distill a nation into a series of tropes, no matter how easy Third World-bound travel writers make it seem.” — Sarah Khan
Nashville-based journalist Kristin Luna
Society of American Travel Writers Foundation Awards
✏️ Did you enjoy this episode of the Writing Coach Podcast? Please write a review and select a rating on iTunes.
Listen to previous episodes of the Writing Coach Podcast here.
Not sure what to include in a pitch to an editor? Check out my blueprint for writing queries that editors find irresistible. Click here to download a copy of the free eguide, “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.”
Download a free copy of “5 Proven Steps to Writing Queries that Sell.” I hate spam and will never share your info.