The first step of writing an article is research — but not the kind you’re thinking of. When you have an idea for a topic, your first step should be to research which writing market will take it. The writing market affects everything, from style to length, which makes it doubly important to nail down the market before you ever start writing. These ten markets will give you a head start.

1. Matador Network: The Matador Network is actually made up of eight separate blogs that cover a wide variety of travel topics between them.
2. Wend Magazine: You’ll find that Wend Magazine is all about the outdoors, from articles that cover environmentalism to the adventures you have whhile traveling.
3. Galavanting: Women are the main audience for Galavanting, and any queries should reflect that fact.
4. GoNomad: While GoNomad covers a wide variety topics, they’re particularly interested in destination stories.
5. Literary Traveler: If you’ve got a story from your travels that focuses on a particular author or literary work, it may find a home at Literary Traveler.
6. Roadjunky: Roadjunky doesn’t pay for all travel articles, unfortunately, but they do pay for guides to countries, cities and other travel topics.
7. Go World Travel: Articles appearing in Go World Travel emphasize international travel.
8. Transitions Abroad: There are numerous sections in Transitions Abroad, including study abroad and working abroad.
9. Budget Travel: Budget Travel is a big name magazine, and it covers exactly what you’d expect.
10. Travel + Leisure: Stories focusing more on luxury travel can find a home at Travel + Leisure.

Photo — E_Walk