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No one wants to publish my essay on my MTB trip to Mexico

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4.7K views 68 replies 36 participants last post by  life behind bars  
C
#1 ·
So, back in February, 2024, I drove from Phoenix to Sonora, Mexico to camp and MTB. I attempted to shed light on the MTB scene in Sonora, especially in the southern city of Navojoa. I believe I made an informative, entertaining, and promotional work highlighting how awesome tourism and MTB’ing Sonora is.

I visited and MTB’ed Hermosillo, San Carlos, Guyamas, Navojoa, and Alamos. The penultimate destination aforementioned has a committed and large number of MTBers, wonderful trails (I really mean it), and even a bike park! Driving there was safe, food was phenomenal, beer was great, the MTB community was affable and amiable, and I would love to go back.

I don’t understand, given today’s liberal atmosphere and constant promotion of the BIPOC world, why the major MTB sites I emailed my essay to DID NOT EVEN RESPOND.

Sonora, next door, has much to offer us.

I plan to share my essay here soon.
 
#10 ·
I have a house in Mexico and spend ~3 months/year there and have been doing so for a very long time. Ride a ton around San Jose Del Cabo and Todos Santos. The only people that are in danger from the cartels are the people doing something that involves the cartels. I travel all over the world for work (been to more than 40 countries) and I can say with pretty high certainty that Mexico is one of the least concerning places I've ever been in regards to safety and random violence. If someone is into shady stuff then it is extremely dangerous but it isn't a problem if you aren't.

For anyone that does travel down towards Cabo or Todos Santos, let me know if you need advice on which trails to ride. Look forward to reading the article OP.
 
#14 ·
It's not easy to break into that world. I have a friend who worked in print media (newspapers) before he was let go from there and it took him years of work to finally get any publication to pay him for an article. Now he gets requests for pieces from some notable publications. Some bike-related. Many not.

If you want tips on how to get your stuff published, you might want to reach out to some folks who work in the industry (particularly freelancers, which is what it sounds like you're trying to do), and not on a bike forum.
 
#19 ·
I have a degree in journalism and over a decade of experience. I used to submit stuff all the time and never got a peep back. Maybe it just wasn't very good, but submitting articles for no response is very common. I recall the days when my broke ass shelled out for expensive slide film to shoot BMX and always sent payment with it for them to mail it back to me. otherwise, they'd probably just trash my film. No one wants to publish anything, much less pay for it.
 
#21 ·
I'll bet the reason your article didn't get published was that it failed to hawk $12k bikes, $120 riding shorts, and $90 riding sunglasses. Most bike 'journalism' is a thin veil for selling products. Bike media isn't journalism, it's an advertising mechanism for the industry. If you're writing about experiences and not consumerism, don't get discouraged if it takes time to find a publication that wants to run your article. I think that if your piece has original and insightful things to say, you'll find somewhere to publish it.

I'm always interested in good writing, especially if bikes are involved, and I look forward to reading your article.
 
#22 · (Edited)
that's right, thrash out at 'the world' keeping you down

can't wait for the boring and pretentious report.

based on post 1 I'll just ignore you, don't need any more narrow minded drivel.

You already know you can't really write, so need to bring in 'liberal 'and 'BIPOC' when
this is essay of yours supposed to be about MTB riding. snooooooze
 
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#29 ·
This is sorta why blogs exist, for us frustrated writers that are sure we're saying what everyone wants to hear about things they want to hear about. Spoiler alert...they don't. A large swath of humanity has the attention span of a neuro non-typical gnat. Getting someone to stay put long enough to read a phone number is a herculean accomplishment.
 
#31 ·
I only skimmed the story, but if you want to publish this, it will need to go through a few more drafts. You need to frame it more like a story. The first paragraph needs to capture the reader's attention/imagination. The cliche "show, don't tell" should definitely apply here. You have to get the reader to care enough to read the whole thing.

I don't know if you'll keep pursuing this, but I thought I'd provide at least a little feedback.
 
#32 ·
Did you contact the Escape Collective? Your essay sounds like their wheelhouse.
 
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#34 ·
Cdal1770 said:
I don’t understand, given today’s liberal atmosphere and constant promotion of the BIPOC world, why the major MTB sites I emailed my essay to DID NOT EVEN RESPOND.
Click to expand...
Keep submitting! Sites have so much email sometimes yours isn't even seen. Have you considered submitting via snail mail which has a lower noise ratio? These sites are deluged constantly with writing of all levels of quality including professional well-established writers.

If you didn't try Outside yet: Here is the link for Outside magazine. There are plenty of other places besides "major MTB sites". Don't give up.

In addition: consider making your pitch short and on-point, since anyone going through submissions is going to see dozens of other works in the same day.
 
S
#35 ·
I look forward to reading the article and seeing dozens of amazing photos highlighting the tech and the culture.

I backpacked through Mexico in the 1990s, but visiting Mexico now is like having plastic surgery in a foreign country. Sure, 99.9% of people say it 'went great, totally safe, would do it again...' but those anecdotal experiences hide the realities. Particularly if you are in the mountains, unarmed, on your high-end bicycle.

Living in TX and having many clients (majority) that are from Mexico I have real world experience to what happens to anyone that appears to have any $, especially from America.

Young men just are not in the same position as an older male or especially a female or child, and articles like this often ignore those realities.

Lastly, I'll say, the largest issue I have with drug use is that by buying drugs you are directly supporting this kind of violence. It's not Blood Diamonds any longer, it's Blood Drugs. The level of criminality in Mexico would not occur if there wasn't such a huge market for drugs here in America.
 
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