When Readers Become the Writers

Although not the first magazine to do it, editors at Budget Travel took on the task of allowing readers to be contributing writers for nearly 100 percent of its June issue—including photography. According to editor Erik Torkells 324 readers contributed to the issue and were paid standard fees. Though the editorial decision was a tip of the hat to the consumer word-of-mouth trend in the travel industry, the endeavor was not easy.  Torkells noted “Editing non-professional writers is never easy, especially when you’re asking them to write long.”