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Last month’s issue of AirTran’s Go magazine featured an article on dream jobs, written by Catherine Arnold. Included in the roundup are profiles of whale naturalist Amy Kennedy, film director Sylvia Caminer, antiques expert Suzanne Perrault, professional poker player Jesse Jones, and — sharing some perspectives on travel writing — yours truly.
In the interview, I warn against over-glamourizing the process of finding and maintaining work as a travel writer:
Travel writing isn’t a very stable profession. You really have to simplify your life to make it work financially. One tip is to base yourself in an inexpensive part of the world. It’s also an ongoing process of pitching stories, working with editors and rewriting — which is more time-intensive and central to the job than the travel itself. Build up experience and expertise as a traveler, and develop your voice and discipline as a writer. Specializing in a region, country or type of travel (adventure, retirement, etc.) also helps.
Full dream-jobs profile online here.
June 8th, 2006 at 9:15 am
Good points. I love these ads I read in e-zines about how you can have this wonderful life being a travel writer. I doubt you dislike your chosen profession, but as you’ve mentioned, it’s hard and you’ve never made a ton of money. Moreover, most people can’t write, much less mnake a living at it.