There are certain things in life that you don’t choose; it just becomes a part of it. Writing is one such thing that I didn’t choose, but now it has become an integral part of my life, both personally and professionally. While most people would see this as a great life where I get certain luxuries that they don’t there are certain things that most travel bloggers and professional writers don’t talk about.
Let’s have some tea while we talk this over, shall we?
“What happened? You looked frustrated.”
“Life is such a mess, especially when you have a horrible boss.”
“Well, a majority of the people feel that way. Nothing new about it.”
“Yes, you can say that because you don’t answer to anyone.”
“Technically, yes, you’re right. But I have clients and my readers to answer to.”
“But you’re still your own boss. You work when you want to work, travel when you wish, and commute only when necessary.”
“Well, that is a general perception about freelance writers and travel bloggers.”
“Oh really!”
“Yes, travel bloggers work equally hard as any other company professional. There is so much that we don’t tell because we find happiness in the challenges of life.”
“Give me a break. Oh! Let’s order something before we spend the rest of our time you justifying your hardships as a travel blogger.”
“You want something to eat as well?”
“Yes, I’ll have a samosa.”
“Okay. Excuse me. Can we have two teas please and two plates of samosas?
“Seems like it will rain soon.”
“Yes, it might. So, coming back to our discussion you believe travel bloggers and writers have this fantastic life that you don’t.”
“Exactly. I mean look at the number of journeys you made versus me.”
“Okay, so that is how you compare your life versus mine?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I think you’re comparing it the wrong way.”
“How?”
“Every travel trip of mine is actually a part of my work. So, when I and Sarah go for a trip we are actually taking pictures that will add to the content we write. Even the destinations we choose are based on certain decisions we make. The same applies to every restaurant or shop we visit.”
“But you live and enjoy that moment.”
“Yes, we do. However, our trips are not truly holidays. From the moment we begin our journey we are busy clicking images, making notes of things we can include and exclude. We are dealing with all types of clients. We are busy looking for better angles for our shots.”
“Okay, but you don’t have a busy hectic schedule like us.”
“Bob Dylan said, he not busy born is busy dying.”
“I didn’t get you.”
“Well, it means travel bloggers are busy reinventing themselves.”
“Reinvent?”
“Working on your own terms requires a lot of hard work, dedication and discipline. Life is extremely busy because when we’re not travelling we are planning of our next journey. We are focusing on how we will write what content and how we need to cover certain places in order to publish content. Planning is what makes our life livable.”
“I don’t think planning takes so much of time.”
“Well, I would then suggest you try becoming a travel blogger and see it for yourself. Researching on your future content, picture and video editing, planning social media marketing and posting posts on various online platforms will keep you busy for the rest of your days.”
“Well, you can hire a social media professional for that.”
“Yes, but hiring a social media professional early on would be an additional investment. When you start from a scratch you have to build your reputation. You have to draw your audience, increase online traffic on your blog. Create relevant and quality content and images and videos to begin with. This requires a lot of patience because you cannot do all that in a month, or sometimes even in a year.
“So, basically you’re saying you hate being a travel blogger in a way?”
“No. I love what I do. Writing is the best thing that happened to me.”
“Yeah, but you just gave me tons of reasons saying life as a travel blogger is not so cool.”
“I was just trying to say that travel blogging is just like any other job and travel bloggers work hard as well. All jobs have some advantages and disadvantages.”
“Yeah, sure they do, but being a travel blogger has more advantages than disadvantages.”
“Then become one and you’ll see it for yourself.”
“No, really I mean it. You guys write what you want, travel where you want, make a good income, you have no boss to worry about and you practically make your own schedule.”
“Oh God! Not again.”
“Look at us. Professionals have no life, man. We can’t showcase most of our talent because our bosses won’t allow that. Sunday is the only day to relax. No long holidays. We work extra hours even if we don’t like it. Technically, we are nothing more than slaves.”
“Buddy, just to refresh your memory I have worked in a corporate environment. You think I don’t know that.”
“Good, now you know why we feel your life is better than mine.”
“Well, how about this. Travel bloggers have no income security, no steady paycheck. It can take years for the blog to become popular and gather an audience. I’m not sure how much I will make next month. I have no clue if there will be sponsors for me in the future.
“Hmm.”
“When I’m sick I don’t get sick leaves or any compensation. No provident fund or paid holidays. When things go wrong I have to figure it out myself what went wrong. There are plenty of people to critique me based on what I write and to pull me down. Bloggers have to constantly reinvent and live up to the expectations of the target audience.”
“So, how do you manage all this?”
“Planning, my friend. It’s a long road ahead. You need to invest a lot of time, effort, and money and still you cannot guarantee success. So, now do you want to become a travel blogger?”
“Ummm, I’m confused.”
“Well, don’t be. All jobs in the world require hard work and dedication. There is no shortcut to success.”
“I guess you’re right. I’m feeling better now.”
“Yeah, that’s human psychology. We feel better when we see other people are in the same shit as us.”
“No, I mean, not in that way…What I…”
“That’s okay. I didn’t feel bad. It was a healthy discussion. Also, you better look at your watch because I don’t want you to get late again.”
“Well, I have time, but I better get going. Plan something for tomorrow’s presentation.”
Yes, planning is a good thing to balance your personal and professional life.”
“Okay, then I’ll leave. I’ll pay this time since you paid last time.”
“Alright.”
“See you around buddy.”
“Take care and have a good day at work.”
A few behind the scene images.
Getting the right picture is important
You must be a visionary. Look far ahead of others.
See things that no one else does.
Use every device in your bag including your smartphone.
Don’t let your shame stop you. Focus on your work.
Be clear as water about what images you want.
When you don’t have a tripod use your legs
Keep clicking. Every image counts.
6 comments
I do imagine it’s very hard work. Then again, you make it look easy.
Writing is hard work, regardless of what you write. If you have a schedule, even if it’s self-imposed, you have to make a time commitment to your work. Taking photos, processing photos, storing them somewhere safe, all takes time and money. I hope there’s a benefit for you!
I wanted to write this since 2010, but every time I sat to write it, I felt something’s missing. The missing part was the experience. Now, I have around 9 years of experience so I wanted to share this with all. This is also a sort-of reply to many of my friends, colleagues and acquaintances who believe I make easy money because writing is my passion and I’m very good at it.
I enjoyed learning about you and your wife, what you do, and how you feel about your profession (AND “life”) by reading this dialogue. Bottom line, to me, is no matter what your friend’s job is (the one who thinks you have it so easy), he is not going to be happy with it, or his life. He is looking at his choices and his daily activities as chores, not as ways to BE. You, on the other hand, have made the choice to BE a travel writer/blogger, and to love the entire experience, its hardships as well as its rewards. That’s what all of us should do, whatever occupation we are involved in.
And yes, someone who is not a writer has no idea how difficult and challenging it can be. But they also don’t realize how writing brings us into ourselves, and into the world/the universe, in a miraculous way.
Thank you, Pam, for your comment. Well, there is no particular one friend that thinks that way, there are many. I think this perception is also because we normally associate ‘working’ with office work. I mean look at wives and mothers who work at home without a break, they don’t get the credit for their hard work because they don’t ‘go’ to work. Anyways, I have elevated myself above all these things and I no longer feel bad about it. I just laugh at the ignorance levels of the people. Also, people here assume that a good writer is a one with a good vocabulary who spits out pompous words and make you feel intimidated, but that is certainly not true. Writing opened up a new world around me and within me and helped me explore new boundaries. I made new friends and picked up few things that would help me become a better writer. For instance, this style of blog writing is an inspiration from my very dear friend Dan Antion. He writes Having a Beer series in this way.
Glad I came across your blog. This is such a detailed and informative post. I should save this article!
Thank you. I am glad you liked it. Hope you enjoy other posts as well.