What it's really like to be a travel writer

Girl on beach reading Lonely Planet guidebook for Greece. Photo: Jay Bergesen / Flickr Creative Commons

If you like to travel and have your own blog, you may have entertained the idea of being a travel writer. Imagine getting paid to go and do the same fun stuff you're already doing, going all over the world.  The reality can be quite different, however.  Lonely Planet guidebook writer Leif Pettersen wrote this brutally honest post on his Killing Batteries blog: So you want to be a Lonely Planet author – Redux.

Travel can seem so glamorous that it's hard to imagine what a writer would complain about.  Pettersen makes a strong case that in the end, travel-writing work is still work.  Ever thought about the gazillion listings for all those hostels, hotels, and restaurants?  Often one writer had to visit all those places on their own, in the least amount of time possible.

There is also the creative challenge about writing about the same famous landmarks in an original way.  What more can be written about Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu?

What Pettersen finds maddening is that many travelers think they can do that job better than a pro can. Here's a quote:

Nearly every research trip I take involves an encounter with a smug backpacker, sometimes holding a beer at noon, who's under the impression that they're doing exactly what I'm doing, except I'm getting paid.

Guidebook work is done as freelance contract work, which means no benefits and no steady salary. They usually get paid one lump sum, and all their expenses come out of that.  If you think that some guidebooks can feel hastily-written and rushed, it's probably because the writer was racing to finish the job and preserve as much of his budget as possible.

For a broader overview, here's a New York Times article that appeared in 2006: A job with travel but no vacation.  There was a sobering quote near the end: "Nobody is going to feel sorry for you getting six weeks of free travel in Europe."

Despite the complaints, travel writing is a job with one huge benefit: getting to see the world.  Have you ever done paid travel writing?  What was your experience like?  Please share your thoughts in the comment.