Now that he seems to have hung up his pen as a travel writer, Talk Travel Asia podcast co-host Trevor Ranges talks about his decade-long experience as a travel writer, discussing the highs and lows of living the freelance travel writing life. From writing pieces for magazines and websites around the world, to authoring for Fodor’s and producing first editions of the National Geographic Thailand and National Geographic Cambodia guidebooks, Trevor’s produced some pretty amazing stuff. So what’s that life like? Have a listen and all will be revealed!
A travel writer is always on the move: Trevor on Gili Trawangan with clothes on the front and office on the back.
Introduction: Writing about traveling has exploded over the last decade. With the internet creating platforms for just about anyone to document their travels on blogs, almost everyone on the road fancies themselves a travel writer. But writing about travel and doing it well are two entirely different things. The role of the professional travel writer has been diminished in many ways, but real travel writers are methodical about how they find, document, and share information with readers. Today we’re going to get the inside scoop on what it’s like being a professional guidebook writer by chatting with Talk Travel Asia podcast co-host, Trevor Ranges, about his years authoring travel books and articles.
As Trevor explains, being a travel writer may seem like a dream job, but people have a simplified idea about the work: you travel and then you write. It’s just not that simple he explains: first and foremost, it’s a job, and, as with any job, there are good and bad sides to it. Clearly it’s more enjoyable than working in a factory, but truth be told: it’s more glory than gold.
Striking a balance of work and pleasure, even during “office hours” – with Nina Hall in Cambodia
- How did you become a travel writer?
- What type of travel writing work have you done?
- A lot of people think it’s a dream job but is there more to it than what people believe?
- How does a smaller piece differ from writing something larger like a guidebook?
- Obviously a guidebook has more of a focus on hotels, restaurants, bars, etc… How many hotels or restaurants do you check out in one day?
- How do you keep track of everything you see, find and learn on a huge project?
- For a large project like the one you did in Cambodia, how does payment for budgeting work?
- Is it true that you’ve been paid twice to ride a water buffalo?
- Tell us some highs and lows of the job?
See a Photo Gallery of pictures from this episode!
To hear more about the life of a travel writer, listen to Talk Travel Asia podcast Episode 18: Travel Writing with Tom Vater
About our guest:
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- Follow Scott on Twitter: @scottcoates73
- Scott’s Blog
- Groovy Map Seoul
- Theme Music by Jamie Ruben
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