My hubster and I will be flying to visit my family in Atlanta tomorrow, so this may be my last posts of the year other than a quick update here or there. I'm excited to get out of New York for a few days and into some warmer weather. It's been in the 70's in Georgia this month, but my Mom reluctantly said, "It's only going to be in the 50's while you're here!" After a long pause to see if she was kidding or not I said, "So?" After a few weeks of 30's and below in "The North" as she calls it, I'm sure we'll be toasty regardless.
It's been an amazing year and 2007 marked my start of working as a professional travel writer. I have consistent gigs with two travel sites, started making a modest return from the ads on my blog, and am in talks to do a travel column with a newspaper. (I'll tell y'all all about it when it pans out). But more important to me than the 'career' factor is being able to passionately enjoy what I do for a living. Of course I have a few non-travel writing clients including writing bad copy for an online retail store, but overall I'm very content with where my career is heading.
Writing and travel have finally crossed paths in my life and are now like two old friends working together to bring both enjoyment and financial reward. Before I felt like those two pieces of my life were on completely different planes, but once I got my head around the fact that I could actually make a living travel writing, they started to merge on their own. I truly feel that you have to believe you can accomplish something before the barriers in your life start to fracture and reveal the path to that goal.
I'm lucky enough to have a freelance boss who encourages me to use my status as press to seek out freebies like museum passes, event tickets, and tours when I'm traveling. In exchange, I can offer her fresh content for her publication and new connections. My husband is extremely supportive of my dreams, even though it meant taking a huge cut from being a video editor, but he also has the travel bug and works as a graphic designer. He uses our trips as an opportunity to meet new clients and gain inspiration from different cultures.
What will next year's goals bring? I hope to take some extended time traveling -- whether across the country or abroad. I've still never seen the Grand Canyon, Sedona, or Alaska -- and there's plenty more in this country I've yet to see. Next year I hope to reach 100,000 visitors and generate a reasonable part-time income from my blog, and even offer some kind of video or podcast contest to help others realize their own travel dreams. I'd also love to get more interaction from people stopping by The Innovative Traveler. Feel free to post comments and touch base with us if you need advice making traveling and/or writing a reality, or if you just have a great travel idea or lead.
Happy Holidays!
~ Susan
Happy Holidays
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