BootsnAll Travel Community

They did a story about guidebook writers and I'm in there for a good two paragraphs!

Awwwww yeaaaahhh!

How cool is that! Congratulations, Lief. Am heading over there now.

Wow Leif!

I can't get access to the article, could you quote the section about you?

Bravo!

And btw, technicallyyyyyyyyy it's 6 paragraphs.

Ok, there goes my dream of being a travel writer lol.

quote:

Originally posted by gypsysoul:
Bravo!

And btw, technicallyyyyyyyyy it's 6 paragraphs.

Ok, there goes my dream of being a travel writer lol.

Yes, but some of the paragraphs were so tiny, they hardly count!

Here's the part that dramatically details how much the LP gig sucked:

....................................................

Leif Pettersen, a struggling 36-year-old guide writer from Minneapolis who details the woes of his profession on his blog, www.killingbatteries.com, said he earned no income for the first year of his career. The temptation to take freebies from publicity-seeking hotel and restaurant owners is strong, Mr. Pettersen said, adding that he resists the urge while on assignment for Lonely Planet, which forbids freebies. Let's Go writers face similar restrictions, and are urged not to identify themselves as guide writers, so as not to invite favorable treatment. Mr. Spring said Frommer's writers are allowed to accept free hotel rooms, but not free meals or tickets.

Mr. Pettersen's advice to aspiring guide writers was: "Start out with a giant wad of savings."

Another factor in determining how enjoyable — or miserable — a guide writing assignment will be is timing. To conform with the academic calendar, Let's Go, which is owned and run by Harvard Student Services and employs Harvard students exclusively, sends its researchers into the field in the summer. There are currently 80 Let's Go researchers on assignment around the globe.

But other guide publishers, like Lonely Planet and Frommer's, are on year-round publishing cycles, and consequently their researchers may find themselves traveling at less than ideal times in certain regions.

To meet his deadline for a Lonely Planet guide to Romania and Moldova, Mr. Pettersen had to do his research during winter, when roads were icy, the sun set at 4 p.m., and fun-loving tourists were nowhere to be seen. Mr. Pettersen said his excursion reached a low point on a darkened, pothole-filled highway between Drobeta-Turnu Severin and Timisoara in Romania. Mr. Pettersen's car, a 16-year-old notoriously delicate Romanian car called a Dacia, had faulty headlights. Unable to see or avoid potholes, he battered his vehicle until the muffler fell off and he lost a critical bolt that fastened the hood shut.

Mr. Pettersen said he stopped for the night at a rural boarding house, and found the place full of drunken industrial workers who seemed none too pleased to see him.

"I just sat in my bed and stared at the ceiling," he said. "I was too terrified to take off my clothes."

Asked to describe the overall experience of traveling in Romania and Moldova during winter, Mr. Pettersen thought for a moment, searching, it seemed, for the precise word.

"Terrible," he said. "There's been a lot quiet weeping into my keyboard."

...............................................

They passed on printing the fetching picture I sent them of me and the car, but I guess they didn't want to make the entire article about me. Though goodness knows why...

Fabulous! Congratulations! Good writing; great information; and what exposure. Wow, Leif, maybe after this you'll get better gigs. It could happen. This is your fifteen minutes of fame. Wallow in it and see if you can cash it in for more!

that's our boy!
Zopa, PResident,
Leif, God of Thunder Fan Club


wow. ny times. that is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. i hope it leads to more leads, let us know! yippie!!!!!!!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Grannygold:
Fabulous! Congratulations! Good writing; great information; and what exposure. Wow, Leif, maybe after this you'll get better gigs. It could happen. This is your fifteen minutes of fame. Wallow in it and see if you can cash it in for more!

You know it Granny! I posted here and on my blog, then I spammed all my friends and some of them in turn spammed all their friends... I'm gonna squeeze this out to a healthy 20 minutes of fame if I can manage it.

'Leads to more leads'... I'm gonna use that line.

Well done, Leif. Kudos and all power to your elbow.

quote:

Originally posted by Leif, God of Thunder:


They passed on printing the fetching picture I sent them of me and the car, but I guess they didn't want to make the entire article about me. Though goodness knows why...

I wanna see those pictures! Are they on the blog?

He wanted a picture of me with the car in winter, but I was so miserable that it never occured to me to take a snap at the time. So I sent him some snaps from last week. Here's one.



Here's the big version

Holy crap, THAT's only 16 yrs old? You're lucky you're still alive on that thing lol.


Loving your stories,

Gyp
Vice PresidentL
Lief, God of Thunder Fan CLub

Congrats Leif! That's a great moment!

quote:

Originally posted by Leif, God of Thunder:

Big Congrats Leif! I do believe that picture was in the print version, on front page of the Sunday Styles section.

Congrats, Leif! That's really cool. Can we say we knew you when?

Congrats! Leif!!!
That's awesome, you are a famous man now.

Great news Mr. God of Thunder!

I think they should have mentioned something about your cat-peeeeeee apartment.

Love the article and your blog.

Jet
Secretary of the Leif, God of Thunder Fan Club

Well done. Congrats! BRAVO!

haha right on Leif

Good going Lief!

Its about time you got more recognition than having a byline in a dry travel guide! Of course, the LP Eastern Europe book could use a HUGE update, so your work is much appreciated by all.