Getting paid to go on vacation sounds like a dream job. But for Steenie Harvey, that dream became a reality; Steenie now happily makes her living trotting the globe and penning her experiences to share with the world. International Living recently caught up with Ms. Harvey, who dished out valuable advice for anyone who has ever dreamt about becoming a travel writer.

…on the possibility of making a living as a travel writer: “I suppose I’m living proof. This isn’t the job to turn you into a millionaire. But I don’t think anyone does it for the money. I do it for the lifestyle. Money is important, but if you don’t have wanderlust you’re wasting your time.”

….on her first foreign assignment: “My first foreign assignment was to Lisbon in Portugal – although I sent myself. But I lined up enough commissions from editors of Irish newspapers that I was able to make the trip pay for itself. It was a vacation, so it didn’t feel like work at all. That’s when I started thinking there might be a future to this travel writing lark.”

…on her most outrageous experiences on the job: “In northern Brazil I needed a place to stay for a few hours, so I ended up booking into a brothel. The story I wrote that got the most outrageous reaction from readers was a piece about bull fighting in Spain. When you’re a travel writer, you have to take a stance. You write about what moves you. That bull fighting piece probably got as many negative comments as it did positive comments. Either way, it’s the job of a travel writer to be read.”

To read more about Steenie’s experiences and making your dreams of becoming a travel writer a reality, read the full article from International Living by clicking on the link below.