Hi! I’m Susan, a full-time freelance writer and traveler.
I’ve been bouncing around the globe since 2008, when one bad interview with a bunch of pale dudes in suits convinced me to pack up my ’96 Camry (don’t worry; she’s still kicking) and move to Colorado.
I spent the next six years working a variety of seasonal jobs: I scooped ice cream, rented out skis, and even art modeled. I moved from Southeast Alaska to South Korea (read: more than anyone should, unless they’re hoping to end up institutionalized), and got to see a pretty decent slice of the world.
Along the way, I started writing about, well, everything — and officially became a writer.
These days, I work completely remotely, with no home base (unless you count my childhood room at my mom’s house, which features a dazzling array of cowboy hats and a collector’s edition Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen poster).
In 2019, I will be traveling to 12 countries in 12 months, and writing about it right here.
How I can help you
Here are some things I can do…
- The worm at your wedding. I am an excellent guest and have been known to stick it out on the dance floor for 4+ hours with minimal bathroom and booze breaks.
- Write blog posts, web copy, or newsletters for your business. Click here to read more about my content marketing writing.
- Share tips and tools for traveling and working remotely. Sign up for my monthly newsletter to get a 35-step checklist to kicking ass on your first trip abroad. Then check out my packing list and travel and digital nomad resources pages.
- Offer advice on becoming a freelance writer. The best spot for this is the Where to Pitch newsletter.
Feel free to get in touch for whatever else you might need. As an ENFJ without social stimulation (see above: career), I’m always happy to chat. Thank you for being here — I look forward to getting to know you!
How I earn my living online
Wondering how the hell I pay for this lifestyle? It’s not illegal and it’s not porn (though I do sometimes write for Playboy).
Here’s what my income pie consists of:
- Journalistic writing for magazines and news outlets, on everything from investing to Lunchables to snail mail.
- Content marketing writing for businesses, mostly in the personal finance space.
- Blogging. Does this make money? Not sure how… but people say it has something to do with “growing your email list” so plz sign up for my newsletter.
- Where to Pitch haha JK I don’t make any money from this! Writers have none. But it is a fun passion project — and I have a baller monthly newsletter for fellow freelancers.
- Sales of my ebook “The Ultimate Guide to Seasonal Jobs.” It’s pay-what-you-want, which means you can get all my insider tips for as little as $1. I’d say it’s worth it — I worked for literally years on this beast.
- Affiliate links. I spent an embarrassing amount of time compiling all my favorite products, apps, and websites for travelers and digital nomads. I also have a packing list so you don’t end up like me, traveling around Southeast Asia with an umbrella for an entire month.
How I became a writer
I get asked this question a lot.
It’s not a very exciting story, and it’s probably not repeatable. If I were you, I would skip over to the blog and look at some pretty pictures instead.
But if you really want to know, here’s the official timeline:
- 1990: Write my name on a circular piece of paper that my mom sends off to become a plate. Decide I like seeing my name in large, almost illegible print. Get distracted by the mac cheese I’m eating and promptly forget about said aspirations.
- 2003: Join my high school’s newspaper
so I can get a “press pass” that allows me to be in the hallways during classbecause I am wildly ambitious. - 2005: Major in political science because I idolize Trinity from “The Matrix” and somehow think this is what will get me closest to being an international woman of mystery who exclusively wears leather jumpsuits. As it turns out, all I do is write a lot of papers.
- 2011: While teaching English in Korea, respond to ad in “The Jeju Weekly” for English writers. Begin my illustrious journalism career writing hard-hitting pieces like fun, sun, and guns at Daeyoo land and in the footsteps of childhood at Dinosaurland.
- Also 2011: Start this blog, under the adorably early 2010s name “Travel Junkette.”
- 2012: Answer a call in Alexis Grant’s newsletter for a social media assistant. Eventually get tasked with writing assignments, too.
- 2013–2014: Write for Alexis’ clients, and also begin collecting my own. Become obsessed with working remotely; declare I’ll never work in an office again.
- 2015: Move to Florida to work — in an office — for The Penny Hoarder, which purchased Alexis’ company and brought me along for the ride.
- 2017: Decide I can sweat through January no more. Move to the (surprisingly hot) city of Oaxaca, Mexico, to start freelancing again.
- Also 2017: Get scared of being broke; become a remote staff writer for Student Loan Hero. Love the people, but miss my freedom.
- 2018: Officially dive back into full-time freelancing, for good?, I think.