Author Interview:  Marek Born

How would you describe the type of books/genre you write?

I have written one book to date, called Travel the World Without Worries, which is a non-fiction title. It’s aimed at helping people realize their dream journey, pack, plan and prepare for a big trip abroad, and even start a life of travel.

Although it’s the only title I’ve written, I went on to write two expanded editions, with the latest 3rd edition having just been released!

What motivated you to start writing?

Honestly, I think I just needed a project. I started writing when I was staying for a month on an island in Indonesia, which was after having already travelled all around Asia for 9 months on a career sabattical. I felt a need to do something productive again – and writing a manuscript on my laptop seemed like a fairly accessible project at the time (at least, in terms of being able to do this from anywhere and in my own time).

I felt like I’d gained some new perspectives on my trip thus far. I also thought that if I’d just known a thing or two about travelling in this particular way before I started, I could have probably avoided a lot of issues and frustrations. So, I decided to scratch my own itch and write a practical guide to adventure travel. It was going to be a short ebook at first, but I felt inspired to turn it into a full-length title.

Tell us the journey you went on to get your books published (e.g. direct on your website, self-published, assisted-publishing, traditional publisher)

I briefly considered the traditional publisher route, but immediately concluded this would be unrealistic. I had not made a name for myself yet in travel blogging and did not feel confident enough about my writing. With the 1st edition, I knew it was going to be a very helpful book for a lot of people, but not up to the standard required for traditional publishing.

So, I almost immediately looked at self-publishing. I made the book available digitally as well via print-on-demand. (Via my travel blog, Indie Traveller, and via Amazon.)

Later, I also learned from other travel bloggers who’d gone this route that they weren’t making much money from it at all. One blogger told me she’d make like $0.20 per book sold in royalties, which clearly requires a massive volume sold to be worthwhile.With self-publishing, I at least get to keep the majority share of the profits, and since my book deals with a specific niche topic (long term travel), I’m happy to have published in this way.

What publishing elements do you most enjoy and most like to avoid, and why? (e.g. design, marketing, formatting etc.)

I took much joy in making this a very nicely-presented product! I did the interior design myself (using a template) and worked with a designer on getting the right cover design.

The marketing aspects I do only begrugingly! I wish I could magically just make the right people aware of this book… alas, I still have to get the message out and pursuade people that the book will deliver far more value than they’ll ever get from reading some basic travel tips on a blog.

With the hindsight of being a published author, anything you would have done differently?

Yes, two things:

Get an editor involved much earlier!

Get the introduction right, before getting to any of the other chapters

The introductory chapter has been the biggest challenge in my writing by far. It has to accomplish so many different things at once: present a basic thesis, relate to the reader’s struggles, hint at what’s to come in the other chapters, and introduce me as the author in a relatable and fun way.

It took me until the 3rd edition to finally be happy with the book’s first chapter!

What tips or advice would you give an aspiring indie author who is looking to self-publish?

Figure out your marketing plan. How are people going to learn about your book? This is arguably more important than the book itself. I pretty much created a travel blog just to have my own promotional channel for the book, which took at least 18 months to take off. In the beginning, I sold only a handful of copies to customers randomly browsing Amazon.

What marketing or promotional tools or techniques do you use to reach your readers?

I give a lot of free advice on my travel blog which earns the reader’s trust and piques their interest in my book. I also use my mailinglist with a drip feed of helpful emails, followed by a sales pitch for the book.

What impact do you want your books to have on your readers?

Many people go on vacations but few people ever truly travel in the real sense of the word – either for a longer time or to more adventurous places – because they’re afraid, or don’t think they have the time or money to do it, or think it’s too late to go on an adventure. My goal for the book has always been to inspire the reader, make them feel comfortable with the idea of travelling the world (or just to a more exotic or strange destination), and push through and actually do it.

One of the most gratifying things for me is that I get an email or thank-you notice almost every week.

What’s your book’s elevator pitch or key selling points?

You can see the book’s elevator pitch by checking out the description on Amazon and other platforms.

I believe a key selling point of my book is that despite being a very practical guide, it uses my own experiences from travelling for many years as anecdotes and examples, making the book far more relatable than your usual ‘how to’ travel guides. A lot of readers have commented on the fact that the book feels like you have a friend talking you through your travel plans, while sharing some fun stories of what it was really like.

What’s next on your writing journey?

I have a few ideas for non-fiction books I’d like to write. But it’s a big time investment, so we’ll see if these ideas materialize!

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About the Author

Marek is a travel blogger at Indie Traveller. Through his blog, he aims to inspire others to travel more — by sharing honest tips and guides from around the world.

He wrote Travel the World Without Worries, a step-by-step guide to going on a big travel adventure. You can follow Marek on Instagram or Facebook.