My Annual Year In Review
A look at my books and my travels from 2023.
Hey everyone,
It’s safe to say more than a few of us are happy to see this year come to an end. But despite everything, it was a surpisingly good year for me professionally. I made more money than I ever have (thanks to some copywriting clients) and I checked multiple destinations off the top of my travel list.
Like last year, I compiled a year in review to shed some transparency about the industry, my work practices and celebrate the little wins here and there.
Where I Traveled This Year
It’s going on six years of travel for my partner and me; to be precise, it’s day 2,000! of living out of suitcases and traversing the globe full-time.
This year, we had tons of “bucket list” trips to some of the world’s most remote and incredible places, including visiting the world’s southernmost and northernmost places in the same month!
Click on the destination to see my favorite story from my trip there.
Australia
Thailand
Vietnam
Laos
Singapore
Maldives
India
Bhutan
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Nepal
Faroe Islands
USA
Antarctica - article coming in Robb Report
Svalbard
Article Stats
Articles Pitched: 552 (Not all original ideas, of course!)
Articles written: 76
8% yes rate, 30% no rate and 22% unanswered rate
My slowest/lowest income months: April, July, December
My busiest/best income months: February, March, June
Overall, this year was worse than last by almost every metric. The only silver lining was my “no” rate went down by 5%. You can compare with last year’s stats…
Publications I Wrote For
This year, I wrote for 21 different publications as opposed to last year’s total of 31.
AFAR
Billionaire
Bloomberg
CEO Magazine
Conde Nast Traveler
Daily Beast
Essentialist
Food & Wine
House & Garden
Hotels Above Par
HuffPo
Islands (RIP)
InsideHook
Lonely Planet
National Geographic
New Zealand Herald
Robb Report
Thrillist
Time Out
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia
Copywriting This Year
This was a HUGE year of copywriting for me. I took one whole month off writing articles to write two hotel websites. They were a big labor of love but also covered 1/3 of my income for the year.
On top of that, I worked with five other clients this year, including a budget tour operator, a luxury tour operator and a high-end hotel chain.
**I’m taking on 1-2 new copywriting in 2024, so if you or any of your clients need a copywriter, please get in touch!**
My Upcoming Travels
January - Svalbard/Portugal
February - Portugal
March - USA/UK
April - UK
2024 Travel Goals
Going to at least one Formula 1 race is my 2024 goal! Yes, I’m obsessed with “Drive To Survive.”
If you’d like to work together while I’m in any of these locations, please send me an email at klockhart14@gmail.com
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If you find my newsletter helpful, or if you know someone who might, please share it with them. Thanks!
Thank you for the article stats, they are enlightening.