Interview With Abby Tegnelia: Writer, Traveler, and Jungle Princess

Posted: February 8th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: people | 11 Comments »

We’ve all read heaps of articles on how dreamy it is to work while traveling or from some remote beach bungalow. Whether it’s blogging, freelance writing, or some online entrepreneurial scheme, the articles make the idea sound as simple as falling out of bed. However, I personally have a tough time falling out of my bed, and so I got to wondering about the realities of these ideas. How many of those “work remotely from the beach” articles were actually written remotely anyways? I can’t completely buy into an idea until I personally talk to some folks who have actual hands on experience.

Along comes Abby. Working as a writer from Costa Rica, Abby Tegnelia knows all about drowning deadline worries with a margarita and getting sun tan lotion on your keyboard. Fortunately for me — and I suppose by association, you too — Abby was willing to answer some questions about her experience. Read on to learn about a really cool woman, doing interesting work, from a pretty damn nice location.

All right Abby, let’s start off with a quick introduction. Where are you from? Where are you now?

I live in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica, in a tiny house, in a tiny little beach town. I moved here from LA, where I lived for a year. Before that? Las Vegas, Austin and NYC, where I did grad school. I grew up in Virginia, Florida and New Mexico.

You’re a freelance writer?

Yes! I write for about 15 magazines world-wide, mostly celebrity gossip. I also do a lot of Las Vegas travel stories and any other side project I can get my hands on, including some freelancing on the ABC.com news/entertainment desk.

Costa Rica doesn’t exactly seem like a hotbed of Hollywood dirt.

No, it’s really not! I’m in constant contact with people in LA and NYC.

How difficult is that?

It’s fine. Central America is good time zone wise, so it’s mostly just a matter of getting people used to sending more emails and talking on the phone less. I have terrible Skype reception, so it always drops calls. And when I sit outside to get better signal, it’s super-hot, the roosters are loud, and I can’t really see the screen. Email, I’m good on email.

Is it harder in other ways working from home in the tropics than the familiar idea of working from home? Above and beyond the usual challenges of staying focused, and finding that separation of work and personal life…

I don’t think so! And it’s definitely cheaper. I get the “I could never work from home” line a lot, but honestly, if you have a deadline, you get it done. All of my friends here work, too, so it’s not like I’m being pulled to the beach during work hours. The biggest hassle here is internet access. It can be really slow and goes out more often than at home. Our electricity is hydro-powered, and we had virtually no rainy season this year. So we have entire days with no electricity. All the gringos tote their laptops to the restaurant that boasts the town’s one generator. Also, my BlackBerry seems to have problems here all the time, so if someone’s trying to reach me, it doesn’t always work out.

How about timing? Is the amount of time it takes to get something done remotely pretty much the same as if you were in an office? Or, the same as if you were at home, but in the same town or area?

I’ve spent about half of my career working from home, so I’m used to it. I work faster alone! I’m known for just plowing through work if there’s no distractions around me, like in an office. But it does get lonely! Costa Rica is kind of the best of both worlds. We all work remotely, and our little houses are all very close to each other. I can yell across the dirt road to my neighbor for a break whenever I want!

Were there any “gotchas” that lost you time or money while getting started with working from Costa Rica?

Sure! But none that really stand out. For every one assignment I miss here, the same thing could’ve happened in LA, if I’d disappeared into a movie theater or something. I write news stories, so there’s some volume there to pad the ones I can’t get to in time. The biggest misses happen when an editor needs something right away, and I’m sleeping. I work mostly out of Europe, and some Australia, so the time change is a factor. I’m actually two hours closer than when I was in LA!

Do you have some clever tips that you’ve learned that might help other folks looking to work while traveling? Such as not eating after midnight or some such thing?

Well, when the economy tanked, and the prices for freelancers hit the floor, I knew I had to target Europe. They were still paying decently for celeb news, and I had my eye on those euros and pounds. But I had a really tough time breaking in. I can’t blame them: I was a stranger far away in LA trying to sell celebrity gossip items that they had to believe were true. So, I asked someone I knew working in Europe if she could start throwing mine in when she was pitching hers. It saved me months, even years, of pitching and pitching to editors until they started hiring me. Now, she acts as my agent, and I have reporters in LA and NYC who feed me most of my original content. But you don’t have to turn it into a business like I did. Just remember that if you are trying to sell in a new market, and you have friends who are already well known in that niche, you might be able to use them as a foot in the door. It’s as easy as that person saying to an editor, “Hey, I ran across this idea a friend of mine had, and I thought it was perfect for you.” They work more diligently on your story ideas if you give them a little cut! It just takes one successful assignment to start working for a new publication.

Knowing what you do now, would you start another project working remotely while traveling again?

I have no choice! I’m a writer who needs to make a living. The fact that I can do it from anywhere is a gift.

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Thank you, Abby for your valuable time and for the real world insight. Be sure to follow along with Abby’s Costa Rican escapades on her blog, The Jungle Princess.

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// shawn

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