Interview with Chris Guillebeau, Writer and Unconventionalist

Chris Guillebeau is a blogger I’ve been following since the release of his 279 Days to Overnight Success manifesto and has since influenced me with the building of this blog. Chris’ blog, The Art of Nonconformity is both a document of his goal to visit every country in the world and a way of sharing his thoughts on unconventional living.

You consistently publish 2 high quality feature articles each week on your blog. How do you interweave your writing schedule amongst your other activities? Do you have a clearly defined process for writing, or do you just try to bang out the first draft as quickly as possible? What tools do you use to help aid the writing process?

I try to make writing the most important work I do. In addition to the AONC posts, I also have a newspaper column, a CNN column, information products I’m creating, and a book manuscript that’s due in a few months – so if I don’t get serious about carving out time to work, I’ve got problems. I don’t use many tools; a lot of posts are drafted in a paper notebook before transferred to the laptop.

Do you have any contingency plans if something goes wrong with your business whilst traveling (site downtime, security breach etc)? What types of systems do you have in place to travel with the peace of mind that you’re income source will still exist when you get home?

I don’t have a contingency plan, and I’m starting to think more about that. When I arrived in Chile after a long flight a few weeks ago, I saw that the site (and all the sub-domains, for products and such) had been down for more than three hours. We got it sorted out, but it was stressful. On the bright side, a lot of things work no matter where I am. I can go to sleep in Asia and wake up to new orders, site comments, and a bunch of emails. I don’t really believe that information products or blogging are “passive income” since I do so much work for it, but it’s true that some things can keep going without my daily attention, which is good.

What does your tech arsenal look like? Do you have lots of gadgets, or are you more of a bare-essentials type of guy? Is there any gadget in particular that you feel is awesome?

I think I’m somewhere in between. I switched to Mac from PC a few months ago and am 85% happy with the change, which I think is good. In the U.S. I have a Verizon Mifi, which helps me have my own wifi hotspot wherever I go. Otherwise, I’m pretty basic – iPod Touch, basic cell phone, etc.

As a blogger you need to travel with your laptop, has this been a hindrance in any way? Do you have any suggestions for maintaining an authentic travel experience, not tainted by the endless pool of distractions and information known as the internet?

It hasn’t been a hindrance. As for not being distracted, though, I wish I knew the answer to that! I dwell in semi-permanent distraction. Perhaps your blog can find the answer for this issue. :)

One of your most notable goals is to visit every country in the world. What do you plan to do once you’ve accomplished that feat? Will your travels slow down or will you go back to your favorite places and experience them in greater depths? Have you got any big goals that you haven’t announced yet but will try to tackle after visiting every country?

I still have a while to go (80 countries and 3.5 years), so I’m not too worried about it – but yes, I expect I’ll continue to travel a fair amount, just not to places like Saudia Arabia or wherever. In addition to the travel I’m also working on other things simultaneously, which helps me feel balanced. Finally, yes, I’m sure I’ll set some other big goals after the journey is over. I like goals.

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