Dec 10th, 2025
We interviewed author Priyanka Gupta about her travel book, Journeys Beyond and Within, and her life as a travel nomad. She talks about the joys and challenges of this “new” career.
What advice would you give to authors who want to go the self-publishing route versus getting published by a traditional or indie publisher? (Marketing advice would be helpful, too).
I’d say know what you are getting into.
Through a traditional publisher, you receive a fixed royalty, typically not that much. However, the publisher has a system in place that every book needs to go through. You would have to do all that yourself if you decide to follow the self-publishing route. Yes, the publisher decides how much editing your book needs, and in many cases, books are being pushed out hastily these days. I abandon so many traditionally published books because they are not so well-written or well-edited. Perhaps the writer was a well-known person or had a good following on Instagram, which the publisher decided to cash.
When you go Indie, you can choose to publish your book when it feels perfect to you and your editor. Then you would need to create a book cover, proofread the manuscript, format it, choose a publishing platform, fill in all the other miscellaneous details, and so on. The mammoth game of marketing begins then. If you feel you trust your book and are ready to invest so much time and energy into it beyond writing, go for self-publishing.
Since my travel memoir, Journeys Beyond and Within…, came out, just marketing the book has felt like a full-time job. There are moments when I regret not taking the publisher’s offer. But I am also happy and proud that I have pulled a whole book on my own. Of course, my editor and book cover designer supported me immensely.
Beyond publishing on KDP, I also have a self-print in India (Amazon doesn’t do paperbacks in India). After many trial prints and negotiating with multiple printers, I finalized one. I formatted the memoir, coordinated the print (not an easy feat), found a distributor, and promoted Journeys in bookstores, going from the North of India to the South, and from the West to the East.
Being a self-publisher means you will have to be a writer, an editor (to some extent), a designer, a formatter, a publisher, an entrepreneur, technically smart (at least to try to understand the Amazon game), a social media manager, a personal relationship manager, a marketeer, and a financer. I am sure I have missed out on a few roles.
It is a hell of a ride.
Now that the dust has settled on your first book and you are embracing your new life as a travel nomad and writer, are you able to comfortably make ends meet financially?
I’d say the dust hasn’t settled yet. Every day I receive messages from readers, and the latest reviews overwhelm me daily. The number of books sold is increasing, but that means my effort to spread the word for the memoir is an ongoing effort, too.
I have been a full-time writer and nomad for five years now. My financial income, through affiliate network, royalty, freelance work, and donations, isn’t stable yet, but I hope to make it more robust in 2026. Hoping to live on the royalties of your first book isn’t a practical plan, though. Just saying!
You mention your parents’ disappointment when you walked away from your investment banking job in favor of a life where you could live fully. Has your parents’ opinion changed/evolved with time, now that they’ve watched your journey unfold?
Yes. My mother often mentions that what I am doing is much harder than a regular job. She wishes to have supported me more when I was starting out.
My parents, especially after my travel memoir was published, have started to grasp how serious I am about writing. They couldn’t relate to my personal growth and travel blog, On My Canvas, and newsletter, Looking Inwards. But when they held my book in their hands, I think, for the first time, they realized that I have quit my job for good, and I’d be a writer henceforth.
Coming from a business family, and with all my family members in traditional jobs, my career change from a Computer Science background to writing shocked my family. Now they have seen me going for it, and they keep asking about how it’s going, what I’m writing, and whether I see myself making it big one day. I tell them I have 1500 newsletter subscribers, tens of thousands of blog reads every day, and so many people have written to me, praising my book, that we should be patient and see my journey unfold. I have more drafts up my sleeve.
What does a typical “working day” look like for you as a full-time writer on the road?
Aah! There is no typical working day.
When I want to spend the day indoors, I try to follow a routine. Wake up, exercise, chai, work, lunch, and go for a walk, possibly on a new path. The evening ends with finishing simple tasks or chores, resting, and reading.
I might follow this routine until I can, for then I might have to check out and go to a new destination or a different guest house. A day might have me waking up at five because I have to visit the Botanical Gardens early or finish work so I can watch that play in the local art festival at night.
Not a day is the same, and not a day is boring.
How do you navigate the emotional tension between societal expectations and your dreams of living fully?
Balancing these two isn’t always easy. For instance, when I have to fill in a permanent address in almost all forms and on all websites, including the banks, I scratch my head. As if one can’t really be on the go. I find that odd.
My friends always ask me how many books I have sold. The first thing my in-laws asked me was how much money I made every month, and wouldn’t I feel left behind when my college mates would become CEOs or civil officers? I graduated from one of the top engineering schools in the world, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and the alumni are known for distinguished accomplishments around the world.
I realize that our society’s primary statistics to judge anyone’s success are numbers, job titles, and the size of their house, or if they have kids. For me, living a wholesome life and exceling at a career of choice are more important. I believe that money comes as a byproduct if we are good at what we do.
In our families, my husband and I are probably looked at as a couple who don’t have a sense of direction, and that we both are wanderers. They wait for us to settle down so we will finally stop being crazy and start a family. We tell them we are already a family.
We call our friends to our temporary guest homes (whenever we can) and never have proper wine glasses to offer them or an option to stay overnight. Yes, these are things we don’t have. Sometimes I feel that we can’t give to our friends as much as they offer us. Then I remember I have stories to tell them.
On days, my husband and I find it unsettling not to have a stable home to retire back to. We don’t have regular orders scheduled for us, can’t get a yearly digital subscription to anything (where would it go), and our neighbors change faster than a cat changes alleys.
I am noticed everywhere. In rural India, I stand out for not wearing traditional attire, and in other countries, I am noticed as an Indian. Feeling different from everyone, it can be hard to feel like a part of anyplace or people. Our friends are always far away. Neighborhoods are strange, and shop owners have never seen us before.
In a forever-changing living situation, my husband and I have to be extra patient and loving with each other. I try to make personal connections with people wherever I go, though those connections are fleeting, and I’ll leave soon. I walk to the local bazaars to buy our groceries and find fulfillment in those interactions. I always try to bring a bowl of our dinner to our hosts and have received many plates of food without asking.
Living nomadically, I am not in touch with the same fifteen people. But, for sure, I am touching the lives of many more, and they are touching mine too. That’s a special privilege, and when I fall short of societal expectations, I remind myself that I am gaining much more. As a lover of mathematics, I appreciate this net positive.
Workwise, I have worked alone for more than eight years now. During the book publishing journey, working with my book editor and cover designer was a lot of fun. Finally, someone to have meetings with and brainstorm with. But on my own again, I am doing just as fine. On hard days, it is tough to motivate myself to write and work. No boss or colleague is waiting for me. The stories that are waiting to be told push me to sit up straight and write. The tones of admin and marketing work aren’t always something I look forward to. But that I can take a ferry to an island on Wednesday and read a book and count it as work are things I can’t complain about.
I am glad I love writing; this isn’t a career for everyone.
What practical advice would you give to people looking to make the leap from a traditional 9-5 job to one where they can live fully? (It may not mean travel, but it could mean embracing their creative side).
I have multiple articles on my blog regarding how to nurture and harness one’s creative side in the chaos of the world. They all draw from the same innate sense of wanting to create and wanting something different for ourselves.
But be aware of where you stand. Create a financial cushion to avoid panicking on the way. Pick up freelance projects while you get your hands dirty.
Also know that backups are not an option. You might think that if this doesn’t work out, I will do that or take up that job again. Fair enough. But if you really give it a go and if you really want it, you will have to give your thousand percent, take every chance there is, and allow yourself to fall so you can get back up again. Running to something secure the first time you stumble is not a practical plan.
You need to go all in, and when you go deep, the backup plans vanish. It is you and the world then, and the game begins.
What does success look like to you now, compared to what it looked like when you were in banking?
Success has always meant the same thing to me: doing the work I care about and that makes me want to push harder. In banking, I wasn’t doing justice to my job. But I have let myself be crushed and composed whole again by writing.
Success is messages and emails from my readers, telling me how my writing pushes them out of their comfort zone, makes them book that first solo trip, or inspires them to enjoy the small things of life. I feel proud when my parents, college professors, early readers, friends, and strangers tell me they are proud of me, my journey, and now my book.
People tend to glamorize being a travel nomad. However, what are some of the harsh realities you have had to contend with?
I mentioned some above, such as not having an address for the banks. Or not being able to sleep in the same bed and warm sheets every day.
Sometimes being a travel nomad also means that I have to juggle work, driving, finding a new place, dealing with strangers, getting judged, adjusting to a new culture, food, and environment, staying safe, and settling in once again, knowing I would have to pack my bags and leave soon. So, if one looks at only the ever-changing glorious sunsets or mountain ranges on a nomad’s feed, they won’t get a proper account of the nomad’s life. All of this has to be accounted for. And that is how I like to share my stories and adventures, a lot of behind-the-scenes fill my newsletters, blogs, and now my travel memoir, too.
And lastly, your 1st book is doing well. Are you thinking about writing another one?
Well, a writer shouldn’t let all her secrets out. You would know in due time.
Buy the book at Amazon.