Lebawit Lily Girma is an award-winning writer and photographer who ditched her legal career for the road in 2008. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Cote d’Ivoire, she’s a serial expat who studied on three continents and speaks four languages. Lily’s work, focusing on all things culture and sustainable travel in the Caribbean, has been published in numerous outlets, including CNN, Lonely Planet, BBC, AFAR, The New York Times online, and Sunday Times Travel. She also authors guidebooks on Belize and the Dominican Republic. Lily is currently based in Santo Domingo.
How did you get started traveling?
I was nine months old when I boarded a plane for the first time, with my parents. Our family was moving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, where my dad was starting a new job as an international economist for the African Development Bank. So I caught that travel bug early on, and I’ve loved living in other countries and exploring cultures ever since. I sometimes traveled with my parents when my dad went on business travel – to other parts of Africa – or we would go on extended summer vacations abroad, including to the US and France. Later on, I went to boarding school in England. Travel and living abroad has always been a part of my life – and it shaped who I am.
How did you get started writing?
I loved to write as a teen – writing poems, short stories, or in my diaries. I loved calligraphy and collecting fountain pens. I guess it’s not surprising because I went to a French school, where there was a lot of emphasis on reading literature, writing, and all things books. But it still didn’t hit me that I could be a professional writer until decades later. When I quit my legal career in Washington DC and decided to travel long term and teach myself photography – that’s when I quickly realized that I loved telling stories to go with my images. And that I’d have more success getting published that way.
I launched with my blog, Sunshine and Stilettos, and soon after I connected with a couple of editors online, who remain my mentors and friends. One of them gave me the opportunity to write an article for a digital magazine, Matador. I got my first taste of writing, pitching, and getting paid for it.
What do you consider your first “break” as a writer?
My first break came through Matador Network magazine, back in 2011. Julie Schwietert Collazo was the managing editor at the time, and she reached out to me about a three-month writing gig in Belize in collaboration with the Belize Tourism Board. That was my first real travel writing work, being sent to a destination on assignment and producing articles and photography on a weekly basis.
As a traveler and fact/story gatherer, what is your biggest challenge on the road?
I’ve focused mostly on the Caribbean and part of Central America thus far and in those parts, things work differently. It’s a people-to-people environment. That means gathering accurate facts can take more time than average, as you’d have to know the right people and those people would lead you to additional sources. It takes investing in relationships on the ground. If you’re on a short-deadline assignment, it can therefore be difficult to find what you need quickly – even more so if it’s a public holiday when you land – unless you know well connected people on the ground.
The other occasional challenge is not being taken seriously when I show up. Unfortunately, there are many men (and some women) in the region and in Latin countries who look at a black female travel journalist and only see a black female – not a guidebook author, not a professional writer.
What is your biggest challenge in the research and writing process?
I actually love the research phase – maybe that comes from my legal days. My biggest challenge is maintaining a steady writing flow, staying motivated. It takes time, it takes inspiration. There are days when I’m on a roll and there are other days when procrastination takes over. When that happens, I’ve learned to go for a walk in nature, or do something completely different to come back inspired. And as much as I’d love to write only about topics I’m passionate about, that’s not always the case (though it happens less frequently).
What is your biggest challenge from a business standpoint?
Managing a steady plate of work – as a freelancer it’s hard to maintain the balance, as it’s either feast or famine time. Sometimes projects all land together at once and it’s hard to say no. But over time I’ve found ways to handle that and have more work flowing long term. I’ve also learned to evaluate and turn work down when I’m already slammed. Another endless challenge is being able to run everything myself, particularly the social media marketing side. Juggling writing guidebooks, articles, content partnerships and still maintaining a blog and social media can be overwhelming at times. I’ve learned to prioritize, but it can be hard.
Have you ever done other work to make ends meet?
Absolutely. In the beginning three to four years into my travel writing/photography career, I spent at least five months in the US doing legal work. I was an attorney before this, and practiced corporate law full time for seven years. So I figured out a way to work and save by working with various law firms on a contract basis (by project), and then spending the rest of the year (the winter, of course) in the Caribbean, where I’d continue my travel writing, blogging and photography.
What travel authors or books might you recommend and/or have influenced you?
When I first read Jumpha Lahiri, I knew I had to become a writer – produce my own short stories. I remember taking an evening fiction class at Georgetown University while still working at the law firm. Her collection of short stories Interpreter of Maladies, about the lives of Indian immigrants really hit home, as an Ethiopian who lived abroad my entire life. Other writers I love and influenced me are Isabel Allende, Maryse Conde, and Mariama Ba. I’m blessed to have been raised with such a multicultural education, so that I got to read authors in French, Spanish or English. These writers took me deep into their worlds and cultures – and that’s what I find most satisfying about travel.
What advice and/or warnings would you give to someone who is considering going into travel writing?
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Start small, keep your day job, and juggle. As you become more published, find other channels for travel writing work – it might not be as sexy, but it can help pay the bills so you can do the kind of writing you love. In the end, keep your voice authentic and write about what you know. Everyone has a different perspective and a different story to tell, so go for it if that’s what you really want to do. I would also recommend attending a couple of conferences and connecting with mentors. I had some amazing female editor mentors, but I wouldn’t have met them if I hadn’t first reached out and put myself out there.
What is the biggest reward of life as a travel writer?
There are so many! I think of the incredible depths of experiences I get to have, and the range of people I meet that an average traveler might not. But also, being my own boss – the ability to shape my work and shape my days around my projects. No timesheets to fill out in six minute increments (hurrah), being paid for what I love to do, and being able to work from home – it’s a blessing that I never take for granted.
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