iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

Monica @softtail65.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

I need this book! Lol 😅🤣😂

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Something I think about a lot as a travel journalist: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/t...

nytimes.com

The Travel Writer’s Dilemma: Share, or Gatekeep?

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Excited to announce I've finally finished putting together my online travel writing course, where you'll find everything from pitching advice and sample pitches to how to afford travels, find your place in the travel media industry, and more! www.feelgoodfreelancewriting.com/courses/get-...

feelgoodfreelancewriting.com

Get Paid to Write About Your Travels

Zanny shares her secrets from 11 years of travel writing. From how to plan for travels and afford trips to pitching, writing, and even a private coaching discount thrown in, this course is all you nee...

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

Ryan Teague Beckwith @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

how long do you think the average cardinal has been thinking about what papal name they would choose

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

There's something addictive about booking the next international trip... And I just set up two!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

As a freelancer, I've learned to reach out to old clients as soon as I can anticipate a slow down in my schedule. Today, prompting an old client meant landing enough work to know I'll have my rent covered the next couple of months!

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Wouldn't it be great if chronic illnesses were a little less chronic.

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

I hit my 4-year anniversary of full-time freelance writing this week! Amazing how far I've come in that time, all the experiences I've had, and all I've learned along the way...

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

April is always my busiest month--just got through a week where I had SIX deadlines and can't wait for a little break...

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

eileen chengyin chow @chowleen.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. -FS Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, published 4/10/1925.

Original 1925 jacket cover of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby
Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate a marvellous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period which reveals a hero like no other one who could live at no other time and in no other place. But he will live as a character, we surmise, as long as the memory of any reader lasts.
"There was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life. ..
It was an
extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again?"
It is the story of this Jay Gatsby who came so mysteriously to West Egg, of his sumptuous er-tertainments, and of his love for Daisy Buchanan a story that ranges from pure lyrical beauty to sheer brutal realism, and is infused with a sense of the strangeness of human circumstance in a heedless universe.
It is a magical, living book, blended of irony, romance, and mysticism.
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
The
GREAT GATSBY
FITZGERALD

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

I took three days to do an at-home meditation retreat and WOW did I need that... Hard to be ambitious and also value work-life balance.

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Of course it's only when I sit down to meditate that I suddenly remember all the tasks I wanted to add to my to-do list... An added challenge for clearing the mind I guess!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

For some reason late March-May has been my busiest time of year as a freelance writer since 2021. Anyone else in the throes of busy season?

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

OutThere | Experiential Journeys @outtheremag.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Building on our inaugural Icons of Inclusion event last year, we catch up with Go Beyond Holidays co-founder Ian Callen to explore the challenges of travel for people with hidden disabilities and the need for better accessibility beyond physical accommodations. @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social

outthere.travel

Ian Callen on how supported travel can open doors and break down barriers

With Go Beyond Holidays, Ian Callen opens up a world of travel for those with different cognitive abilities – here, he shares his thoughts on inclusion.

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

No task more challenging than writing a short bio about myself...

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

Katie Hammel @katiehammel.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Call for pitches: We're looking at launching a destination-focused newsletter at point.me, and I'm looking for pitches from writers with deep expertise in a particular city or region(live in/visit often). 🧵

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Getting woken up early by the fire alarm low battery chirp means it's the perfect day to work from the couch...

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Despite the fact that I'm both well-traveled and a travel journalist, I'm terrible at packing and always get stressed out before my trips...

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

In today's Substack, my dad and I discuss community and its power in such an isolating time. merullo.substack.com/p/no-man-is-...

merullo.substack.com

No Man is an Island

The power of community

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

I used to get frustrated at delayed replies to my emails (or no replies at all), but now that my inbox is packed full of PR pitches, newsletters, communications with clients and editors, and other random stuff I think I understand why that happens!

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

Jen Rose Smith @jenrosesmith.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Mission to Mars because travel writers are running out of places for their "where to go next" lists

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

As much as I love to travel (and have to do so for work), I always dread my trips as they come nearer... Something about being both a homebody and an adventurer?

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Some brief reflection on one of my all-time favorite quotes: merullo.substack.com/p/the-light-...

merullo.substack.com

The Light in Our Sky Series #4

A quote from Rumi

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

I have a hot date with my taxes today! One of my least parts of self-employment...

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

Frank Olito @frankolito.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

For @businessinsider.com: I'm looking for #IvyLeague students and alum to write first-person essays about their experiences. Do you regret going Ivy? Dropped out? Loved it? Has it set you up for success? What's been misunderstood about IL? Pitch me by email in bio. #journorequests #freelance

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Excited to have made my Toronto Star debut today! I'm proud of this piece and also proud of myself for having the self-discipline to manage my disease and still have so many adventures. www.thestar.com/life/travel/...

thestar.com

I did the trek of a lifetime in Peru. Not even an invisible disability could stop me

Embarking on this high-altitude adventure, given my severe chronic illness, was challenging but completely worth it

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

As someone who has lived in a dictatorship, I know the playbook well. I also know that it ends in tragedy and trauma that can take generations to go away...

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Visiting with my good friends from high school today. So fun to reminisce and also support each other through new phases of life!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

I've found my motivation for pitching new publications has gone way down lately, but I'm finally taking a couple of hours to send out the story ideas I'd love to work on! This may be my least favorite part of the job, but it often becomes worth it...

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Reposted by Zanny Merullo Steffgen

momshieb.bsky.social @momshieb.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

In a way it's going to be lots of fun to talk and write about the beauty of the Gulf of MEXICO and the threats to the Gulf of MEXICO and the storm system moving across the Gulf of MEXICO. Rebellion of words. I like it.

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is find the nearest public library to sit and work in!

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Common Good magazine @commongoodmag.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

Remember your old phone number? You probably (still) know it by heart. The mobile-only revolution arrived as a money-saving life hack. But what if we lost more than just an old home phone number? More from @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social in issue 18 commongoodmag.com/what-did-we-...

commongoodmag.com

What Did We Lose When We Lost Landlines? | Common Good Magazine

The mobile-only revolution arrived as a money-saving life hack. But what if we lost more than just an old home phone number?

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

I've had a lot of life-changing life experiences happen on January 17th throughout my life, so I can't wait for whatever evolution is next!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

I'm at that point with my work schedule where I've pretty much maxed out and will have to turn down any other assignments that come my way for the next couple of weeks. A nice place to be!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Try to think how I'm going to distract myself from misery on inauguration day... Any ideas?

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

Having one of those weeks where I know I've overcommitted myself... Which means being more strict than ever about things like healthy diet, sleep hygiene, and exercise!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Just had a hearty cry after selling a pitch to a magazine I've dreamed of writing for since I was a child. This feels like a reward for all of the hard work I've put in over the last years, and I can't wait to celebrate!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

My best friend of 18 years is visiting me this week, and it's been so much fun to look back on all we've been through together... So many ups and downs and various phases of life, but our friendship has remained a constant!

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Some days it feels like 90% of my job as a freelance writer is answering emails...

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

One of my biggest goals for 2025 is working on being too nice when people put me in uncomfortable situations. Any tips for advocating for yourself in a way that doesn't feel mean?

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Zanny Merullo Steffgen @zanmerusteffgen.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

I'm not a big fan of NYE, but love using it as a natural place to pause, reflect, and set intentions for the new year. 2025 will be a big transition year for me--bring it on!

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