What does it take to turn words into a livelihood? For some, it’s a carefully plotted journey; for others, it begins almost by accident, writing for friends, sharing ideas, and slowly discovering a hidden craft.
In this candid interview, we speak with Lucas* – a freelance writer – whose journey began in a university dorm room and has since grown into a career built on storytelling, research, and raw persistence.
From ghostwriting viral YouTube scripts to crafting entire course modules, Lucas has written his way through burnout, self-doubt, and the ever-shifting demands of digital content.
Let’s begin at the beginning. Can you take us back to the moment you first realized you wanted to write professionally?
I think it started back in university. Whenever we were given assignments, some friends would reach out and ask for help with theirs. I never copied or reused my own work, I always created something completely new for each person.
I could do that for two or three people at a time. I wasn’t charging them back then since we were all friends, but it made me realise that I could actually get paid for writing. After the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, I started reaching out to people to offer my writing services more seriously.
What does your writing process look like, from idea to execution?
When I get a topic, I write the topic in my head. The structure, organization, and all. If it’s not written in my head, I’m not writing anything.
If I’ve spent five days on a project, for example, and I’ve not written anything, it’s because I haven’t mentally written anything. After writing mentally, I then go about structuring it.
Each paragraph will have its own introduction, body, and conclusion. I might not know the topic, but I still have to mentally write it down. Do my research, write, and fix the necessary corrections.
How do you stay creatively inspired when you’re juggling multiple projects or dealing with burnout?
I always tell my friends that I don’t know how to juggle multiple projects, especially now that I have gone professional.
Let’s say, if I have a blog post or a YouTube script to write, and a course module. I have to finish one specific one before moving to the next, and it might not be on that day.
Unlike before when I was a Uni student who could jump on multiple projects at once, I can’t jump from one project to another now because the stakes of my deliverables have become higher; I have to take a rest.
What’s a misconception people often have about what you do?
People think I have money. Also, when people of the older generation see writers like myself with a laptop, they assume you’re into internet fraud. Or when people see you at home, they assume you’re jobless. I have had people pray for me for a job, but I’m not looking for any.
What’s a piece of writing (or video script) you’re most proud of and why?
For YouTube scripts, it has to be videos that do very well in terms of views. I have written scripts that have gone on to amass two million views and more post-production. Although, as a ghostwriter, I can’t take credit for them.
Also, I have had my blogpost rank highly on Google and this makes me immensely proud. Another time I was really delighted was when I assisted a university student abroad with their research, and the lecturer was effusive in their praise. Sometimes I write so beautifully that I wish the polished content was in my name.
Have you ever had to write something you didn’t believe in? How did you handle it?
Not really. I haven’t written something I don’t believe in.
How did you land your first paying gig as a freelance writer?
My first paying gig was academic writing. But the first professional paying gig was a politically-charged YouTube script, and from then on, I have been writing for people.
Can you remember the moment you realized, “Oh wow, I could actually live off this”?
I think it would be when I did a job and I got 15k from it. That amount felt big around 2020 and 2021. Then, it was something you could collect and be proud of. I started multiplying how much I could make. I did more of it.
What’s been your highest-paying gig so far, and what made it worth that amount?
My highest-paying gig was when I created a course module from scratch, and in three months, I earned upwards of a million.
In addition, I also did some YouTube scripts, and in three months, I earned a million. When you start breaking this down into bits, you find out that it’s not so much compared to what the original client got from it. But on a larger scale, it’s not that bad.
Would you say you’re financially stable just from writing, or do you combine it with other income streams?
Like Dangote, I’m still looking for money o. But seriously now, I don’t combine my freelance writing with other income streams. It’s just this.
Do you think writers are underpaid in general? Why or why not?
Yeah, we are. Compared to other freelancing industries, you will realize that content writers, or YouTube script writers, are underpaid. A script doing like two million views, and the pay is like $25, that’s being underpaid.
At the entry level, it’s even worse. You will be getting like $15. And we don’t want to talk about how much these monetized channels on YouTube make from the script.
So when you calculate all of these, you tend to see that the client gets to earn more. The earnings of writers are mostly way less than the value they offer. The only solace is that you get to hop on multiple projects at once and make more.
If someone’s hoping to earn from writing like you, what’s a realistic income expectation in their first year?
It actually depends on how prepared you are and the network of people you have. If your network is rich enough, you can get quality gigs. But if you’re still fresh entirely, you can earn like 100k-200 per month. And the downside of freelance writing is that it’s not consistent sometimes.
You can go three months without getting a single gig. You go for two months and you do a really nice paying job. So it’s not as stable as it appears out there.
Do you write with a specific audience or persona in mind when scripting?
Yes. When I’m writing a YouTube script, I’m writing to a specific audience. How I write a football review script is different from how you write a political documentary. From language use to the structure and styling, they totally vary. In the end, clients are the decision makers, because they’re the ones to decide what to write.
How do you balance creativity and algorithmic demands (like SEO, CTR, etc.)?
What I have learnt to do is just to use simple sentences. There’s also this popular notion that your creativity is killed when you’re freelancing. And I agree with that because you’re just after satisfying the client. Keywords also go a long way in affecting one’s creativity.
Using simple sentences helps to circumvent all of this. That’s why I have a medium page to display my creativity. I think creativity will work more for copywriters. Although you still have to optimize them for SEO, they are a bit different from blog writing.
What does “becoming” mean to you right now, in this phase of your journey?
That would mean that I have a job that I earn, say $800 — $1000 per month. That’s my aim right now. Not ghost writing or freelancing, and also a remote job.
What advice would you give to someone trying to break into freelance or YouTube writing?
Have a good writers’ network because your first set of jobs can just be referral-based. And because you don’t have a solid portfolio to apply for jobs, you will need people to refer you for jobs. Another one will be to take courses or explore resources, so you get ready once the opportunity comes. There are a lot of free courses out there. Hubspot, Coursera, Udemy, and many more.
*Pseudonym
PS: If you enjoyed this, you should read the inside story of Nabeelah’s Career Transition: From Studying Microbiology to Software Engineering.
Here’s Something FREE Just For You
Our sister brand, WriteHelp NG, is hosting a one-day immersive training this June—designed especially for thinkers who struggle to put their ideas into words.
If you’ve been finding it hard to articulate your thoughts or turn them into clear writing, this might just be the perfect learning experience for you.
Sign Up for the training here
