You are more capable than you think - Writer & Editor Afoma Umesi
About this episode…
Writer & Editor Afoma Umesi
Afoma trained to be a doctor. Yes, an actual medical doctor. So how did she end up worrying more about the health of her business than of patients?
Hear how Afoma forged a career as a freelance writer & editor working with clients from around the world from her home in Nigeria. First via UpWork, then through her own contacts. All without losing her love of writing.
Alongside freelancing, Afoma runs a successful book blog, which serves as an income stream, living proof of her SEO skills, and as a place to just enjoy writing without a client’s feedback.
And all this whilst working a four-day week?! Just what the doctor ordered.
Read the highlights in the next tab.
GETTING STARTED ON UPWORK
Afoma wasn’t even sure she could be paid to write. UpWork showed her she could. It gave her confidence, client experience and a portfolio. And don’t worry, as her reputation increased so did her rates. In the episode she has some good advice on winning work.
“Obviously now, I know that it's outrageous to get paid $50 for an article, but then I was grateful, I needed money. And I think my first month I made like $400. I was over the moon - like, wow, I can make money writing words. I was so excited. For me it was fine in the beginning.”
TAKE A SALARY
One way to stay on top of your finances is to treat yourself as a business and get into the habit of paying yourself a ‘salary’ (this is something I preach in the How to get started being freelance course actually) - the same amount each month even if your business earns more.
“Okay, I'm running a business. I can't spend everything I make. And not just taxes - I have to have a plan for my business going forward. So something I started doing was paying myself a salary and that really helped. So no matter what comes in every month, I pay myself this amount and it's something that I can achieve every month. And then I put away any excess.”
TURNING WORK DOWN tO TAKE WORK ON
So that Afoma could focus on work she most enjoyed, she had to start turning work down
“I had to start turning work down. I had to say, 'no I don't do that anymore'. And it stung - I hate to turn work down. It's a combination of, I need money and I'm a people pleaser.
I really hate to say no to people, but I would tell myself, if you take this, you won't have time to do the work you actually want to do. You will be stretched and you will resent the work.”
KEEPING THE LOVE ALIVE
Afoma was worried that she’d kill her love of writing by turning it into a business. But that didn’t happen. Her “passion project” blog ‘Reading Middle Grade’ is a place that is just for the writing, not for the clients. It also brings her income.
“The fact that I have Reading Middle Grade has really helped. I still write for fun. I love that. I have a place where I can just go and write and nobody's coming to read from a 'how nice, how flowery my sentences' are perspective. They're just there to get information. And that makes me feel so much better. I love that. It's a precious space for me. And I think that helps me enjoy writing..”
SCARED OF NICHING
Afoma wants to niche. But also doesn’t want to! Maybe you can relate. To niche too much would be to lose the variation in the work that she enjoys.
“My current issue now is figuring out what I want to do. Like a niche. I'm one of those people who's very scared of niching. I've heard people praise it a lot. Even I've written articles where I've said, 'yeah, pick a niche!' But at the same time, I'm like, 'but look at all of those fun jobs!' And sometimes it's not about the money. I just want to do something different. I've had the experience of working for the same kind of clients and doing the same kind of work. And I felt my brain was dying. I like to learn different things. I like to be thrown into new waters every now and again.”
THE FOUR DAY WEEK
Vic understands the temptation to say yes to everything when you start out. But it left him overbooked and working on some things he just didn’t enjoy. Now having three quality regular clients, gives him the confidence to turn other work away, whilst still leaving room for new interesting projects.
“I work four days a week and I take Thursdays off. I run errands. I sleep in, I spend time with family. I just do me things. I read books. I try to go out, just do something, not work related. And I find that it helps a lot.
And then on the weekend I don't do any client work, which I find to be a real break. I still work on (my side project) ‘Reading Middle Grade’ but it's not like a work day, just two to three hours. And then I'm free, but I don't touch client work. It was hard to start. But once I started... now, even if I really need to do the work, it's a struggle. And I'm happy about that because the other extreme (of burnout) was really bad.”
Listen to the episode now to hear Afoma’s full story.
More from Afoma Umesi
Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland and Freelance writer & editor Afoma Umesi
Steve Folland:
As ever, how about we get started hearing how you got started being freelance?
Afoma Umesi:
I actually kind of fell into freelancing. I never planned to become a freelancer. I didn't even know that was a thing I could do. I've always written since I was like 16 or 17. I had a website on blogger and just wrote life stuff. And then I wrote fiction for a while. So I've always been into writing and then I went to med school. So throughout med school, I was writing, updating my blog, sharing lifestyle content, just for fun. I never monetized the blog or anything. I just shared for the sake of sharing because I liked it. But then towards the end of med school, I started to realize that I did not want to practice medicine and I needed another way to make money. Because the thing with medicine is that you're either in or you're out, it's not one of those things where you get out of med school and you're like, well, I'm going to use this degree to do something else.
Afoma Umesi:
You can't do that with medicine: you study medicine, you become a doctor. So I wanted to work and I needed to find something. So at the time my brother was freelancing. He was at university, but he was writing on one of these platforms. I think it was Freelancer.com at the time. And he was like, 'you know, you've always written, you have a website and all of that, you'd probably do better than I'm doing because you already have a portfolio and all of this...' So I said, okay, I'll try. So that was how I started on Freelancer.com. But I hated the platform so much. It was just clogged with like really bad gigs. But you know, it was my starting point.
Afoma Umesi:
I think I got one or two gigs there. And then I remembered that I had an Upwork account. I had started the Upwork account a year or two before, but it was so confusing at the time, I never got to use it. So I went back to Upwork and it turned out to be better than Freelancer for me. So that was how I started writing. And at the time I didn't know exactly what I would do, but I tried writing, I tried editing, copywriting, a little bit of everything and kind of settled somewhere between writing and editing.
Steve Folland:
Wow. So just to be clear, you finished med school. And how many years was that?
Afoma Umesi:
It depends on your path - in the U S it will take you seven to eight years. But because I studied in the Caribbean, it took me altogether six to seven years.
Steve Folland:
That point where your brother said, 'why don't you try freelance writing'? Were you still at med school, were you just finishing or was it at the point where you finished and went, oh man, turns out I don't want to be a doctor.
Afoma Umesi:
I think I was just finishing because I wouldn't have had time to write in med school. I don't remember exactly, but I believe I was just finishing. I had just finished med school. I had tried doing other things. I was tutoring kids at the time, you know, just doing a little bit of everything, but I needed something more consistent. And my brother was like, yeah, you should try writing. And I was very hesitant. I was like, really? Cause I always thought writing is an art - I was really precious about my writing. Writing is an art. If I write I'm going to ruin my love of the art. And I had experienced that because at the time I was also a freelance photographer and before I started taking pictures for money, I loved photography. But then when I started doing it for money, I still enjoyed it. But like, it took so much fun out of it. For me, it felt more like a job - I had to be a business. I had to be strategic. I had to take certain types of pictures. There were certain industries that gave more money than others. So I just didn't want that to happen with writing as well. And I found writing to be difficult, I guess, because I only wrote when inspiration struck. So I just didn't think I could do this for a living.
Steve Folland:
So when did you do the freelance photography?
Afoma Umesi:
I started while in med school. I did a wedding while I was living in the Caribbean. I used to do photo shoots for students who were doing parties or had their birthdays. And they wanted to do a personal photo shoot, or couples photography. So like weekends, holidays, things like that. I would take pictures for people.
Steve Folland:
So you set out to try freelance writing on the freelance platforms and also not let it kill your love of writing.
Afoma Umesi:
I was desperate.
Steve Folland:
There's nothing like that to drive you forward though. What did you find worked for you as you sort of found your feet on UpWork?
Afoma Umesi:
It took a while to really understand the platform. I got my first job, maybe after a week of bidding. I realized that you had to be almost like manic about it. You had to apply to anything that was close to what you were looking for and you had to be fast because there's so many people on these sites and you could see, like, they usually tell you how many people have already put in a bid for a particular job. So you'll see like five to 10 or 15 to 20, you'll see, 50 plus I didn't even bother with those kinds of jobs. And so you had to try to get in really quickly, you had to sound knowledgeable. In the beginning, I would say, oh, I am a freelance writer, I have this experience and that and whatever, whatever...
Afoma Umesi:
But eventually I learned that they don't really care about all that. They just need to know that you read their job description, you can do the job. Here's a sample of something you've done in the past, straight to the point. Just prove your expertise as quickly as possible. So that's what I was doing, sending lots of applications and trying to really connect. I would read the job description. And then I would think, what kind of person is this? Are they more emotion-based, how do I appeal to them? And you would just kind of try to reach them strategically at their point of need basically. But I would say definitely speed. And on recognizing a job that you really could do, because then you would be able to prove your expertise better versus something where you're like, I've never done this before, but I would love to try. I had a few of those where I would apply and be like, 'well, I've never done copywriting before, but I can write and here's my website ,if you want to take a chance on me, I promise I can do this...' And once in a while it worked, but I didn't like doing those kinds of bids.
Steve Folland:
How long did it take for you to get traction? It helps of course, when you get reviews and ratings on these sites, but that in itself means you've got to win the work. So how, how did you find it?
Afoma Umesi:
I think I got my first job maybe a week after I started actively bidding. It was in September of 2017 and I got my first job and I was so excited. It was like $50 to write web copy for this diagnostic center. So because I was a medical student/slash graduate, I could easily get that job. So once I did that, he was very impressed and he wrote like a stellar review on my page and that was really helpful. It didn't take up to a week before I got the next one. So it was a really positive experience for me with Upwork in the beginning. I got the jobs really quickly. I got good reviews in the beginning and that helped me to have more of a portfolio for any other jobs I was applying to. And then, with UpWork basically if you keep getting good reviews, then they rate you as like 'top rated' or 'rising freelancer' or 'rising star' or something. But basically you get a badge that shows clients that you are responsible, you deliver and all of that. So it wasn't long before I got really good reviews and I was getting more work.
Steve Folland:
How did you find getting paid on it? Like as in the price you could set
Afoma Umesi:
For me, I didn't think it was bad. Obviously like me now, I know that it's outrageous to get paid $50 for an article, but then I was grateful, I needed money. And I think my first month I made like $400. I was over the moon - like, wow, I can make money writing words. I was so excited. So for me it was fine, you know, in the beginning. And I did see other freelancers who had like, you know, $70 an hour or like $120 an hour. And I saw that they were getting clients, but I just felt like, you know, I'm new at this. I'm not very good at this, I guess imposter syndrome... I just thought, well, I'm not really good at this. I'm just going to start at $15 an hour.
Afoma Umesi:
I think that was my, my starting rate. No, it was $12 an hour. And I was like, yeah, this is fine for me. I don't want to scare away potential clients. So that's how I started. Then after my first few jobs, I eventually got one long-term client whom I still work for today. Yes, I got one longterm client and I kept getting other jobs here and there. And then over time... I wouldn't say it was like a strategic raising of rates. I would just wake up one day and be like, you know what? I'm a good writer. I deserve to get paid more. And then I'd raise my rates. So I went from 12 to 15 and then to 20, to 25...
Afoma Umesi:
I think it's probably $60 per hour right now. I don't use Upwork as much anymore, but I think that's my current rate. So I just kind of raised it every few months. I think it came from feeling more experienced, doing a wide variety of work, getting good feedback and actually seeing like, wow, I actually know what I'm doing. Like my writing is not bad. Look at my work out there, look what I've done for this client. I could afford to get paid more. So that was really it. And then I started to see other freelancers on social media, I'd see a few articles and I'd think like, wow, this person gets paid this - why am I not raising my rates? And that's really how I started raising my rates
Steve Folland:
But you moved away from UpWork. How did you go about finding work?
Afoma Umesi:
I mean, I want to tell you that was really strategic, but it just happened. The one I'm thinking of now is the marketing agency that I write for right now. So I found them on Twitter. I followed the head of content and she tweeted one day looking for an SEO editor. And I just responded to the tweet. We did like a test and they chose somebody else actually. But then she had this other client that she was working with. They were looking for a focused SEO editor and she connected me.
Afoma Umesi:
And that was how I got that job. After that, I reached out to her again just to like say thanks. And then I was like, you know, if you need a freelance writer I'm available. And she was like, yeah, actually, you know, our agency is looking for writers. They create content for B2B brands. So that was a completely different world from what I was used to. And they did hire me and I still write for them. And it was great with this new agency and with other clients that I've gone to work with outside of Upwork, I haven't needed Upwork in a very long time.
Steve Folland:
So at that point, did you have like a website? I mean, I know you had your blog where you were writing, but did you have like an Afoma Umesi website? You know, I'm a writer, this is what I do. Like, you have one now - but how was it back then?
Afoma Umesi:
I did have a website. I had an afomaumesi.com website, but then I was using it as a blog. So it was a mishmash of things. Cause I mentioned I've always blogged. I think in 2017, 2018, I started blogging more actively just trying to find my niche. I had interviews with freelancers on that site. And also, I'm a big fan of books and reading. Eventually I became more interested in children's books specifically. So I would interview authors. I would review books. I was doing everything and all things on that website that said afomaumesi.com. But on the homepage I had my whole, you know, 'I'm a writer and editor available for hire.' And I used to get a lot of inquiries through that homepage and through SEO because the website was doing really well. But after a while, I just needed to focus on the blogging and I didn't want it to be linked to my name. So I had to change my domain names. So I changed the site and it's now Reading Middle Grade, which is doing its own thing completely different from me. That's another thing that I do on the side, a passion project.
Steve Folland:
But, but people were finding you through that home page. Where your clients? Who were you targeting?
Afoma Umesi:
It's a very good question. I think at the time I was targeting, because I I've gone through so many phases with my freelance work - in the beginning I edited not just online content, I edited books as well. Nonfiction, fiction. I was like a developmental editor, line editor. So I was getting inquiries from like authors in Nigeria, where I live, In the US and other places. So I got children's book authors, like I edited picture books for authors. Chapter books, things like that. So it was a range of clients. There was no niche, it was just work. That was my mindset. You know, at that time it was like, I just need to do work. But as I did more work, I started to realize what I liked doing and what I didn't like doing. And then it was kind of like, okay, so what do I actually want to do with my business?
Steve Folland:
So did that mean starting to turn work down? Cause presumably the book work was coming because your blog had so many book reviews.
Afoma Umesi:
Exactly, exactly. So I had to start turning work down. I had to say, 'no I don't do that anymore'. And it stung - I hate to turn work down. It's a combination of, I need money and I'm a people pleaser. I really hate to say no to people, but I would tell myself, if you take this, you won't have time to do the work you actually want to do. You will be stretched and you will resent the work and you don't want to do this work. You know, you don't want to do this work because the money's not worth it. So I would say, I'm sorry, I don't do this anymore, but I can refer you to this editor or that person. And then I had a couple of editors who were also referring people to me for book editing. So I had to tell them, oh, I don't do this anymore. And they would have to stop referring clients to me. So yeah, I had to close that chapter. No pun intended.
Steve Folland:
Would you say you have a niche now?
Afoma Umesi:
I think so, but I don't think I'm fully decided. I think I'm still experimenting, but it's more niched down than it was before. So right now I, I market myself as B2B SaaS and marketing writer. So those are two areas where I actually have samples that I've worked in recently and I actually enjoy writing for those niches. I would love to keep writing for them, but I still want to experiment with a couple more niches, healthcare and cybersecurity. And I want to see how I feel about them before officially declaring myself, you know, this is what I do. But it's hard to get into a niche when you don't have any exmamples. So that's, that's been something I'm really working on.
Steve Folland:
Now. You mentioned Reading Middle Grade as a side project, this spinoff blog. But it looks pretty meaty. It looks like it's a potential way of bringing you revenue as well?
Afoma Umesi:
So Reading Middle Grade is a website for recommending children's books. So it features mostly middle grade books, which is books for kids between the ages of eight and 13. That's really what the blog is about. I update it regularly. I think for the last year I've been posting every single weekday, sometimes twice a day.
Steve Folland:
As in full pieces of content? Twice? As in two new book reviews? Wow.
Afoma Umesi:
Yes. So it is, it's a part-time job! Honestly, I'm getting to the point where I am admitting that it's a part-time job - before I was like, oh, well I could do this on the side, but it does take a chunk of time. Thankfully it now earns money. I've hired a virtual assistant to help me it. So I don't do all of the monotonous tasks, like linking things, designing images on Canva, all of those things that don't require my input. I don't have to do them - finding book covers, all of that basic stuff. I don't do it anymore. I just create content and think about content ideas. I also have a dedicated Pinterest manager for the site. So it's not on my hands alone, thankfully and Reading Middle Grade can support those employees - those contractors.
Afoma Umesi:
But then I don't get much else after. Before I used to get a reasonable amount, like 500 to a thousand. But since hiring people, I've taken a pay cut, so to speak. But I think of it as investing in it because I didn't know what I was doing with Pinterest. And I feel like it's a real potential source of traffic. I'm good with SEO. So the blog is doing really well on Google ranking, almost number one for all of our main keywords. So yeah, the blog has been doing impressively. I also do sponsored content which helps - author sponsor posts. I've worked with a couple of brands who have paid me to write about their websites. I worked with a brand recently that wanted me to highlight their website, which is for selling used books. So I would say that child of mine is doing well enough.
Steve Folland:
It's growing nicely. And I guess it's nice that you can - back in your freelance business - point to the success of Reading Middle Grade SEO wise...?
Afoma Umesi:
I think that was how I got the client who was looking for an SEO editor. I was like, well, this is my site. We've gone from 27,000 views to close to 400,000 views this year. So this is my SEO skills in action. And I'm not an SEO whiz by any means. This is just basic SEO stuff. You know, using your keywords, optimizing images, doing basic keyword research. I'm not a guru, but I understand how it works. And my work as a writer, working with clients, seeing how they optimize their posts for search engines has really taught me a lot. So in that sense, you know, I feel like all my days of $15 per hour were not entirely a waste because I did come out with good skills that are now serving me.
Steve Folland:
How do you find balancing your time? And I don't just mean like between working and relaxing, but between your freelance business and reading middle grade business,
Afoma Umesi:
It is a constant work in progress. I was losing my mind before I got the virtual assistance, but basically right now, what I do is I work on Reading Middle Grade on weekends. So Fridays - half day, I'll be working on Reading Middle Grade. We have a Friday newsletter, I'll write a couple of posts in advance for the next week. And then Saturday, Sunday I'll do a couple of research sessions, like two to three hours - sets up book listsfor my assistant to format. And then I'll write a couple of reviews, just try to get posts in for the next week. And that's really what I do because I, as much as it earns income, I can't do it during the week and kind of split time between client work. I just find that my brain gets really confused and Reading Middle Grade is fun work. So I could be doing it and lose track of time. So if I'm doing it on a work day I could just completely forget the actual work I'm supposed to be doing. So I just don't do it. So I leave it until the weekend - and it's work, but I could listen to music, to podcasts. So it's like fun time. I don't have to think so hard. It's fun content for me.
Steve Folland:
How about the other side then? Between work and switching off from work entirely?
Afoma Umesi:
Yeah. (laughing) I'm much better at it now. I remember my early freelancing days, like the first year, I was perpetually anxious. I used to work every single day, including Sundays. I was constantly thinking about work. This year has been so much better. When the pandemic started, it was really hard because all the lines got blurred. I was working all the time. I was always thinking about work, going back to those dark beginning days. But nowadays, and I guess I should mention, I've never been a full-time freelancer in the sense of the word. I've always tried to work three to four days a week. So now I'm really trying to enforce that more. I take Thursdays off. I run errands. I sleep in, I spend time with family. I just do me things. I read books.
Afoma Umesi:
I try to go out, just do something, not work related. And I find that it helps a lot. So I work four days a week and I take Thursdays off. And then on the weekend I don't do any client work, which I find to be a real break. I still work on Reading Middle Grade but it's not like a work day, just two to three hours. And then I'm free, but I don't touch client work. It was hard to start. But once I started... now I'm so lazy even if there's an emergency, I don't want to do any work til Monday. I can't get into it. Now, even if I really need to do the work, it's a struggle. And I'm happy about that because the other extreme was really bad.
Steve Folland:
I mean, you said you've 'never been a full-time freelancer', but you are. It's just that you've decided to work a four-day week. You're going to take that Thursday off. That's so cool.
Afoma Umesi:
The Thursday thing has really stuck. I'm off. Like yesterday was a Thursday - I didn't even see my laptop and it felt good. Cause then even when I'm like, oh, I should, because I'm supposed to be 'out of office' next week, so I've been trying to work ahead. So I did say I was going to try to do some stuff yesterday, but I didn't do anything. Cause it's...
Steve Folland:
It's your day off.
Afoma Umesi:
Right. Brain is like no, we're off today.
Steve Folland:
So you've got a week off?. Do you manage to take much time off in that respect?
Afoma Umesi:
No, I think the last time I took time off was March 2020. I took a month off.
Steve Folland:
Wow. So when you do it, you...
Afoma Umesi:
(laughing) When I do it I do it big.
Afoma Umesi:
That's like when I'm burned out. I'm like, I can't, I need to go. But yeah, I'm not really good at taking time off. I watch other freelancers who are like 'yeah, I'm going on a trip!' I'm like, that's so nice. I want to be off too. But it's like, you're your own boss, you can take time off. I've been really teaching myself boundaries. I think it's also my personality: I really always want to be helpful, I'm very responsible - I like to make sure I'm doing everything right. And so sometimes I'm like, oh, do I really want to write to my clients and say, oh, I'm not going to be available? A couple of weeks ago I was sick. And like, it took my entire family to tell me. Everybody was like, 'you need to tell them that you can't, you will not meet this deadline'. And I was like, no, but I can! Just give me two days and I will. But I was so sick. I had to write to my client and she was like, 'oh, it's fine, no problem, we'll figure it out'. And it felt so good, but I wasn't going to do it if I didn't get forced to do it.
Steve Folland:
What would you say is the biggest challenge that you've faced being freelance?
Afoma Umesi:
Well, historically it's figuring out the finances of it. Cause when I started, I was living in a foreign country. I was a student. I didn't have to think about taxes. So it was kind of like, everything I make is for me. Yay. But now it's like - okay, I'm running a business. I can't spend everything I make. Everything I make is not available to me. And not just taxes - I have to have a plan for my business going forward. So something I started doing was paying myself a salary and that really helped. So no matter what comes in every month, I pay myself this amount and it's something that I can achieve every month. And then I put away any excess. And that helped me a lot with that problem.
Afoma Umesi:
But I would say my current issue now is figuring out what I want to do. Like a niche. I'm one of those people who's very scared of niching. Again, I I've heard people praise it a lot. And even I've written articles where I've said, 'yeah, pick a niche!' But at the same time, I'm like, 'but look at all of those fun jobs!' And sometimes it's not about the money. I just want to do something different. I've had the experience of working for the same kind of clients and doing the same kind of work. And I felt my brain was dying. I like to learn different things. I like to be thrown into new waters every now and again. So I'm always like, what can I do that provides me with enough variety? And at the same time makes me an expert? But then it's hard to break into new niches without any samples or any proof that you can do it. You're just telling the person, well, I can do this, give me a chance and not everybody's that kind to risk their content marketing on you. So I think that's my current challenge - finding what I really want to do in terms of niche. But we'll see...
Steve Folland:
If you could tell your younger self, one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
Afoma Umesi:
You are more capable than you think. When I started, I was so scared. I felt so inadequate and I still do sometimes today, but every day with every new client, I'm learning that I'm more capable. I can write all those words. I used to be so intimidated by how many words... this topic sounds so complicated. Can I do it? And it's like - you can Google anything and you can write about it. And that's why you're a writer. So that's what I would tell myself. You are more capable than you think.
Steve Folland:
Love it. And just quickly you mentioned at the beginning that you were scared that you would take this thing that you love doing - writing - and that you would somehow ruin it if you've turned it into a job. So how have you managed to not ruin it?
Afoma Umesi:
I think it's just embracing the challenges. And also the fact that I have Reading Middle Grade has really helped. Like I still write for fun. I love that. I have a place where I can just go and write and nobody's coming to read from a 'how nice, how flowery my sentences' are perspective. They're just there to get information. And that makes me feel so much better. Like I'm just there to tell you what I thought about the book. I'm here to show you three books I think you should read. And nobody cares how you frame those sentences. They just want them to be readable, easy to understand and tell them new information. And I love that. It's a very new, precious space for me. And I think that helps me enjoy writing.
Steve Folland:
So true. Because you're the client. There's nobody to impress or to send feedback.
Afoma Umesi:
Yeah!
Steve Folland:
Afoma, thank you so much. And all the best being freelance!
Afoma Umesi:
Thanks very much. Thanks for having me.
This episode is sponsored by…
WITH JACK - insurance for creatives.
If you’re thinking ‘Why do I need insurance?!’, check out the With Jack guide and get ready to go ‘oh! That’s why!’