I want to let you in on a secret. Freelance writing isn’t about running a never-ending marathon that leads to pennies at the end of the month. It’s about finding your groove, hustling, and making it work for YOU.

To show you this in motion, I’ve asked Elna of Innovative Ink to share her story here with you guys. Just over a year ago, Elna was a stay-at-home mum. Now? She’s earning more as a part-time writer than she did at her full-time job.

Unbelievable, right?! Read on to find out how she got there.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, like what you do and who you do it for?

My name is Elna Cain and I’m a freelance writer and a mother to twin toddlers. Yes, can you see I’m a little busy?

I’ve been doing this for a little over a year and in that time I’ve replaced my full-time income as a teacher by only working part-time as a writer.

I primarily write content for a variety of small businesses and entrepreneurs. My most notable client is Adam Connell from Blogging Wizard.

I also own FreelancerFAQs, a site for new and established freelance writers. I’m working hard to make FAQs one of the go-to sites for freelance writers.

On top of this I recently started offering coaching to new freelance writers and wrote a comprehensive course for writers too! And, just to clarify, I’m doing this part-time!

What inspired you to become a freelance writer?

I’ve always enjoyed writing while growing up. Though I never sat down to write a novel or short story, I was attracted to poetry (angst teen here!) and wrote my fair share of short poems.

During college is when I focused more on helping children with autism and I worked for many years – self-employed – as a behavior therapist.

It was not until I had my twins and finished my maternity leave last year that I looked into ways that I could still stay home and earn an income.

I found freelance writing and I’ve never looked back!

How did you grow your business so you could go full-time with it?

Well, I’m not doing this full-time yet. Once my children enter school I’ll be able to make this a full-time gig. For now, I’m happy working part time.

I currently have over a dozen clients and during this time I’ve increased my rate from an average of $50 a post to an average of $200-300 a post.

How did I do that? I created a strong writer platform, a solid brand and gathered influential testimonials (social proof).  Without those, it can be hard to command a high rate and to attract your ideal client.

What’s your workload look like now compared to before you were a freelance writer?

Before I was a freelance writer, I was a stay-at-home mom to young twins. Needless to say my life was hectic.

Along with feeding and diapering, I took my children to play groups, put them down for every nap, made every meal and did my best to enrich their lives. I also took care of the household chores and cooking – and spent time with my husband.

Now, it’s not much different, except when my children nap, instead of going on Youtube (a little obsessed watching mommy vloggers) I work on my freelance writing business. If I have childcare during the week from my in-laws, then I can squeeze in an hour of extra work.

What services do you provide and how did you settle on those?

I provide blog-writing services – mostly to entrepreneurs and small business owners. I also ghostwrite for a few highly influential bloggers and recently started landing copywriting gigs.

And I provide article writing services, but most of my clients seek me out for blog writing, which I love!

What has been your biggest struggle freelancing, and how did you overcome it?

For me, my biggest struggle is being complacent with what I’m doing at the moment. So, if I have four recurring blogging gigs and six or seven ad hoc gigs I feel I’m doing well.

But then, a client drops me. Or, the recurring gig of one post a week turns to one post every other week. Thankfully, I have inbound inquiries coming in frequently that I often have to turn down due to lack of time.

I really do have to give myself a kick in the butt, however, and either guest post more frequently – so that entrepreneurs and small business owners continue to find me – or pitch more often.

Are there any tools you couldn’t live without, whether it’s for inspiration, finding work, or simply staying sane?

I can’t live without Grammarly. I use this religiously for all my writing pieces.

I also frequently use Skitch. It’s an annotation tool and I use it a lot for my digital marketing clients. It’s my go-to annotation and screen capture tool and I recommend it to all new writers.

What tips would you give someone looking to take their freelance writing business full-time?

If you’re interested in taking your freelance writing from a side hustle to a full-time gig, the best advice I can give you is to plan it out and get help. Taking a course can only help you propel this journey faster and give you the right tools you need to succeed.

And learning from someone who’s done it before you just speeds up your learning curve.

Your Turn!

Elna’s story is pretty inspiring, right!? We’d both love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments below! 

Elna Cain is a freelance writer and coach. She writes for Blogging Wizard, PageWiz, WPKube and more. She works closely with B2C and B2B businesses providing blog writing, ghostwriting and copywriting services. Not quite sure freelance writing is for you? Why not try her totally free course, Get Paid to Write Online!