A week ago, I wrote an article about starting to write full-time. And in my social media, I asked people what scared them most when they started their freelance journey to writing. Most of them said that the beginning was the most daunting part and that it was the obstacle that kept them from going.
Should You Take Your Chances on Writing Full-Time?
Learn to navigate your life as a full-time freelance writer
It’s challenging to start as a freelance writer because the sector is flooded with aspiring professionals, but it’s way more challenging for non-native English speakers.
Why non-native English-speakers? Because English is one of the major spoken languages globally, and the sector is full of lucrative opportunities. But again, it’s not a walk in the park.
The beginning is always the hardest
I began writing for money three years ago. My first client was a Lithuanian tourism company. They didn’t pay much, but it was enough to support my student’s life. More than a year ago, I started pitching my services to international companies that needed English content.
I started from scratch. I read countless articles on how to start and accelerate your freelance writing career. About people in junior positions who were making $100+ per article. And I was barely making ends meet.
I used their formulas to attract clients, I pitched myself, I wrote and tried to improve, but the furthest I got was Lithuanian clients needing for English content.
But after a long journey of learning and failing, I landed my first international client. Then more. And now, although my language skills are far from being perfect, I’m a full-time non-native English writer.
How to feel confident writing in a foreign language?
Master the language
This one is quite obvious. Yes, you have to study and study, and then study a little more to reach a fluent/bilingual level. Whether it’s English, Spanish, or Thai, practice makes it perfect. And yet even after years of learning the language, you wouldn’t know all its nuances because you weren’t born into it.
How to Develop Your Voice as a Non-Native English Speaker?
It’s the whole science about the language we are born into and how it shapes our personality. Our character might even change when we switch the tongue.
Learning a language has never been easy for me. I studied English since the second grade until the second year of my university. And even after all these years mastering the language, I sucked.
It took me months living abroad and communicating in English daily to master the language.
I have difficulties learning languages. I don’t know whether it’s because Lithuanian is so different from others or because my brain isn’t wired that way.
I recently started learning Spanish, and I see that my teacher is sometimes getting tired of teaching me the same things repeatedly. But everyone has their pace, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed that it takes you longer to learn a language.
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