"I write contemporary romance books; billionaire, werewolf, mafia, and the likes." - 26 year old Ego Tells Us How She Makes a Living as a Ghostwriter

With the Nigerian economy being what it is today, young Nigerians are getting into the job market in very new and interesting ways that many wouldn't expect. In Bluepoint's 9 to 5 weekly, we will bring to light what business decisions Gen Z Nigerians are making, and what kind of jobs they're working to cope with the economy.

In today's article, Ego tells us about being a freelance ghostwriter, and how she makes money from writing contemporary fiction for different clients

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m 26 and I work from home. I write contemporary romance books; billionaire, werewolf, mafia, and the likes. I do edits on the side too, but only when I’m free.

That sounds really fun. How did you get into it?

I started writing four years ago, but I didn't actually start making money from it until late 2022. A friend connected my sister and me with her client, and from there she entrusted more jobs to us.

Initially, it took a while to convince her because we were making lots of mistakes as beginners, but then it was what we really wanted, so we put a lot of effort into it. Now we just get jobs and give deadlines. If we are unable to meet up, we let them know. Some are actually patient enough to wait. 

The clients I speak of are gotten through Fiverr, and to get them to trust you, you’d have to give them access to one or two of your most perfectly written samples so they keep coming back. When there is new work, they reach out to you via email, and when you do an impressive job, they give you extra cash.

Your job sounds very fun, but I'm sure the backend of things is quite complicated.

Ooh, it’s fun on some days. But on others?

What are the challenges?

At first, I struggled with meeting clients’ expectations. It was a lot. I wanted everything to be perfect. You know this sense of relief you get when you send out a job you’ve been working on? Only to have it sent right back to your email because of editing issues?

I struggled with that at first, but it’s better now. 

Also, I get distracted sometimes, but only for a short time. I find that sticking to deadlines cancels procrastination because I can’t rest knowing I’ve got loads of work to do. My brain won’t let me.

Oh, some clients really take their time paying. But some are heaven-sent.

I don’t struggle with getting clients because I still work with the ones I started with. I’m grateful to God for that. Deadlines might be a problem, but migraine or not, I’ve never missed a deadline. 

Do you ever think you should write for yourself? Like publish your own stories?

Yeah, I think one should explore this. I am working towards it.

How much would you say you earn from freelancing?

Within $200 to $1100,. It depends on the length of the project. So yeah. $1100 is the highest I’ve earned.

I think I’ve taken on about nine projects so far. That excludes the one I’m currently working on.

This has been very interesting. Is there anything you’d like to say to our viewers?

Just add value. Give them what they want and more. Exceed their expectations by encouraging yourself to learn more so as to be better.

That’s basically it.

If your work is trash, they’ll avoid you like the plague.