Hi, I am Shweta Gautam

From a clueless college graduate to becoming a full time writer in 18 months…

Let's start from the beginning!

I was just like you. A girl belonging to an Indian middle-class family wants to build a life without boxing herself within the norms of society. 

It all started with the Business Communication class during my graduation days in 2017. 

I was in the second year of my college and it was our business communication class. Somehow this subject always felt interesting. I loved how it taught us the real-world ethics of business and everything around business communication. 

It was just another class and as usual, I was looking forward to what we would learn today. The faculty started talking about non-verbal communication. During the session, she mentioned content writing and gave a very brief explanation of the topic. The phrase felt like a revelation. It felt like I have been saved by my stars to try my hands at something I love to do and also possibly have a career in it.

In those days, I used to scribble A LOT on my Instagram account. My Instagram account was called “loveforwords”. As a literature undergraduate, I discovered the world of words through poetry and the beauty it brought along.

After that class, I went to my professor’s office and asked her if she could guide me more about content writing and its scope as a full-time career. 

My professor was kind enough to introduce me to one of our college’s alumni who was running her content marketing agency at that time. 

I got on a call with her. She told me that since I am an undergraduate, they won’t pay me anything. I immediately said yes. After all, that time I wanted us to learn the A to Z of content writing and understand if I could even choose it as a full-time career. 

I wrote one article for her. Life happened, exams approached, academics being the priority, and the fire towards this profession took a back seat. 

This was a project I was assigned by that content marketing agency of the college alumini.

After knowing that there is something like this, I started researching more about it. That is when I landed on Jorden Makelle’s blog Writing Revolt. Her content was an entirely new world for me. 

She had blogs, guest posts, cheatsheets, freebies, master classes, courses, and an entire YouTube Channel dedicated to teaching budding writers everything about freelancing and blogging.   

I graduated from Amity University, Noida in 2018. In 2019, I sat for my entrance for MA Linguistics, cleared the exam, and secured my seat in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

As prestigious as it was getting into JNU, the bug for content writing never left me. I continued following Jorden on Instagram. 

I used to watch her YouTube videos once in a while. I used to imagine what it would be like to work as a full-time freelancer, on my own terms. 

There was a sudden shift in my mindset from settling into a teaching job to running and owning MY writing business. 

I used to imagine what it would feel like to have a blog, to work with clients, and literally just to write and earn. 

But, the most important question was….. Was it even possible? Working from anywhere, not staying in a cubicle, and making money by writing from my laptop. 

It sounded too good to be true. 

But then came the time that changed a lot of things for a lot of people….. The 2020 pandemic.

It was the last semester of my post-graduation in Linguistics. Just like most people, my days also rolled in the eat, sleep, and Netflix.

I used to discuss with my brother how I wanted to start my career as a freelance writer. But, I was reluctant to start because I had no prior knowledge of how to begin, who to approach, and above all where to find the clients. 

Another important concern was, “Will Dad approve of it?” as a career? I failed the medical exam twice in 2015 before choosing Literature for higher studies. He never expressed his anguish towards my failure but he wasn’t any happy about how my career was progressing. 

However, I knew one thing after all: I’ll be able to keep him happy if I am happy with what I do for a living. 

Also, we were in a pandemic. What could possibly go wrong? 

I HAD TO GIVE MYSELF THIS ONE CHANCE.

The pandemic grew stronger, I gave my exams online and somehow the ideas of content writing were once again back-sided by my academics. Soon the exams were over. 

My brother asked me one day, when will you start? (This was April 2020). You’ll never do anything if you wait for the right time. You’ll never be ready. 

This statement got stuck in my head. 

Next, I know, I replaced all my Netflix time with YouTube and binged watched Jorden Makelle’s channel to learn everything about “making money writing”. From freelancing to blogging, her YouTube channel became my holy grail of self-education. 

I educated myself for the next 3 months and learned everything I could to be “prepared” for my trial in the writing field. 

I remember my father used to ask me, what am I doing in front of the laptop? 

What notes am I making? 

I only had one answer, “I’ll tell you when the time is right.” 

Because even I had no idea if this would go in the right direction.

But, I knew one thing: Irrespective of the direction it takes, I have to make it work because I don’t want to waste my life taking up a job I would hate forever.

This was my do-or-die. 

Next thing, I told my friend we need a website for the blog. He got in touch with one of his digital marketing friends who created this website and still continues to manage it. 

The website was up and running in a week. I learned the basics of website management and started my blogging journey. 

I posted my 1st blog on 17th August (it no longer exists). 

My blog became my practice and experimenting ground for writing. I started by writing two blogs a week without putting any SEO strategy whatsoever. 

The initial goal was to use my blog as my writing portfolio and close clients to start my freelancing business. 

Along with these two blogs, I started my content creation journey on LinkedIn in September 2020. This was also the time when I started cold emailing. 

These were some of the highlights in the rest of 2020: 

  • Sent +200 cold emails, got on a few discovery calls but never closed any client 
  • Got a project via Instagram to write monthly captions for a photography page for $6
  • Wrote my very first guest post as a niche writer on wellness.com 

LinkedIn Content Creation, using my blog as my writing portfolio and the guest post shared on the LinkedIn Featured section finally ended the months-long dry period when I closed to 2 International clients via LinkedIn. 

The first project began in mid-January. I wrote 4blogs  a month for them at $60 each, which was $240 monthly. I know it’s not so much but according to the Indian content writing market, it was great. 

I worked with this client for straight one year. This project not only gave me the confidence boost I needed about my chosen career but it also improved my writing skills. 

The second project was to write content for a doctor’s medical podcast. This was a short-lived gig. It lasted just for a month. 

But, the bright side was, I started having faith in myself. These two projects assured me that I was on the right path. 

It’s been almost 3 years now and I have only gratitude and love for everything I have achieved, all the mistakes I made, every lesson they taught me, and above all every client who has trusted me with their business. 

By now, I have worked with clients globally from places I never knew even existed. 

Of course, I have had my fair share of struggles. But the fact that I turned a hit-and-trial instance into a full-blown career is something I am super proud of. 

I have built a sustainable freelance writing business from scratch. It’s just been almost 3 years and I feel like my journey has just begun. 

Moving forward, I have 3 ways in which I can help you: 

  1. My freelance writing services: If you’re a potential client who wants to work with my freelance writing services, you can visit my LinkedIn profile and DM me. 
  2.  My self-improvement blog: If you want to promote your business on my blog, feel free to reach out on thewbsblog@gmail.com 
  3. The Wellword Newsletter: If you’re an aspiring writer wanting to start their freelancing journey, you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter here.