Earlier this month, the Daily Nation ran a story about how Kenyan graduates are finding solace in the arms of academic writing after fruitless efforts of seeking ever-elusive jobs.
Earnings are reportedly so good in the online writing industry that even professionals who work full-time jobs quit and switch entirely to online writing.
WoK looks at the journey of Epic Aswani, who can attest to the sweet fruits of academic writing.
He has been in the writing industry since 2017 and runs the Epic Aswani YouTube channel, a platform dedicated to sharing comprehensive insights into the world of online writing.
Before becoming a writer, Aswani was employed as a sales and marketer, earning between Ksh800 and Ksh1 500 per day.
On a good month, he could make between Ksh16 000 – Ksh20 000 depending on the number of days he worked and rates for that month.
However, this income wasn’t sufficient to cover all his expenses, including rent, upkeep, and school fees.
“Ksh 16 000 is not plenty of money. Subtracting rent, I was not left with money for entertainment, savings, or even school fees. It was a struggle,” he says.
Things went from bad to worse when he lost his job and stayed for three months without income. It was around this time that his girlfriend introduced him to her cousin, an online writer.
Following the cousin’s insight, Aswani turned to YouTube tutorials to learn the ropes and quickly began his writing journey. He was soon hired as a writer by someone who owned a writing account.
His first paycheck of Ksh40,000 marked a turning point – he had found his niche.
“Initially, I had been skeptical about the job. How could one sit, help someone do assignments, and get paid? But my fears were banished when I received my first paycheck,” he says.
At that time, he was working at rates of Ksh200 per page. Therefore, he had to write a lot of pages to earn Ksh40 000.
He was also using an old 1GB RAM laptop. “You had to keep it on all the time because if you switched it off it would take forever to start,” says Aswani.
The landscape has evolved since his early days, with minimum rates now at around 250 shillings per page and advanced writers commanding up to 500 shillings per page.
Today, there are better and faster laptops that use SSD instead of RAM, greatly increasing a writer’s earning potential.
According to Aswani, a beginner writer can easily make at least ksh 1000 per day.
“If you are very lazy, inexperienced, and have a slow laptop, you can write at least 4 pages in a day. Assuming you get paid sh 250 per page, that’s ksh 1000 per day,” he says.
Assuming a five-day workweek, that totals at least Ksh20,000 a month—more than some professionals earn in other fields.
For those with more ambitious financial goals, Aswani recommends aiming to write at least 10 pages a day, which can yield a daily income of Ksh2,500. Working 20 days a month, a writer can comfortably earn over Ksh50,000.
“Serious writers tackle 10-15 pages daily, and there was a time I completed 25 pages in a single day. My minimum was 17-18 pages,” Aswani proudly shares.
He emphasizes that writers with faster typing skills and higher rates per page from their employers can easily achieve earnings in the range of Ksh70,000 to Ksh80,000 monthly.
Aswani’s message is clear: academic writing pays, and it pays well.
However, the game gets even better when writers secure direct clients. These clients often pay up to USD10 dollars per page, which equates to roughly Ksh1,400.
But, Aswani cautions, success in academic writing requires discipline—it’s a career like any other.
The costs involved are minimal, primarily limited to internet expenses and perhaps the occasional massage to soothe any back pains resulting from long hours at the computer.
Today, Aswani owns several academic writing accounts, raising his earning potential by hiring more writers to help him. He also trains prospective writers at a fee.
