Living the Writer's Life: Lynelle Suan
Young Writer from the Philippines Celebrates First Year Living the Writer’s Life
By Mindy McHorse

Writer Lynelle Suan with her family after work.

Lynelle Suan admits she’s a bit “ambitious,” but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! This young copywriter graduated high school in 2020 and jumped almost immediately into her writer’s life. While working from her native Philippines, she’s gaining the benefits of a higher income by working with clients in the United States and United Kingdom. Lynelle has thrown herself into a number of AWAI courses and mentorship programs, and her enthusiasm and drive is an absolute inspiration!

What made you decide to take the leap to become a freelance writer?

I’ve always loved writing (ever since I was 5 years old!), but I didn’t know that I wanted to be a professional writer — not until my senior year in high school.

I actually originally planned to become an accountant. I was pretty good with numbers. When I discovered that I could build a lucrative writing career as a copywriter, I jumped into the opportunity, because writing is waaay more fun than crunching numbers all day!

After I graduated high school in 2020, I went to business school. But I realized college isn’t where I was supposed to be. I would rather get out there and gain more experience doing what I really love while also learning from people who are where I want to be.

What kinds of writing and types of clients do you enjoy the most?

Articles, sales letters, and emails! Those are the top three writing projects that I really enjoy.

Most of the clients I work with are in either the e-commerce or the personal development industry, and it’s super fun getting to know how their products were created and the transformation that they bring to their community.

And you know, personal growth is a huge part of my life. I have experienced great shifts in my own life by working on my mindset and doing a lot of inner work … so it’s very fulfilling to help bring in more people in the personal development world and lead them toward their own transformation journey.

Lynelle (left) shops with
her mom and her sister
during a personal day off.

What is your favorite thing about living the writer’s life?

My favorite thing about my homeschool life is also my favorite thing about my writer’s life — freedom and flexibility.

I get to decide when to work, study, rest, chill, or have fun with my friends and my family. Another thing is that I get to meet and work with a lot of incredible people all around the world, which is so amazing!

Can you tell us about some of the biggest challenges you faced in your first year as a copywriter?

For me, the biggest challenge is really the time zone difference, ha ha!

I usually have a huge time zone difference with my clients. And I used to take calls or attend meetings at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. … but EG Orren, one of our amazing fellow Barefoot Writers, gave me some tough love about that. (Thank you, EG!)

Setting boundaries for myself and communicating my availability to others is one way that I’m overcoming that time zone challenge.

How do you use milestones and goals to mark your business’s growth?

I follow a daily-weekly-monthly system. I set my daily tasks and reflect on my journal every day. Then I have a separate weekly self-reflection journal, and I keep track of my milestones and my next steps every month through my victory log.

I’ve also learned about setting both internal goals and external goals from Ilise Benun, so that’s something that I’m implementing in my process as I grow my business.

What are some of the most valuable learning opportunities you’ve experienced?

Having Candice Lazar (a much more experienced writer, a fellow Barefoot Writer, and Jeff Walker’s copy chief) as my mentor is definitely the most valuable learning opportunity that I’ve experienced.

Do you have any new goals you’d like to share?

Right now, I’m learning more about Web3 and cryptocurrencies. It’s really super interesting, and one of my goals is to land a client in that space.

And one more thing … I know this is pretty ambitious of me. One of my ongoing goals is to submit a couple of entries for AWAI’s $10K Challenge and win the challenge within the next three years or so.

What’s your favorite food to eat in the Philippines?

If we’re talking about desserts, it’s definitely turon, halo-halo, ube, and leche flan! They’re my absolute favorites. Then for rice meals, adobo and menudo!

Lynelle's Living The Writer's Life story was originally published in Barefoot Writer. To learn more about how you can start living your dream writer's life too, click here.

What help do you need to move forward with your version of the writer’s life? Let us know in the comments below so we can help guide you in the right direction.