How I Prepared for Maternity Leave as a Freelance Artist

As a freelance author/illustrator, deciding to take maternity leave felt super scary.

I have a 18-month old now and am surrounded by a lovely community, but back in 2022 I didn’t know any other creative moms and I had no idea how I was going to set up maternity leave if I ever became pregnant.

There’s no maternity leave for freelancers! No HR department, no time-off and safety net.

(This post is a companion to the video; not a transcript. I wanted to pull out the biggest lessons here, but watch the video for the full picture!)

Here are the biggest things that stood out to me, looking back.

You might not be starting a family anytime soon, but the earlier you start planning, the better.

If pregnancy is even a possibility in the next year or two, start observing your workload now. Notice what drains you, what pays well, and what you’d be willing (or unwilling) to step away from.

Because it took us about a year to actually get pregnant, I had time to:

• Keep my agent in the loop of what my future project goals were

• Slowly decrease my workload

• Be more selective about long-term commitments (no multi-book series!)

• Think about what kinds of projects would be easier to manage while pregnant/after baby

• Research what my local maternity leave options were. Speaking of!…

As a self-employed person, “maternity leave” is just unpaid time off.

Depending on where you live, you might have access to maternity benefits for freelancers.

I worked closely with an accountant to:

• Understand what benefits I was eligible for, and how to apply for them

• Decide when to officially stop working and how long

• Figure out how much I needed to save to feel secure

Because I was living in Canada at the time, I had the option to qualify for maternity/unemployment benefits; but only if I had contributed for a full year. This is where planning ahead came in handy.

I also had to think realistically about cash flow: advances vs. royalties, irregular income, and how long I could afford to be fully off.

Around the same time, we made a really difficult decision to move from Canada to the US. Although this was our home and community, the decision made sense for us because:

• We’d have childcare support from my parents

• We could save money by living with them temporarily

• The cost of living in the Dallas suburbs was significantly lower

That move wasn’t easy emotionally, but financially, it made a lot of sense.

Because of all my planning, I was able to still reach my 6-figure income goals despite not working for half of the year.

You can see more of my income breakdown in this post:

Once I got that positive pregnancy test, I started to wind down my workload.

This was probably the hardest mindset shift for me since I’m such a workaholic and there were so many projects I wanted to do. For example, another traditionally painted picture book!

But this is the season when you think about capacity, not just interest!

I had to ask:

• What kind of work can I realistically sustain right now (and post-baby)?

• What drains me the most physically and mentally?

• What kinds of projects can continue to move my career forward without burning me out?

A heavily rendered, traditionally painted picture book, like The Salt Princess which was painted in my first trimester, would have been incredibly demanding.

Instead, this was the right time to take on easier projects… for me this was a digitally illustrated board book. Fewer pages, simpler artstyle; maybe not as creatively fulfilling but much easier on my body and energy.

At the same time, I looked closely at my income streams and made some tough calls, weighing the pros/cons:

• I closed my Patreon, even though it was good steady income, because the ongoing monthly obligation was too draining.

• I paused school visits earlier than I might have otherwise, again because the travel was a lot for me.

• Instead, I shifted energy toward writing a manuscript. This was something I could noodle away at on my own timeline, and then future-me would have a project ready when I was able to work again.

• I leaned more into YouTube, because for me it generates passive ad revenue that can continue during maternity leave.

Working smarter isn’t about doing less, but doing what makes sense for your capacity right now, even if it’s not the most exciting option.

There will be time again for the ambitious projects, but not while being a big ol’ watermelon.

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I know some people have asked if it is a good idea to let your clients know if you are expecting; for me, this was vital.

My agent knew very early on, and she made sure I was being advocated for and my priorities were looked after.

After the first trimester, we told my publishing clients about my pregnancy. I had intended to start an early maternity leave and they were all so accommodating to make sure our projects would all be wrapped up before I left, to keep notes to a minimum and be lenient with timelines.

Most people want to be supportive, but they can’t be if they don’t know what you’re carrying!

As I mentioned, we made the choice to move closer to my parents. It meant leaving behind all our friends, family, our beautiful home and vibrant city life. But the support system we would get was worth the trade off, and I was very fortunate that I have that in my parents. If they weren’t an option, we might have chosen to move to Windsor, ON to be closer to our in-laws (another undesirable move haha, but you do what you gotta do for free childcare).

But a bigger help was connecting with other artists who were moms, and more importantly, were expecting at the same time. I didn’t know any other creative moms before I became pregnant, and it gave me a lot of worry for my future because I didn’t know what to expect.

But I actively sought out this community (both online and offline), and it proved to be an ENORMOUS help. Both to be inspired by moms who have been through it already, and to be in a shared experienced with other freelancers who were going through it with me.

This post is just a snippet of what I cover! In the video above, I talk about:

• How I planned financially as a freelancer

• How I chose projects during pregnancy

• What helped, what didn’t, and what I’d do differently

This is Part One!

In Part Two, I’ll talk about what happened after the baby arrived; returning to work, emotional rollercoasters, guilt, identity shifts, and how my relationship with my career changed postpartum.

Since every experience is different, I’d love to know:
How did you prepare for maternity leave (or how are you thinking about it right now?)
I’d love to hear what this season has looked like for you! <3