Granted that it isn't nice to be the last in the phone call line, what matters is that you decided to take the call and the opportunity. I am sure your boss did not forget that. It creates a good relationship with the people that matter and also gives you an opportunity to get to know them outside the workplace. Whether we know it or not, those small stuff tend to add up when it comes to work considerations. At least it did for me. The only problem is, they expected it to be alright to get me out of bed each time just to complete a rush, one hour to deadline order. Which I learned not to appreciate anymore as time went on. Like my mother always tells me, "Don't start if you can't take it all the way." So I became "good old reliable", the go-to writer of the company. Did the football game appearance work for you professionally? I would think that it would.

How are the niggling babies today David? I know, the penalties are outrageous. Yet, attaching myself to a company was the best option for me because I had no idea as to how to start getting clients to take notice of my talents and services. Teaming up with them meant that I could focus on simply getting the job done right without having to think about where the next series of clients would be coming from. That set up worked well for me for a number of years. Even as I moved from company to company due to the penalty situation. More recently though, the new edicts from the powers that be at my previous company seemed to be suffocating enough that I would practically be working for free. That is when I decided to cut my losses. Well, technically, I cut my losses after my last paycheck where they stiffed me on a few orders and insisted that my computation of the amount of money they paid me was wrong. I asked them how I could be wrong when they have the automated program for the salary credits and it was currently staring me in the face. They really ignored all of my inquiries after that. Since you already started as a freelancer, I have to tell you, love yourself first. The work may be hard to come by at the start, but it is worth it because you don't have the undue stress of having to deal with con artists who decide how much they want to pay you every month so they make up reasons to not pay you the full amount. No middleman means no stress. Sure it may be difficult to find regular clients, but it all evens out in the end.

Hi David, I hope that the dwindling student need for freelance writers never reaches your shores. It would not hurt for you to somehow slowly diversify your writing portfolio just in case. It's better to be prepared than to be caught unaware right? I will admit that this business is cut-throat and not for the fainthearted or onion-skinned people. You need to be tough as nails to survive in this business. See the trends coming and then respond in a timely manner. It is good that you are somehow, trying to think ahead. While advertising will help your current business, it will not help your business grow. As a freelance writer, you would benefit from being able to write in a wide variety of formats. You need to be able to go after corporate clients if needed, work with advertising agencies if that is the work that is available, and be able to ghost write the next Fifty Shades of Grey, if required. I know, I exaggerate the last part too. LOL. Seriously though, those are the methods by which freelance writers can stay relevant in a field that for now, seems to be limited to the academic area. Hence the problems for freelancers when the dry season comes around.

@Major I am sure that there are stats that exist with regards to the amount of writing homework today vis-a-vis 5-10 years ago. I suspect though that the data is a closely guarded secret of the academic writing companies and freelance writers. The academic writing companies keep track of the trend because they base the per page rate of the active writers on the increase or decline of the order numbers coming in. The freelancers have a pretty good idea as to what their bank accounts looked like on a year to year or month to month basis. So those factors would pretty much help create a "guesstimate" of what the stats and trend might be.

Without knowing the possible rate of increase or decrease in orders though, and just basing it on the rate of orders coming in at the company where I work and the work load of my friends contracted by other academic writing companies, it would seem that there is a down ward trend in orders for both physical and online classes. There are not enough orders in the pipeline to go around the active writers.

@Machelle I would not take the advice of Lora_K seriously as she could be leading down the wrong path. She is everywhere on this forum promoting various writing services for students to try. None of which seem to be as reliable as hiring a freelance writer from this forum. The text that was written for you is obviously done in the style of an ESL writer. Based upon your own writing pattern, I believe that you can easily pass off the work that was written for you as your own. Try to avoid the services recommended by Lora because she is endorsing various companies that are not affiliated with nor recommended by EssayScam. Her recommendations are her own in her capacity as an obvious "marketing" person for these various academic writing companies. If you encounter any problems while using services she recommends, EssayScam and the freelance writers here will not be able to help you sort it out. We will only be able to offer you sympathy for any problems you might encounter. Since Lora is from the Ukraine, her recommendations are definitely questionable.

I think the that the continued downward trend for academic paper orders continues this year because of the overall state of the world economy. It is just too expensive to hire a ghost writer for academic purposes when that money can be better used for other things. Students are also on a tighter allowance this year and as such, need to prioritize their expenses. After all of their bills are paid, there may not be enough left over for the payment of academic help with their papers.

Whether some students like it or not, they are forced to do the paper themselves in order to meet their class requirements due to tight finances. If this truly the case then, in most instances, this trend is not such a bad thing. I don't mean to demean or insult present company but, if the students are actually doing their papers themselves these days then that can only be a good thing. They are learning more by actually doing the work themselves rather than just attending classes then passing off the additional learning material to the hired help for additional grades. Even if they learn from reviewing the work done for them, it still doesn't have the same effect as the student writing the paper personally.

In the meantime, it behooves freelance writers to find new and creative ways of earning from our writing talents. Those writers who still work for an academic company, should best find a new line of work in the writing industry or join the freelance writer pool as well. Freelance writers can better diversify their writing skills based upon the needs of their direct clients when compared to those who work for academic companies.

From my observation, the number one reason that a student would use an essay writing company is that the student is afraid to fail. Normally, the student does not sign up for the service for all of his classes, just the one(s) where he is struggling to get by. Hiring the extra help will assure him at least, of being able to get a decent grade with his homework and research papers. The less he has to worry about the classes where he struggles, the better chances he gets of being able to finish his course on time. It isn't about trying to beat the system, being lazy, or too busy. It is all about simply wanting to keep his head above water when he feels like he is drowning with no help in sight. The writing companies and the writers sometimes also act as tutors for the student. That is because the student sometimes finds that the complex assignment or research paper is really just a simple presentation when done by someone else. He understands the class and the lessons better, thus he gets the chance to perform better in the actual class. So the essay writing company and its writers, provided they are not scams, actually provide a vital and helpful service that makes the students want to continue using their services.

The first thing I would consider is if I am a satisfied client of this online writing company or not. If I am satisfied, I would list those reasons down and consider if these are the same factors that other students might have for wanting to hire them. If the answer is yes on all counts, then I would consider what I would be getting in exchange for promoting the company. I would certainly want more than just a low commission on each successful referral. I would try to negotiate for a higher discount on my next series of orders or, a free paper written for me for every x number of orders filed under my referral code.

These writing companies also allow students to resell their papers with some slight revisions made for free so you should look into that as well. That is where the real money should be for you. If you believe that you have enough people in your potential network to make a go of a partnership with the company, then by all means, go for it. Just remember, they should offer you more perks because you will be doing the promotional work for them.

As a freelance writer, I have not had the experience of having a client complain publicly about any problems with my work. That is why I have constant and direct communication with my clients via email and Skype. If they want to complain, I would rather they address it directly to me so that the issue can be resolved before it escalates any further.

Wait a minute, it can't escalate further... I am the writer, QAD, and billing departments all rolled into one! No middleman, no irreconcilable differences with the client. The clients I have are actually satisfied with the direct communication that they receive from me and the fact that they can reach me anytime they need to.

The complaint form is just like a glorified call center. It is just there for the client to vent his anger and frustration on. It does not have an actual purpose, nor does the company pay any attention to the complaints given unless, the complaint lodged means a refund on their part. Then the client has their attention and the complaint form has a purpose for being on the site.

I have not experienced any payment delays with Academic Research, even under the new website interface. However, I have noticed that they have had an increased number of reasons to penalize the writers regardless of whether the problem was created by the client or not. The company does not delay my salary but, they do try to find ways to penalize my work within a few days of the payment schedule through a QAD required check of my submitted work. I believe that is their way of, not delaying the payment, but rather, withholding payment from the writers who have been with the company for a number of years.

I am guessing that the payment delay is something they implement for the new writers whose payment is "withheld" for 2 weeks just in case of refunds. There were times, when I was new with the company, that they did delay my salary from a few days to a whole month. I found that the practice reduced as I climbed the writers ranks though.

These days, I get paid on time, although with QAD required checks on my paper and some "fines" in place for reasons that would make one laugh. The client isn't the one complaining about the paper, it is QAD. So QAD pre-deducts the "penalty", in case the student files a complaint. If the student doesn't file a complaint, I still don't get the deduction back. I know it sounds weird. It's a true story though.

The low CPP rates are for the newbies at the company. These rates increase over time based upon the number of orders taken, quality of papers delivered based on client surveys, orders completed, and a host of other considerations. The company tracks the writers progress through an automated system and, upon reaching all of the required metrics, the writer is automatically promoted by the system. Once promoted, the writer should see an immediate increase in his CPP in the Available orders list. The CPP increases some more for "requested" writers and those who are dealing with repeat clients. A bonus is sometimes given by the company depending upon the reliable and high quality performance of the writer. I did notice that the CPP goes down during the slow months. That is understandable since there are not enough orders to go around but still the same number of writers available. The company has to make money somehow. The good news is, the fines and other deduction considerations seem to also slow down during the slow months for most writers. So yes, the company may pay a low CPP during certain months.

However, if you are relying only on one company for your income in this industry, you will definitely not be able to make the kind of money that one hopes to make as a work from home person. The key to a great income as a freelance writer who is attached to academic writing companies lies in the way you work for the company and how many companies you are attached to. If you do your own direct to client work on the side, then you should be making a pretty decent income overall.

@Hillary Major makes some good points when it comes to starting your writing service. However, I think that you should start with word of mouth instead. If you do not have a website or client base to get you started yet, then you should consider some self-promotion for starters. Find out where the high school and college kids hang out after school. Pay it a visit and try to make contacts within the circle. Offer your services to them if the chance comes up. Make sure that the chance comes up by steering the discussion that way. If one or two take you up on your offer, that could be the start of word-of-mouth promotion for you and result in a slow but solid building of your client base.

It isn't easy to start up your own writing company. It will take years before you even develop a client base that will allow you to have a steady stream of income. While advertising can be costly, nobody said you can't have a car sticker made that you can stick on your trunk or bumper that says; "Need help writing your class paper? Call..." as an alternative form of advertising. Sure it's blatant, but it works. Trust me, it works.

Well David, in my case, the company always withheld the salary for 2 weeks in case the student decided to "file a refund". Basically, the student would get to use the paper and then, depending upon the grade they get, either pay me or decide that they got the grade already so the payment isn't necessary. They'd file a trumped up complaint about spelling and grammar, but then admit that the paper got them a decent to excellent grade. It's just that the teacher told them to next time "write their own paper". That told me that they were doing very bad in their class so when I did the work, it flagged the teacher. Those who did not speak English well enough to know the difference automatically accused me of plagiarism. Hence the "refund". The QAD would then, refund the client and then fine me up to 150% the cost of the refunded paper depending upon the "seriousness" of my offense to the client. I learned too late that trying to reason with the QAD would not work because they were not trained to listen, nor consider any other position except the client's. So when the client complains, the writer is automatically wrong and receives a penalty. It was not a very good working relationship. I wonder if we worked for the same companies a few times. I worked with around 6 before I finally settled at one company for almost 7 years.

I certainly do find myself in that position a few times each year David. It normally happens when the "hot" season approaches. The "hot" season at the company means that there is a massive influx of orders and not enough active writers in the pool to go around. There would be times when I would decline a bid that was assigned to me because my plate was already full in terms of the deadline schedule and they would try to entice me with "If it's just the cost, we can offer you a bonus if you deliver the work on-time" or "The client is asking if you need more time to work on the order? He can provide an extension if needed." Both times I still declined to work on the paper. I mean, facing one deadline per day is challenging enough when multiple pages of writing is involved. Adding more to the mix by including research intensive work would make an already bad situation worse.

Normally though, these offers do not come unless the company has exhausted the writer's pool and you are probably one of the last few they have tried to convince to take the order. Now, a legal and "writer plight" sensitive company will take the hint and back off. A scam site, would just keep badgering the writer until he finally caves in to their demands.

I still believe that my use of the word logic is proper in the context of my given situation. It refers to all the facts that are known to me but not to others. Hence, my problem with the logic behind the reasoning you provided. As the responder, you should have asked for additional information before making a comment if you felt that not enough information was provided for you to come up with a logical answer.

The term logic refers to reasoning that was conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity. So based upon my principles, your logic was flawed. I took L&R in college as well and aced it too. Let's not argue about it. Let's just agree to disagre. Logic and reasoning are the basis for debates, which we should not engage in here.

By the way, I assist LSAT reviewers. Since you aced a section of the test, maybe you'd be interested in having me throw clients your way. All I need is a valid copy of your LSAT scores for the client's consideration when choosing his review assisstant.

Self-plagiarism shouldn't be an issue in any case. You can't plagiarize yourself. Unless, what you are doing is taking quoted information from your previous paper and then using it in a new, similarly themed paper. In which case, a proper in-text citation, along with the proper representation of the original source in your bibliography page should remedy and possible plagiarism issues with your paper.

If you want your paper to be totally free of plagiarism doubts though, it would be best to use as little as possible of the sources from your old paper in the new one. Personally, I would not reuse information from the old paper that is more than 5 years old. The newer the source of the information, the more authoritative it is and the less chance that it would show up as having been cited elsewhere in an electronic plagiarism check.

By the way, there is absolutely no reason for you to quote yourself in your new essay since you are not an authority on whatever topic it is you are discussing in the paper. Play safe though and do your best to paraphrase your text at a higher writing level than the original paper. That way, you can avoid having your paper come up as having similar text with your previous paper should it be run through a checker that happens to have a copy of your old paper on file.

Joining this forum would be a good start. Sometimes, it doesn't take oodles of money to start up a freelance writing business. Cunning and smarts are also a requirement for those starting out.

This forum is the perfect place to build a network or join a network of professional freelance writers. As we get to know each other's talents, skills, and business needs, cross-promotion or referrals become the norm in creating a client base for one another. It isn't easy to start an independent writing career but, it isn't impossible either.

One needs to be loaded with an arsenal of patience and resources though as the clients won't just fall into your lap. Students and business professionals scan this forum for potential direct hires. So making yourself visible and noticeable is a must. By participating in this forum, a neophyte freelance writer can show off his writing chops that hopefully, will impress one of the people scanning this forum for someone to fulfill his writing needs.

Hopefully it will translate into a paid writing job. Just make sure that you deliver the requirements of the client to a more than satisfactory degree once you get that first order so that word of mouth and referrals to your services will be sure to follow.

@Major I wish someone would tell the current owners of Academia Research that their revision policies are wrong. Most specially, that the policy of allowing an essay to be revised in totality due to wrong instructions or lacking instructions from the student is unfair to the writer. The students should be paying extra for those things but instead... Oh well. Now you know of the main reasons that I left that company after 6 years of sticking it out with them. I still have friends who continue to work there and continue to suffer the consequences of mismanagement in the company. I am starting to wonder exactly how much they really charge for the papers for them to offer unlimited revisions over weeks and months. Now, they have a new policy, according to my friends, that indicates the need to provide a draft of the paper once 30 % has been completed. That is midway through the deadline. Which means one has to deal with revisions and client demands even before the paper is completed. Which, under that policy, will be a nightmare to accomplish. It has to be proofread and formatted, practically ready for use, even though the paper isn't complete yet. Unbelievable! I don't believe that any order is worth the "high" price that the writer can earn under those conditions.

@Major It also becomes risky to deliver the paper on schedule when an unlimited revision rule has been set into place. Can you imagine working for a company that sets it revision policy for a minimum of 2 weeks and a maximum of 6 months? I can. I worked and suffered under those unreasonable revisions at the hands of my most recent employer. I think the bottom line is that when one works as a contracted writer at an academic outsourcing company, a writer does not have much of a recourse in the event of problem orders. However, when one works as a direct-hire freelancer, there is more leeway when it comes to dealing with revision policies with the students. Once the middleman, meaning the company, is eliminated from the discussion, it becomes much easier to accomplish revisions and adjust schedules for the delivery of the paper.

I definitely agree that the working relationship that I had with that company was tremendously stressful and caused me to take leave from work for weeks at a time just so I could recharge and prepare for more abuse from both the company and the clients. It wasn't a healthy working relationship but, at the time, I did not have much of a choice. I am just glad that I was finally able to find a way to get out of the vicious cycle. Somehow, I managed to land on my feet even though I was petrified to leave the company at first. I consider myself lucky to have found this forum and this group of people to lean on at this point in time.

@FreelanceWriter in my case, the revision request of the client is always coursed through the admin because it automatically becomes a case for QAD, depending upon the type of complaint received and the amount of time allowed for the revision. The admin always makes it a point to not only leave a message in the messaging board about the revision request, send an email to remind you of the revision request, and then makes a phone call to demand that you check the revision request. With such a strict revision protocol in place, it is impossible not to include the admin in the discussion with my client. By the way, in my case, the revision always entailed simply changing content to suit the "referral" requirements of the student when it comes to their classmates use of the same paper. Or worse, the company demands a QAD revision one year after a paper is completed because they resold the same paper to a new student. Said company still practices the same policies today. The writers there, have to put up with "clever" students and an even more "clever" company. In such a situation, only the writer is on the losing end.

Don't even get me started on talking about students who change the deadline to a sooner date and then, when asked to pay extra, say they can't afford to pay and the company then asks the writer to just deliver the paper by the new deadline. The instruction then being that if the client is happy with the work, the company will encourage the client to give the writer a "bonus" if possible for a job well done. That doesn't always happen and when it does, the bonus isn't even equivalent to a page's worth of cost.

@ProfessorVerb I was wondering, was the error caught before or after you submitted the paper to the client? Was it in its final form? I really find that story of yours both sad and funny. I mean, you basically ended up having to write 2 papers for the price of one. Was it a miscommunication with the client? I tend to think that maybe the client misunderstood the instructions he was given, as is usually the case, so when he passed it on to you, the error became inevitable. How many hours did it take you to write the first paper? I can tell that it was heavily research based. I hope that you had enough time to correct the paper without having to ask the client for an extension? I guess you can tell what I am driving at. I am very interested in the short version of your story so I am hoping that you would be willing to indulge me and tell me more about what happened? The more I think about it, the more I think it was a comedy of errors that led you to that point. Did you see the humor in the situation as well?

@ProfessorVerb I actually did listen to major and have considered mentioning the company by name in my succeeding posts. I truly believe that the company I was attached to is one of the worst that there is out there in terms of the way that they treat their writers and bully them into delivering revisions that should be considered additional services. I just want to make sure that I present their name at the most applicable times when I post in the forum. I think it is too late to mention it now in relation to our current discussion. However, I will be making mention of the company, as well as the experience of my friends, who are still attached to them, because they are afraid to venture out on their own. Anti-promoting just might be the best way to get them to wake up and start thinking about the welfare of the writers and not just the bottom line of their company.

@FreelanceWriter The problem with that logic is that at the company where I worked, the clients were mostly ESL who could not even tell the difference between 8 questions on one page and 8 pages worth of answers. The explanation regarding revision differences would fly past their heads. All they know is that, when they want to ask a question after the order has been completed, they should file for a revision. I tried numerous times to explain to the clients beforehand that they need only send a question instead of a revision request after the order is completed, but they find it easier to file a revision request with the question in it instead of just asking a question. How does one deal with that situation then? When I approached the company about having them clarify the revision policy with the students beforehand, the response was that it is up to the writer to clarify the concerns of the client when a revision order comes in. Obviously, even the staff of the company is composed of low level ESL people so they probably did not understand the concern I was addressing with them either. Others, do know how to work the system so that they can use the revision policy to make a business out of the paper they paid once for to have written for them. Sly students are the worst kind of clients. They know exactly how to work the revision system.

I would appreciate it if you use higher level written English since you are a professor after. It would be more educational for all concerned if you use the proper term which is "is not" or "isn't" instead of "ain't". "Ain't" is, according to Merriam-Webster, catching on in American English but, has its history "in the habitual speech of the less educated", and is often used to catch attention and provide emphasis in writing. That said. I feel that you being a professor, should be speaking English at a higher standard than your slang speaking students, don't you think? Just setting things straight since you did say "alright" is not acceptable to you. I was quite surprised that you cannot accept "alright" and yet you say "ain't" instead of "is not" or "isn't". "Ain't" is not acceptable to me either. Sorry about that :-)

Thanks for being so kind. I am not here to make enemies. As freelance writers, we belong to a small and select group of higher education level people who should not be at each other's throats for the simplest mistakes or opposing points of view. We should be supporting each other and helping each other get more employment by referring services to one another. By interacting with one another here and making friends, we grow our network of contacts. So why not take a conciliatory stance regarding everything right? I hope we can be friends...

@ProfessorVerb There is such a word as "alright". Look it up. It is an acceptable alternative spelling of the word "all right". The correct spelling of the word is as old as the "potato" or "potatoe" debate. It is often used in informal writing and was said to have been influenced by the "already" and "altogether" analogy. The history of the word "alright" and how it came to be can easily be accessed via Google or Merriam-Webster Online.I take it you are a purist writer who believes only the old way of spelling words is acceptable. I will grant you that and accept your correction. I am more of a modernist in writing who accepts the casual spelling of certain words when used in a non-academic setting, which I thought we had at this forum.

Yes, I do agree that there are two sides to every story. In this case though, it is the story of the student that was told and I listened. If the company has a representative actively participating in this forum, I would also be a willing listener / reader of their side of the story should they wish to share it with us. My comments were mere suggestions to help @eggman get his money back for the bad paper that he received. I did not mean to demean or devalue the company whose services he used. Please don't get offended.

As for the reputable writing companies, I agree that they do exist but not in a great number. Those companies are few and far between because, as far as I can tell, the Ukrainians have cornered a section of the market by using different company names that use the same writers pool. I found that out because I accidentally applied for work at company without knowing that it was a sister company of the company I was already working for at the time. So I assume that they run the business in the very same way, regardless of which company you sign up with for services. I applaud you for being able to recommend a good academic writing company. I'm sure that the students who read your post will be helped by the information.

@deezLynch Technically, the services offered by these sites are not meant to help the student cheat. Most specially with the freelancers, their aim to simply assist with the student in their learning process. There is a big difference between "assisting" and cheating. Assisting is helping the student out with their homework and research. They still attend the classes themselves and have to take the qualifying exams without the help of the people they hired to help with their papers. Cheating would be taking the tests for them and making sure that they pass. That crosses the line of academic decency and morals with any freelance writer. As for academic companies, they refuse such requests if the owners have a moral high ground.

The work we do here is in terms of helping ease the academic burden of the student. Something that you can identify with I am sure when you consider what it takes to be a college student these days. Please note the differences between the two. There is a misconception in the way that you view the work of freelance writers and the possible services that academic writing companies offer. In fact, those are two distinct student assistance services that you have to consider. Freelancers have moral considerations and would never help a student cheat. The companies, are more focused on earning money from the student first and foremost, regardless of how it has to be done.

@eggman Of course we are interested. Thanks for sharing. I knew you would be back with your experience stories. I am sure that you also learned some pretty rough lessons as to how to deal with these writing companies. Most specially when you have an adult with the brain of a 12 year old writing your paper. Maybe now you can see why it is safer to hire freelance writers instead? While I do not endorse any of the freelance services here as that is against the rules, I am only pointing out that there are better and more stress free ways of getting the academic assistance that you need when you need it. So, what did you do about the paper that was a late submission?

I hope you successfully received a refund for the paper. There is no excuse for that kind of quality. What makes it worse is that it made you late for your submission. They should give you a full refund and, even though the second paper was alright in quality, it should make you think twice about hiring them again because you may not get the same writer twice. I know because the company I previously worked for often withheld my client requests when the client asked for my services too many times. They wanted to give the client a "chance" to try other writers out. Lots of good that did them :-D

@deezLynch One does not even need to Google the address to find out if office space exists there. These international "office" addresses can be bought for the right price online. In fact, real office space need not even exist there because the company can claim that it is a "virtual office" address Meaning that it could be the home address of the person who started the company, or the address could be rented from someone else. So using Google to confirm an office address is inconclusive in terms of proving the true existence, not necessarily legality, of the company in question. The only question here is whether it is a company owned by native English speakers from the US and UK or not. It is only when their location is confirmed that one might even be able to consider the possibility that their writers pool may be composed of native English speakers.

The way I see it, the only way that can be proven is if one can get their hands on the IP address of the company server and do a trace on it. The result of that tracking test will safely tell a potential client if the company can be trusted because of a "legitimate" internet address that confirms the location of the "office". Without that test, there is nothing on their website that should be taken at more than face value.

Not even their phone numbers can be trusted because those are mostly Skype related numbers and can also be purchased online with a monthly or yearly renewal fee. Also, those numbers are mostly one way. You leave a message and they call you back, You never get a person to answer on the other end of the line. It's always a virtual office assistant that takes the call.

They aren't the worst. There is an academic writing company based in the Ukraine, whose name I will not mention in order to keep from promoting their site, that pays their writers less than $2 per page. Sometimes $1.39 for a 3 page order! Can you imagine that? Of course nobody wants to take that kind of rate per page. In order to entice the writers to take low orders, they even try to entice the writers by saying that the page per order seems too low for the task required so they ask you to place a bid for the price per page.

At first I thought that meant a pay improvement since I could state a higher price. Turns out, they meant that they wanted an even lower bid! So that brought the price to mere cents per page in the end. I stopped taking active orders when they began implementing that policy. I placed a stop on my activity on the site when they started assigning me the severely low price of $1 per page for 10 pages of SEO writing. I had no choice because when I asked for a pay increase per page, they said the costing for the order had been maxed out per page. So no, there is a company out there far worse than the one mentioned in this discussion thread.

@essaywriter73 It's really simple. All you have to do is read their website. Their presentation alone will tell you if it is located in the US or the UK, or some other place. Speaking with their service representative will also be one of the red flags that indicate the actual location of the office. More importantly, look at the prices they charge. If the prices are too cheap, you can bet they are not located in the US or the UK but somewhere in Asia or the Ukraine. If you, by any chance, end up signing up for their services, consider the type of writer that they assign to your order. I bet you can easily tell that the writer is ESL and not a native speaker. The minute that you confirm they are not US or UK based due to the way that the writer speaks, withdraw your order. Save yourself the headache. Personally, I would not trust any website that guarantees unlimited revisions either. Those sites are normally out of the English speaking realm and know that the paper they deliver will have problems. Hence the unlimited revision offer.

@aplusman I feel for you. I have also been in the same situation numerous times with my previous writing company. While there is a message board in the order page for me to communicate directly with the admin when it comes to problems with the clients, I found that they always took the client's side in an effort to not refund the order, regardless of how unreasonable or illogical the claims of the client may be. Even when I have the problem escalated to QAD, I end up with the same result. My words all fall on deaf ears. Sometimes, I wonder if it is because they are Ukrainian and they probably can't speak English at a higher level than the client that needed my help, so maybe they don't understand what I am trying to explain to them. Or, if it is because when a client complains, no matter how trumped up the complaint is, the company sees that it has a chance to keep more money for themselves by penalizing the writer.

What I do is, I leave a scathing message for the admin whenever I end up in a similar situation. I remind them that the papers I turn in are always first rate, which is why I was able to bring in a steady flow of return clients over 11 years for them. I tell them exactly how I feel about the way I was treated in this particular instance and then send the message off. I don't expect a response because I know there is none forthcoming. I just take solace in the thought that whoever was on the other end had to read what I said. Like you said, they don't listen to the writers. However, by leaving a message, they at least have to read (part) of what I have to say.

@Lora_K Are you Bob's girlfriend? Seems like you are on the defensive here. We don't really appreciate having two people come into a thread to recommend a writing service to any of the students here. This is not a place for self-advertising or promoting of other academic writing companies. Neither is it the place for you to try to earn your "referral" fees from those companies.

Anyway, we heard Bob when he said it the first time. My apologies on behalf of the others if we did not applaud his suggestion. If the service works fine for you guys then that that is good for you guys. No need to repeat the information. I am sure the student who asked for suggestions knows that he can look up the suggested academic writing sites or even contact the freelancers at this forum for the work he needs to be done. We aren't questioning the validity of your claims about coolessay. Just don't keep repeating it in this forum. Instead of coming across as suggestions, your repeated claims are starting to sound like forced advertising here.

@aplusman I know someone who works at Academia Research. He recently told me that the new owners of the company installed a forum of sorts to allow the writers to air their grievances, make suggestions, and quite simply, just talk amongst themselves. At first the admin was very receptive to their suggestions and even interacted with them. Lately though, as the noose around the writer's necks have tightened even further, the communication with the company has ceased to exist at the forum.

He was very angry that all of the posts they made were simply met with statements of "We have noted your concern" and then nothing. No results came even after repeated follow ups on the part of the writers. It is almost as if the forum was just placed there to give the writers some venting room. It wasn't meant to really solve anything. The writer's plight at that company still continues to be one of continuous abuse by the owners of the company.

Rather than using the forum to show appreciation for their writers, instead, they used it as a venue to continue to ignore the writer's concerns. It seems to me that, regardless of the format, these companies will continue to abuse their writers simply because the virtual set-up of the employment allows them that opportunity to do so. Somehow my friend is still hanging in there though. He hopes that since the owners of the company and the policies keeps on changing, that eventually, he'll come across an owner who will be sympathetic to the writer's plight and he will enact regulations that finally, will protect the rights of the writers.

I don't think you can get that post deleted. It's never been done before here. I have seen instances though where the OP had the thread closed instead so that no responses can follow his own mistaken post. The problem, is that you are not the OP in this thread. You can try emailing info@essayscam.org about deleting your post. I can't guarantee that they will respond to your email or that it will result in the deleting of your post though. Still, its worth a shot if you really want to.

If you notice, those websites on the Recommended Services page all have closed threads now. I am not sure why the threads were closed but, my guess is that it was closed because this forum no longer directly recommends writing services to students. That is something that you do at your own risk. Essay Scam is not in the habit of endorsing these websites as the forum does not have a way by which to validate the claims of these companies. Hence, they can't endorse what they can't verify.

I am not going to say that you threw your money down the drain by dealing with one of these companies. That is not my place to say. If things work out fine for you, then you are one of the few who had a good experience with them. If it doesn't work out, then all I can offer you is my sympathy. Don't worry, I have a feeling that things just might work out fine for you this time around :-) Just remember, if it is a failed engagement with the company, they don't represent the whole industry. The freelancers are not like those fly by night academic writing companies.

@eggman this forum isn't in the habit of endorsing any writing service. Most of the participants here are self-made freelance writers who do not relish the idea of being lumped together by definition with the "writing service" companies. Specifically the Ukrainian and India based companies that give freelance writing a bad name. Endorsements for these companies are frowned upon, regardless of their reliable status in the eyes of the student. Stating your intent in general terms is more welcome than the previous post that you made. The said post sounded more like a planned advertisement for the company rather than a student actually using the services. We get several of those types here every so often so you have to be careful about the way that you write. If misconstrued, you end up being thought of as something that you probably are not.

@Major is definitely right when he said that your post sounded more like self promotion. It would be in your best interest to first, get to know the group of people you are dealing with here and then adjust your posts accordingly. If you must speak of writing services, try to be vague and do not promote any particular site. We know that some students are actually paid a "referral" fee for each successful order placed through the advertising push of the "referring" student and you could have easily been assumed to be one of those types through the post that you made.

I don't think that there is a set formula or method for becoming a freelance writer. In some instances, one just falls into it. I just happened to fall into this line of work because of my love for the English written word. I can't remember a time since I started school, and discovered the world of essay writing, that I did not have a pen to paper. Which later on turned into fingers on the keyboard as I moved to the computer for my writing fix. My advice is, if you have a love for reading, if you are a voracious reader who often taps away on the keyboard just to clear your head of thoughts after reading something interesting, or, if you are someone who has the capacity to continue to learn long after you have left school, then freelance writing just might be the career for you.

It was only by chance that I came across an academic writing site in the past. I found it interesting, took the test, passed, and then learned on the job. Provided you know how to read and understand English instructions that range from simple to complex and you have the patience for research, revisions, and editing, then you will survive in this line of work. If you are doing it just for the money, then you might not succeed as well as the others did. I find that academic writing is more of a vocation for me than a job. It is something that I enjoy doing because I am intrigued by the topics being given for essay writing or research. I find that I have learned more in my 20 plus years of academic writing than I ever did in all the 15 years that I spent enrolled in formal schooling.

My last word is this. If you want to become a freelance writer, then go for it. I suggest that you start by trying to get into one of the writing companies first just to get your feet wet. Give it a few years as a contracted writer and then, only if you feel that you have experienced writing all possible types of research and essay papers, then you can strike out on your own as a freelance writer.

@heliosmusic the OP doesn't need essay writing help. He is actually an academic writer himself. If you read the post carefully, you should have seen that he was only asking for help with the kind of job description he should use on his resume as he is applying for a job at a local newspaper. He does not need essay writing help. So we were trying to help him come up with the most suitable description for his previous, related work experience. Thanks for making the suggestion though. I am sure that the other users here who are looking for recommendations regarding academic websites will look up and consider your recommendation. It is nice to hear that you have had a pleasant working experience with this company. I hope that it will be the same for the other students. In the meantime, let's get the discussion back on track.

@Arion Did you finally decide on what your work title description is going to be? More importantly, did you get the job? Please give us an update when you can. We are eager to learn how everything turned out for you.

Hey David, the principle that you present totally works for the freelance independent writers. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way for us folk who were pulled into the world of academic writing by the writing companies. In those instances, you work for the full price of the paper, with the hope that the company will not fine you for some trumped up charges regarding plagiarism, or that the student doesn't request for needless revisions just because he needs to have something explained in the essay. I never could get the clients to understand that they could ask questions without having to place an active revision request. Depending upon the number of revisions placed within a month, I would be docked for pay as well.

When you work for writing companies, they withhold your salary at least 2 weeks from the current month prior to paying you. They say that is because they need to see if the client will truly be satisfied with the paper and not file for refunds or what-have-you's. No money upfront or midway for company employed writers. Instead, it becomes a game of wait and see, hope, and rejoice, when you finally get your salary without any penalties included.

Hi David! It's nice to finally put a real name to the username. In reference to your inquiry about how these orders get assigned, I think I have some information that might be of interest to you. At the company where I worked, I noticed that some of the orders in the Unassigned Orders list would often stay there, without any writer touching it until a day or two before the deadline. When the deadline looms, the company takes the order out of the list and starts shopping it around to the various writers they have in the active pool.

They claim that the writer was "chosen to be the preferred writer" for the order. Nothing could be further from the truth. I received these types of papers more than 3 times. Each time, I always requested to have it reassigned because it was beyond my expertise. Normally, these would be math related or science related papers that required equations or experiments, respectively.

So, the answer to your question is yes, they do make promises to the client in order to get him to place the order. Then they begin to worry about how to deliver on their promise. The support staff start running around like headless chickens when they can't find someone to assign to the paper.

@healthresearcherUK The term consultant may also price him out of the market.

The connotation of the world "consultant" is one with numerous years of experience and multiple clients that currently exist in his pool that he can bring with him to his new workplace. Since he is applying for a writing job at a not so well known firm, it would be best to lower expectations and position descriptions in order to at least, give himself a fighting chance in the application process.

Just like all resumes I believe that he should adjust his work description based upon the job requirements. So in effect, your advise for him to call himself a "consultant" isn't bad or wrong, it just depends upon the situation or position that he is applying for.

Since he is applying for a writing job at a local newspaper, calling himself an "Academic Writer" just might open himself to some positions that may not b available to a "consultant". At small town newspapers, the term "consultant" make the bosses think that the applicant is over qualified for the position or, that he will expect a high salary that the company cannot afford.

If he wants to make sure he gets the job, or at least gets into the running for the position, he should, I think, use descriptive terms for his former positions and abilities that will make him more appealing to the Human Resources department.

Don't forget, if the proofreading service belongs to an academic writing company, there is a high chance that your paper will be read and edited by a non-native English speaker. Which means, the essay you wrote could end up worse than when it started. Since recommendations are not allowed on this site, I will not recommend a proofreading service but rather, encourage you to look up one of the more skilled native English speakers on this site who freelance their services. You can trust them to make the paper come out better than you originally wrote it and, you can bet that they won't scam you in the process of working on your paper.

If you must use a writing company for proofreading, then please, please make sure that you talk to them before hand. Make sure that the service representative really knows how to write in English before you sign up for any services. The most that you can do to protect yourself is at least get a mental assurance that these people really know what you need to get done with your paper before you pay their hefty fees.

Don't go for the cheap companies that give away discounts like candy. Any good and self respecting academic writer knows his worth and will charge reasonably, according to his skills. The companies will entice you with cheap prices because they know that their writers are only worth that much. Why go on the cheap when your grades are at stake? As my mom always tells me, "you pay for quality". So while the freelance writers may not come as cheap as the writing companies, you can bet the work you pay them will be worth the money paid.

@ProfessorVerb I think I have experienced all of the possible traumatic events and instances of working at an academic writing company. It could probably fill a whole book. I fully intend to share those experiences with everyone here so that others can learn from my (mis)adventures as a contracted writer for these companies. My life, per se, is good and the writing job helped me to achieve that.

However, it also brought along with it certain job stresses, like having to wake up at odd hours of the night to attend to a short turn around order or revision request (which I did not cause). Normally I would be roused by the shouting voice of the Ukrainian on the other end of the line. The pay was good for a time( till they decided to penalize every move the writers made), but I had slave driver bosses who were really unreasonable when it came to their treatment of writers. Maybe I just wasn't picking the right companies? I worked with 6 companies over 20 years. The latest one, where I started in 2011, changed owners every year for some reason so you can imagine how their policy changes could really affect the morale of the writer's pool.