Wikipedia and ehow are good for leading you to other sites, but not as sources themselves. About.com is not very useful for academic research.

Ten pages in itself is not a problem, but it really depends on the assignment and how much research needs to be done. Some pages take a lot longer than others.

Would he face any legal trouble by going public with his name? Can essay writers get in any trouble?

That is excellent. A person who can write well and quickly, without getting flustered on deadline, should never go hungry.

They just didn't care? Were you just doing essays part-time while working at another job?

Did you have another career before started writing essays? Maybe you could draw upon that in your job search.

By the way, I doubt you'll get much judgment here for being an essay writer. The forum is, by definition, made up of people who write essays, buy essays, or serve as intermediaries. I guess it is shady in a way, but most people here would view it as somewhere between "fine" and "not that bad."

Say you're a freelance writer. Just say you do business-to-business writing.

By the way, in the current job market, do you feel you can make more money in a "job" than as an essay writer? If you don't find the right opportunity, are you prepared to keep writing academic essays? Just curious.

When it comes to hard sciences and engineering, as well as math, finance, and accounting, it is hard to do a credible job if you don't understand the concepts. Think about the formulas and analyses some of these papers have. Even if you could learn it by reading, it would take more time than it's worth. Some relatively "softer" subjects, such as linguistics, can be the same way.

It's a way to make a few bucks, dude. Who ever said it was more?

Well, wasn't trying to call you out, or necessarily disagree that some aspects of the industry have cesspit qualities. Just saying. You seem to have a low opinion of the industry. Love-hate relationship?

You made this post many months ago, but you're still here. I wouldn't deny the kernel of truth in what you wrote, even if it's a bit melodramatic. (The people in the industry are just typical people trying to make a living.) If it's so bad, why are you still involved at all? Why are you still active on a site entirely devoted to the industry?

By the way, when do Turabian, Harvard, etc. ever comes up? For me, they never do.

I have the same problem. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but many professors relish the whole formatting and style concept and love to nitpick. It's best to master the styles and use them even when they aren't being heavily enforced. Almost all of my work is MLA and APA. If you get something slightly wrong, it's usually only a point or two counted off, so not fatal, but best just to get it right.

[Moved from]: Graduate vs. Undergraduate papers. What's the difference?

Curious as to what you guys find the main differences to be in writing undergrad papers as opposed to graduate-level work. Does it significantly change the way you approach things? The amount of work involved?

Basically there are a lot of people in developing countries who would like to earn U.S. dollars/British pounds because those currencies go a long way in their local economies. So the essay industry is an attractive prospect for them. In most cases, I don't think they want to scam you. I think they will give it their all on your essay, but in most cases their English just isn't up to the job, so you probably won't get a very good great. It's an issue of competence, not integrity. There are several good writers and companies on this forum. I do not think any of them are trying to compete based on price.

Exactly. But lucrative. And I don't think that most of the writers are students themselves, or necessarily even young.

Writers who I believe are legitimate include freelancewriter, pheelyks (is he still posting?), and Karen at Critical Proof. I'm sure there are others; those are just the ones that come to mind. I'm legit but have limited time available because I have a steady client base of my own.

Well, I guess a "reasonable price" is in the eye of the beholder. But yes, I'll agree with you; I find that my clients simply are not shopping based on price. They don't want to get gouged, but that's more a matter of principle than of not being able to afford it. They want a quality paper, on time, and they don't want to have to think about it any more. I don't position myself as a bargain provider, but as a value provider. If they want a cheaper paper, most assuredly they can find one. They never do. Other writers may have different experiences depending on their particular client base. I'm like you as far as going the extra mile. Word gets around fast.

Essay writing is the underworld of the freelance writing profession. Most freelance writers don't do it. Those who do, probably don't talk much about it. A few people specialize in it. It is probably one of the most stable realms of the freelance writing world, but the least glorious, since you can't take credit for your work or even say much about it. For the top 10 percent of essay writers, it could be a lucrative specialty, better than most other forms of freelance writing. And by top 10 percent, I mean not only good quality and quantity of output, but also a knack for marketing and for finding loyal private clients. Grinding it out for the essay mills might put food on the table, but it won't put a nice car in the driveway. For top essay writers, who probably say little about their profession, the neighbors probably wonder, "What is that person doing in the house all day? Where is all that money coming from?"

Guess I'll have to get a little more generous with paragraphs. Do you guys do this on purpose, or is it just the way you write?

There are three perspectives: the company's, the freelance writer's, and the customer's.

-Company. You presented a good case for why companies need more money. I'm not so sure that customers see that as a reason that they should pay more. I also don't see it as a reason for freelance writer's to charge less. (It might be a reason that they could charge less, but not a reason they -should- charge less.) I was curious as to what additional value a company brings that would make it worthwhile, in a customer's eyes, to pay for the company's overhead.

-Freelance writer. There are probably very few writers who make their entire living from private clients. Most also work for the companies. The work is all pretty much the same, and I'd think the quality is the same, on average. As a writer, unless you think you can't do a very good job, I see no reason to charge less than the companies charge. I see no reason to undercut the companies, because I don't see any evidence that, in a head-to-head competition, customers have any particular preference for companies.

-Customers. I don't know what they "prefer" or if they have a strong preference. Mainly, they just want a good paper at a reasonable price. The companies are easier to find. They're likely always to have a writer available in the subject you need. I think customers like having a personal relationship with a writer, but they don't know where to find someone they can trust. If things go wrong, they might feel they have more recourse with an established company. Are they willing to pay more for those benefits? Who knows?

In summary: I don't think most customers have a strong preference either way. Therefore, I don't see any reason that freelance writers should charge less than companies. The overhead costs are the concern of the company, not of customers or independent writers.

But how do I stretch out the text?

$20 per page is not bad, but I think good freelance writers should be aiming for between $25 to $30 per page, at least. Actually I do not see any reason they shoul dbe lower than the companies.

Out of curiosity, what would be the basis for private writers making less that two-thirds of what companies typically charge per page?

No, I would say you are wrong. I think that quite a few of us are much older than that. Some writers on this board have been at it for a decade or more. The skills to make any serious money in the essay game are ones that come with age and experience. Current students might dabble in the field, but I imagine that full-timers tend to be 30 and older (sometimes much older).

I posted that I think a writer should seek private clients at $20 to $30 a page, so you can see what I think a fair rate is. Would anyone else share how much they think private writers should charge? It seems to me that U.S.-based companies using native-speaking writers charge $30 to $35 per page for typical papers, and a little more for rush jobs. I'm not sure what other companies -- those using ESL writers -- charge; they do not seem to offer any deep discount, though. What price do you think the market supports for individual freelance writers?

Your colleague might not be acting ethically, but it's the essay business and it is inherently not a paragon of virtue. Karen is right. Just put out the best product for a fair price, and market your services effectively. Losing a client here or there to a competitor will not be a significant problem in the long run, because you will have many clients. But it is prudent not to share contact details of your clients with other writers. They are, after all, writers trying to make a living. Don't tempt them.

If you are capable of writing statistics papers, then you can write other topics, too. I'd broaden my scope and take on undergraduate business, English, and social sciences papers.

Whether one has a PhD or master's has little effect how much you can earn at this -- even I know that. The people who have PhDs ... did they have PhDs when they were doing the writing that got them their PhDs?

I have no PhD, and I personally feel comfortable writing graduate-level work in a number of disciplines. The assignments get excellent grades. Perhaps some companies don't give you those assignments unless you have the advanced credentials. That's neither here nor there, since I doubt many essay writers feel compelled to be honest on their resumes when applying with the companies.

Realistically, I don't think if I would ever try to make a full-time living at this if I could only get assignments from companies. This is just my observation after some part-time experience in the field and asking a lot of questions.You need lots of private clients at $20 to $30 per page. And then you fill in any openings in your schedule with company work. If you can't get any private clients, then yes, I think it would be a grind, and hard to make a full-living. I personally have access to tons of them.

Very true, but as has been mentioned on this forum before, if an individual writer had a page 1 ranking, the order volume would be crushing. So you have to market in other ways.

In regard to Karen's comments, I think this impression might stem from the fact that many, many "American" companies are not American at all, but merely foreign firms claiming to be American. At any rate, I would use American companies if you need to meet U.S. academic standards and UK companies when you're attending university in the UK or one of the countries using a similar model. I stick with U.S. clients, myself.

Is it hard to get accounts with the mills? I have not applied to any yet.

It is interesting how widely the responses vary. Some say it's an uphill battle to scratch out a $40,000 income, while others say $80,000 is doable. It sounds like much of one's success depends on ability to develop a well-paying private clientele. Without that, you have to rely on the companies, which is possible but, because of the low rates, not at all fun. To find enough private clients, there are obvious factors that would work to one's advantage from a marketing perspective. Native-speaker English status and physical presence in a Western country would probably be big advantages.


First of all, what do you mean by "develop the contracts you need to make it full time"? What essay writer has contracts?

I, like you, am in part-time mode. As for it being silly as a career ... well, on the one hand, I can't see a young person setting this as a lifetime career goal, it's true. On the other hand, if some writers are making 80k, and they like the work, then I can't knock it. Indeed, there are no benefits and you can't exactly advance. But that is the case for a lot of people nowadays, even if they might work in an office or other "real" setting. Stability is a concern, but in general, I would say the market for academic writers is strong and will be that way indefinitely. You're much safer if you have your own clients rather than relying too much on companies, though. Your real "stability" concern comes if you get sick and can't work. It's probably a small number of people who can pound out nothing but essays year after year, but I don't think it's exactly silly, especially if you love working at home.

I appreciate the input from everyone. I'm looking at a life change and trying to figure out whether this is something to rely on to produce a decent income at least until I can get back in the saddle -- or perhaps if this might even be the saddle. It looks like it might be viable enough. I know it's not easy. But at least it provides better earning potential and stability than a lot of jobs out there nowadays. Many folks at this point would kill for a wage of $40,000 to $80,000 a year, especially a work-at-home setup. (They might not be so enthusiastic, though, when they learn that it actually involves -- gasp! -- writing.)

Do you guys think a person could make at least $35,000 to $40,000 the first year, and still get a humane amount of sleep?

Based on this thread, Halasz seems, in casual messages, to be either a native speaker or near-native speaker of English. However, the academic sample in the original message does not look like writing from a native speaker. I once tried to hire some writers and came away disappointed after reviewing many, many samples from Indian and Filipino writers. I would put the sample in that category.

As to the writer who corrected Halasz for his use of "let alone"? Wrong. He used it correctly.