It's the slow season and many of us are off wasting time on discussion boards.

I'm genuinely curious and have no intention of attacking you: What are your qualifications other than the 608 papers (good job by the way)? Do you have any advanced degrees or writing in other venues? Do you offer some examples of writing in these applications? Are you an ESL writer (nothing inherently wrong with this, but it does scare people off)? I'm just trying to understand why someone who can produce as you do would be ignored. Maybe a better question to ask is why do you think that you are being ignored?

Because you have taken the time to respond.

If you are so different from the other ESL writers that pass through here, then why does your argument take the same vitriolic tone?

Step back, take a deep breath, and have some fun with us. There is nothing to get worked up about.


I think that you've drank too much of that Kool-Aid.

Well, your writing is a bit wordy and the argument doesn't make any sense. Its like you are showing off. I was trying to be kind, but writers2beware effectively did a better job than me by using two words to describe what I expressed with many. Your name calling is probably not going to get you much business here.

Counterpoint noted.

I guess that I should only speaking for myself on this point. I am in a situation where I cannot afford to fool around with scamming people. It seems that some folks can keep on scamming no matter what happens because they do not have much to lose.

That is not to say that I am a moral pillar in this shadow industry. The best I can offer is that I will not rip off a client, but even then you just have to take my word. Even if I had less scruples and less to lose, I don't think I have the stomach for continuously re-opening up shop elsewhere. I'd much rather try to build as much of a good reputation as I can.

I totally agree about the nightmare clients.

I approach price from the point of view that everything is negotiable. Many of my clients have been very amenable to haggling.

A few companies have a bidding process that will let you experiment with pricing while competing with other writers for the same jobs.

Doing some steady work for various companies will give you a sense of what prices the market will tolerate. Some niche and higher-level academic work will command a premium, while some standard undergraduate topics can be had for rock bottom prices. Even as a freelancer, I still rely on companies for relatively more "steady" work, albeit at a lower price point.

I found it extremely useful to do a survey of company's websites and make a list what they charge and for what kinds of work.

Repeat customers nearly always get a break, although that can be hard to quantify because the level/quality of work can vary with the same client.

I do think of my prices in terms of time. This is absolutely necessary because, depending on where you live in the world, a lot of the academic ghostwriting work can very quickly become something that is not worth your time.

If this was my only source of income, then I might think about pricing in an entirely different way.

Thanks for the response.

I'll keep sniffing.

Umm, yeah, that's just not true. Nobody is being maniacal here. It's about the risk associated with scammers. Unfortunately, there are more scammers from foreign countries. It is a very useful heuristic to just simply exclude foreign-based writer when most of them are scamming. Again, this is unfortunate for those ESL ghostwriters who are legitimately trying to gain a foothold in this illegitimate industry.

Also, I am competing with you. The academic ghostwriting community does not need to invent or create a straw man as you have here. Generalizing to the native English speakers and bashing them isn't going to help your cause.

It is absolutely clear, at least to me, that a lot of my clients would be better served by an ESL writer. And I'm just as sure that the opposite is often true. So maybe a better question would be: How is it that we pair the right clients with the right writers in a business that is simply about the bottom line?


I find it hilarious that you are being just a tad pedantic here.

I think the key for you here may be to realize that this shadow industry is based on partial truths. I have not seen where anybody is being expressly dishonest, but there is certainly a lot of playing one's cards close to the chest. As a fellow academic I am certain that you can relate to this behavior.

Also, from what I have read here, there have been some issues with ESL writers who will scam the companies and take their clients. This is a huge no-no. Unfortunately, it seems that the scammers are causing the legit companies to clamp down on who gets to work. You'll have to find a way to work around this problem.

I don't understand. You did your PhD in the U.K. and have published several academic articles in English? I know of at least a few companies that would hire you based on these credentials alone (outside of the U.K.), but I'm not so sure that I am allowed to mention them here. And if they are truly not interested, then I'd be happy to discuss this further.

It also may be a matter of how you sell yourself and the way you have formatted your CV. For example, nobody has checked my nationality (American). My CV is almost indistinguishable from an Indian colleague who went to the same schools. If I were ESL with your credentials, then I would strive to hide that detail as much as possible because, in the end, what matters is that you produce quality work.

Well, not exactly. I appreciate your honesty and hope that you get a lot of work. Your remarks are helpful and cause me to ponder a few issues. I'm not so sure that the competition has become lethal as much as it has become muddled. The number of scammers encountered by any one person on the web has seemingly increased over the years. I'll just speculate now and say that the ratio of good to bad ESL ghostwriters seems to be very low.

I may be wrong, but as I push my way to the academic ghostwriter's table it seems a major way to remain competitive is to set myself apart from the ESL folks. I imagine that it is even more difficult for the legitimate (I feel weird using that word here) ESL ghostwriters. There are simply a lot of ESL scammers out there - they have flooded the system. There seem to be many fewer scam writers within the U.S. And I'll speculate further that this is because the authorities would catch on quickly, whereas there is little that can be done to someone scamming from a foreign country. Please, take me to task if you think this is nonsense.

Given my situation in the U.S., I know that I would be shut down immediately if I scammed the wrong client with the slightest inclination to take legal action.

It also seems much easier for my foreign clients to get the authorities breathing down my neck, whereas I do not have much recourse outside of the U.S. The level of risk associated with buying a model paper appears to be much reduced if a U.S. student sticks with a U.S. ghostwriter. Further, given the litigious nature of our great nation, it seems that the level of risk would also be lowest for many foreign-based students to contract with a U.S.-based writer or company.

Just a few questions: So what's it going to take to make it as lucrative as it once was? Are the plagiarism sites collecting and redistributing the essays that they claim to check for plagiarism? I'm also curious what it would it take to purchase one of these defunct sets of essays? Disclaimer: I'm shamelessly sniffing around here for opportunity.

I know that my evidence is anecdotal, but I have seen plenty of students with top marks who have failed horribly when it came time to do self-directed work. Generally speaking, yes, high marks will translate into success, however it seem to be only one piece of the puzzle.

The site looks legit and the registrant address is in Chicago. I'd be interested to hear if they produce a quality product. There doesn't seem to be very many quantitative academic ghostwriters here?

I see that you are posting this wherever you can. You have my ear - what was the scam?