Freelancewriter and anyone else who does this full-time ... can you say what the approximate annual income potential is for someone working th kind of hours that you do? I am considering entering this field myself. (I am already taking a few clients in my "free" time.) But this type of schedule seems hectic. Is it worth it?

Well, have you ever thought about assembling a small team of writers and outsourcing your work? Forming a small essay firm? That is one way I am considering approaching it, if I can find some good writers. Of course, then I would be out marketing to get our own clients, not going through other companies.

Also, isn't it exhausting? I mean, it sounds like you couldn't have reliable sleep patterns. You must be pretty young? Sorry for all the questions; I am just fascinated by this. I know there is market demand, because when people found out I could do this work, word spread and I started getting tons of requests unsolicited. Just wondering if I can leverage it into something more than sitting hunched over my computer for hours churning out the pages. So that's why I'm thinking a small essay firm might be the route to go.

Thanks for your detailed reply. Very interesting and helpful. Do you do any marketing on your own? Have your own website? I am getting business purely by word of mouth, and it's more than I want, although I am also working full-time in a regular job, so I don't have much time. It basically amounts to a few extra dollars in my pocket, but a severe lack of sleep.


I would think that their goal is high income, not necessarily passive income. I bet they're earning a pretty good amount.

I'm not knocking it. Sounds like you've carved out a good niche for yourself and can make as much or more than your average white-collar worker. And I'd say it's pretty stable, since I don't imagine that all of these customers are suddenly going to want to start writing their own papers some sunny day.

Something about what level the paper is for might be good ... undergraduate, master's, etc. Also, whether it is to be in American English, British English, or other.

FreelanceWriter, you definitely have the writing skills to pay the bills, based on your posts. I suspect there may be some jealousy from other forum members who lack those skills or who run companies and do not wish to pay what it takes to hire those skills.

The world is big. The major essay sites are generalists. They spend a lot of money in order to reach everyone. You won't be able to compete in that game. Determine a niche and market to it. There are several groups of people who buy lots of papers. Choose one or two target markets, figure out where they are, and go to them. You may need to do this in the physical world, not online.

Also consider this. Someone made this point on another thread. If you were successful at SEO and got your site ont he first page of Google results, you would get FAR more orders than you could fill, as in hundreds per day. You need another route.

I wouldn't want him writing my essay, that's for sure.

The writers you were working with, where were they from? Were they flaking out on you or what?

Were you hiring Americans, Indians, Filipinos, or others?

OK, sorry for asking a million questions, but as you know, I have specific reasons for being interested in this subject and for looking into what the pitfalls are.

Was any particular country better or worse than others? In particular, does anyone know how writers from the Philippines are in terms of reliability and quality, if you choose them wisely?

Also, I see what people are talking about in terms of management, but if you are trying to turn around pieces within 24 hours, it is going to be hard to hold the writer's hand and get constant progress updates.

Google rewards fresh content in its search results, and blogs give a constant supply of new content.

This is my opinion only, and others on the forum have far more experience and knowledge, so take it for what it's worth. The requirements are there for show. They want to create an appearance, for clients' sake, that they only hire qualified writers. In reality, at the lesser firms, anything goes. At the better firms, maybe they stick to the stated requirements, maybe not. Anybody who has attended a bachelor's program, even if it was never completed, and could show evidence of decent academic writing, including citing sources, should be a viable candidate. Writers who can do the work but don't have the degree probably just fake it on their resumes, and I'm quite sure the companies never check.

Of course. The professors might "know." But do they actually pursue discipline in such cases? Are they able to prove anything? What is the outcome?

Craig's List as a way to find clients?

For the independent writers and small companies out there, wondered if Craig's List has been a reliable place to find clients? I tried it and it didn't turn up much.

I have been thinking about spamming some sites where I know there are lot of the type of students I want to target. But the sites have strict rules about no commercial posts. How do you guys get around that?

Is the writer ever in any danger?

It's more of an issue that if you hit it out of the park for, say, a freshman-level ESL student, the professor is going to get might suspicious. I don't believe in putting the student in harm's way, if it can be avoided.

Does stu actually operate an essay site, or are you joking? How could he serve English-speaking customers when he is clearly not fluent in the language? How would he know if his writers are producing good or bad papers if he cannot read them?

To be honest, it sounds like they just didn't have anybody available who was qualified to do the paper. That is always the challenge for an essay company. It doesn't sound like a scam, as long as you got your money back. If they kept the money and gave you no paper or an inferior or plagiarized paper, that would be a scam.

Karen, out of curiosity, what was result when the student could not answer questions about the paper? I have heard of these "viva voca" exams to root out cheaters, but usually in a British context. In U.S. universities, my impression is that it is not common. But curious as to what other writers have seen or heard. I have had ESL students ask me to throw in a few bits of poor grammar or some awkward wording here and there so their paper won't appear too "native." Others just want the best paper they can get. It doesn't seem to affect anything either way.

I admonish each of my clients to read the paper carefully before handing it in, in case any questions come up. The student can also pick up on any formatting issues, as in most cases the students have an idea what the professor wants in that regard, even if they aren't familiar with the course content. And finally, they can make sure the content is what they wanted, as I am willing to do on rewrite if it's needed.

I doubt many of them take my advice, but I always offer it.

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.

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?

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.)

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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).

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

$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.