I hope so my friend. You see, the niggling babies are doing fine now. Leave well alone i say lol. Totally agree, I still feel the odd urge to sign up with a company to get that warm, fuzzy feeling (yeah right!) from the security of work being available. Work will come I'm sure - i don't see any point in trying to compete on the same terms as the large companies but rather look to demonstrate a personal service that helps reassure potential clients. It will all come out in the wash as they say.

Hey Smiley,
Aye, nothing wrong with me the reliable one, the go-to trusty pair of hands. Your mother was a wise woman indeed. Discretion is the better part of valour was something my dad used to say. Better to leave alone sometimes if you know you are unlikely to do your best work. 1 hr turnaround sounds horrendous by the way!!!

Totally agree, building a rapport outside of work is good, not something that I ever had the inclination to do really. In my younger days (casts memory waaaay back) I was a creative spirit trapped in an accountant's body, and wanted to distance myself. Later on i was a family man and loved finishing work and getting home. Some might say anti-social lol

The boss was new, he was looking to make his mark and i was content to play along on that occasion. I'm sure the boss appreciated it at the time but the career thing all went pear shaped when I moved back to the UK - deciding to try something different - and here we are lol. The times I used to say to my boss 'sooo...in american football....' to which he would reply, ' you can just call it football' lol.

Keep up the good work folks.

David

Aye, you need nerves of steel smiley, nerves of steel.
Reminds me of the boss calling me late one Friday night. Said he tickets for the football game on Sunday, in the box, etc entertaining. Could I make it, he would have to know very quickly. I called the wife, we both agreed good for the career and all that jazz. I later found out that I had been 3rd in the line lol. Never nice not to be 1st choice lol - call me a sulker lol

David

Hey Smiley,
Sorry for the late reply, been away for a few days.
Finding a good company that respects its writers is tricky. The penalty of 150% is crazy!! This year, I started my own wee thing but then thought I would sign up with another company just until things picked up. I wrote the obligatory test paper and then revisited the terms and conditions (yeah I know aaarse about face) and after reading the 999 different reasons a penalty the size of a small economy could be introduced, I decided against it lol. I know the company was probably just being up front but it reminded me of the dental surgeon who explained in horrific detail the pain I would have following extraction of my wisdom teeth and as a consequence I still have those niggling babies to this day!

Nice to chat again.
David

Sound advice above I think. I think a website is essential (he says making a note to complete that task). I started with a blog and joined a few different forums (we have one here called The Student Room) and actually got my first job from there. After that, I felt like it was really important to build a good rapport with my client so that when they received their essay they wanted to help. I offer a discount to clients that successfully refer somebody to me just to help things along. I'm still developing though so time will tell if this approach works. However, I'm happy to start slow (it's only me and my wife doing it) and see if I can earn enough to keep the lights on lol

Hope it works out for you - it's all worth it in the end (I repeat this mantra several times a day lol)
David

Hi,
I hadn't heard of this practice although i daresay that's because my student days are but a flickering memory. From what I have read above it sounds like if you are happy with the writing company and don't mind being promoting them to your fellow students (perhaps friends) then why not? I agree with Smiley though, you might want to negotiate a free paper here and there on top of the commission.

Hope it works out for you whatever you decide.
David

Hi,
Tough times for sure although I'm in the U.K. so may not be exposed to the same factors regrading student's disposable income. I hadn't really noticed the same trend here but then I have only written in the nursing and public health fields and in the U.K. there appears to be a shortage of writers in that area. Long may it continue lol.

I wish you all well. I hope that delivering high quality work will bolster your referrals and repeat business. I was also thinking about diversifying too - whenever I look at other freelance writing jobs - article writing, etc - there appears to be 1,000s of freelancers applying. Slight exaggeration perhaps lol. I then realize that I might be better to increase/improve my self-promotion although I don't really like that side of it.

So that's cleared nothing up lol

David

Hi Smiley,
Yeah, you're right. Consultant does come with a bit of baggage. The vast majority of my freelance stuff is academic writing but I also undertake research too (not big projects, mostly for start-ups, etc) and I wanted a job title that took both aspects of the work into account. However, I totally agree that the job title we choose should be appropriate for the target market. Now, you've got me thinking of changing my resume... lol

David

Hi Smiley,
Thank you - that was an interesting insight and I could easily imagine it happening where I worked. Actually, I wonder if they ever knew if the client's deadline was flexible. Conversation something like:

'David, can you take on this brief that is pretty urgent - we need it done in 2 days.'
'No sorry I have 2 other briefs ongoing at the minute.'
2 days later and the project is still sitting there.
'David the client has said that they could extend the deadline for a week if that helps you.'
'Hmmm...'

Ever find that you spend 1-2 hours answering emails relating to bids about similar stuff?

Hi Smiley,
Yeah that's true - I did the same thing working for an essay writing company and did get frustrated with the amendments requests process, just as you say. The company I worked for had a quality control department that would check the work and forward to the client. I used to get frustrated when a client made some general comments and the customer service team used to request my input without trying to clarify the issue (if there was one) with the client. Having said that I never had any payments withheld from them but it appears the contracts are heavily loaded in the essay writing company's favour.

All the best,
David

Thanks for sharing the details. Some money up front, some money as agreed milestones are made, and hopefully neon lights will flash 'scammer' when they don't pay. Live and learn but don't get too caught up on it - altho totally understand your frustration!

Hi,
Find the word 'Consultant' covers a lot of ground i.e. Research Consultant; Academic Support Consultant, etc
Then allow your duties and responsibilities (if listing) to be editing, model answer writing, etc

Just my thoughts...

I'm sure I won't add much that hasn't already been said.

I worked for Academic Knowledge for a couple of years - they were pretty good to work for although I can not speak as to the client experience (other than when the client asked for their thanks to be passed on), however they struggled to find competent writers in the field of nursing.

I wonder if this is a common problem really with the commercial companies, they take on work, guarantee this and that, and then scurry around trying to find a writer on their books that can complete the work.

Anyway, back to the original issue, I had no reason to consider that AK was a scam. They provided clients with a plagiarism report which is a good start and something I would def look for. I did used to get quite a bit of remedial work where other writers had not completed the brief correctly (sometimes due to poor communication) and there was a clear timeline for delivering amendments to the client.

All in all, they were ok from my writer's perspective.

I did look at signing up with some other companies and can see why people are hesitant to use them. I personally set milestone payments- take 25% up front, and then subsequent payments once the milestone is completed. It's not fraud/scam proof but limits exposure a little and generates goodwill between client and myself.

All the best,
David

Hi,
New to this forum (my very first post) and came across this thread which I found interesting. I worked as a freelance writer for Academic Knowledge over a two year period. No major issues and they were quite a professional company to deal with. However, this was my only experience of working with an essay writing company so I can't compare them to others in the market. One area of frustration was the provision of a clear brief with follow up clarifying questions going unanswered, etc. To this extent it was almost impossible to build a rapport with the client and understand their precise needs. I finally decided to leave AK and go solo in 2017. Harder to find clients but would prefer to rely on client referrals.

Not sure this is breaking news for your research but just wanted to add my few thoughts.
David