The $100,000 academic writer - can be done?

I wonder how you'd make $100k spamming essaychat and reporting students to authorities. Just a few months ago, you were in a heated battle with a student who refused to part with......was it $10 more for 'revisions'?

The rage you displayed just because of $10 wouldn't emanate from anyone earning more than $5k annually(leave alone $100k).
You're a lying, unsuccessful bottom-feeder.

How did this conversation get so off topic?!

Yeah, that never actually happened. I have never threatened to turn anyone in, period, and I have never collected money from a customer in this industry for anything other than writing and research services (including calculations, spreadsheet creation, etc.).


I wouldn't know--I don't make my money that way.


I have no idea what you're talking about, but that's only because you're making s-i* up again.


Amazingly enough, it was at the hands of queen sheba!

$100k as a writer? Now that is some ambition! In the few years Ive been doing this, I've never earned anywhere near that. But then again its never been an aim to- work/life balance is more important to me.

I'm not sure how it could be done at all, not even working 24/7 and never taking any time off.

You apparently had plenty of extra time, considering that your expert plagiarizing skills seemingly enabled you to cut just about every corner.

They are working mostly for private clients, so they get higher rates.

It's definitely possible. I've had some $8,500 months, but it would be a very difficult pace to sustain month after month all year long, at least for me. One of my strongest competitors has a high enough consistent daily output that I suspect he might be able to do it this year for the first time, now that he's no longer charging much less than he's worth and less than the going rate charged by the rest of us experienced fulltime American writers.

Re: The $100,000 academic writer - can be done?

Yes.

Wtg, Prof.

How many hours per week would you estimate for the 100k year? And was this solely academic ghostwriting? How many folks are looking at their work in terms of hours? Seriously. I ask because my goal is to only work one-half of the year, or less, so I've been intently focusing on how long it takes me to do certain kinds of knowledge work.

My take: At 60 hours a week, an excellent academic writer can likely break 100k easily, but you can't be dicking around with customers and doing much else. You certainly can't be working for a writing service. At a standard workweek you'd need to make more than $48/hour. I've only been doing the academic ghostwriting for a year and I've managed to get $45 per hour on occasion and I've been pushing my rates up gradually as I get a feel for the game. While I am still doing some work for only $25 per hour, my average is now approximately $30. Even if I can break an average of $35/hour, I don't see relying on this entirely as my only freelance gig. Way more can be made ($40-60/hour) sub-contracting for publishing companies and editing for-publishing journal articles for career academics, although the work can be mind numbing to the point that I'd rather do a term paper for less money.

Yes, except for the two liquor stores I knocked over and my royalties from a cameo appearance in "Professor Verb: Doctor of Love."

I wish I could PM ProfessorVerb so I could try to shake him down on what companies he works for, but the email I attached to this account doesn't go anywhere. Or were these mostly private clients?

About half and half.


I couldn't agree more. Econometrics and philosophy for example. Jeez. These are terrible topics that I try to avoid at all costs.

Yes, that figure can definitely be achieved, but not in one year and not with one client. I achieved that salary in the past by being patient, doing my job well, and adding up my income over 5 years. The result, I achieved $100k but not in the bank since I had to spend the money as I earned it. I had savings set aside to eventually launch my own company. That amounted to $300k. Then, since I have always kept tabs on my expenses, I added everything up over the years and saw, much to my amazement, that I achieved that amount over a period of 5 years. If you don't aim for the amount in one work schedule then you might also achieve that figure over the years as I did.

Did you read this thread? Several people here have done it, or come close. And no one said anything about one client-- you added that.


No you didn't, because "The $20,000 academic writer-- can it be done?" was not the question.

It would have been easy to earn the aforementioned income in the past. Academic writers were all the rage and our services were most sought after by students. AI has changed that. Now, if the writer does not have an existing stable base of clients, he will have difficulty in meeting his monthly income targets leading up to the $100K income, regardless of the time frame. It is important to understand that while writers may charge thousands of dollars for particular types of papers, the students do not usually have that sort of money to pay out these days. So they turn to AI for help, which always turns out to be a mistake.