ESL writer's chances of making good money as a freelance writer?

Is it possible to make $1000 or more a month as an ESL writer? I've been learning English for 10+ years and I think I'm not worse than most American "native" writers. But I live in Philippines - does it automatically disqualify me from getting an academic freelance writing position in a good American company? Thanks,

Zahar

I think this is possible (especially if you work for an American company that pays much more than foreign companies). However, you'd have to be very familiar with the American schooling system, citation styles, etc. Also, you'd probably have to take assignments on high-school/college level (mostly). Don't think you'd be able to write graduate level papers.

My advice is to never work for a company that tells potential customers that your skill level in English language writing is higher than what is really is. In doing so, they are paying you FAR LESS than what a person with those true skills should earn, and they are deceiving customers at the same time.

Having been a writer for some time now... If I were you I'd find a different field of writing to get into. Not because you're an "ESL writer" but because the wages in this field aren't impressive enough to be worth the time and energy.

That said, if you must write in this field I would advise you to keep plugging away. In the end, the only people who care about where you're from are people like Amy, what really matters is the quality of your final product. Good luck.

EXACTLY! The ONLY thing that matters is the quality of the final product! The final product must not include poor grammar, syntax, word use, spelling, or punctuation. (I am not referring specifically to Zahar, as his/her writing is much more solid than most ESL writers who work for EssayWriters.)

Thank you for admitting my point, rat! I've been harping on that very point over and over. Suddenly, when it suits YOUR biased, Amy-hating needs, you unconsciously admit it and support my main point!

I'm sure this was a slip on your part, but hey, even the best spinners screw up once in a while.

Remember that post wherein you blasted a members writing then I picked on yours? You told me something to the effect "this is just a posting place...". In other words you were saying that since this is just a forum it shouldn't be used to guage your skills.

I then pointed out you were guaging the ESL's skill by his post... we shouldn't hold you to the same standard?

Fact of the matter Amy my post is not me proving your point. Have you read any of the final product of the ESL's you've slammed on this forum? Then how can you say they shouldn't be writing for Americans? To make sure you understand clearly... I... the author of the post bearing my user name... was saying to the original poster of this thread to not take any of your advice because it is biased and prejudiced... that he should continue tying to obtain work for American companies if he so desired because in the end the quality of his final draft will determine if he cuts it or not... that was of course after I advised him to seek a different area of writing... nice try sugar-cakes but you need to twist a little harder... STOP saying writers aren't quilfied for jobs unless you've seen their finished product... oh wait... you can't do that... it would mean RESEARCH.... and we both know you don't do a good job at that.

Nice spin. You lost. Deal with it.

more words without substance Amy, it wasn't a contest. I told you when we started you weren't on my level... but you wanted to play. Now be a good loser and admit you haven't a clue what your talking about... ;)

You're a joke. Stop being a COWARD and answer my specific questions: essayscam.org/forum/wc/essaywriters-content-gurus-inside-truth-94/
By the way, nice job in hijacking Zahar's thread just so you can attack me further.

I've answered all your questions; sorry you're too ignorant to see that. I didn't hijack his thread, I offered up advice which happened to include a warning about your motives.

Calling me "ignorant" only proves how much of a pompous J-A lurks beneath your skin.

You just like to attack me because I'm a better writer, and you're insecure.

Yep, that's it... you found me out... I secretly want to prove to you that I'm worthy so I can get you to fall in love with me so we can have sex... damn, and I thought my secret plan was... well... a secret.

That is so sexist....

LOL. Ya think?

Yes, pious, now we must refer to RAT as a "sexist woman-hater" from this point forward. After all, he just LOVES bogus labels. I'll be the "racist, prejudice, ESL-hater," and he'll be "sexist woman-hater." I can't wait to see what bogus label he places on you.

Pious is cool. He/she doesn't have their head as far up his/her ass as you do. I left you an invitation to check me out... do so... why don't you come clean? What are you hiding? Do you work for an American Essay company? For this site? What is your motive for defending a case for which there is no proof?

I think you hate me cause secretly you're in love with me and you want me but you know you can't have me so you have to push me away with your hate and anger... that's gotta be it... funny huh? How I don't take anything out of your mouth seriously? That happens when you get caught in too many lies. ;)

Hahahahaha, I don't think this world has previously experienced your level of loserdom.

What makes you think I give a "rat's" ass who you are or what you do? You are utterly insignificant. How empty and unfulfilled is your life? You're a grown man who spends his days making MySpace pages. LOL. Dude, can I donate to your charity so that you can buy a girlfriend?

As I stated in the other thread, what I do for a living is located in an older blog and I assure you I don't make myspace pages... I don't have the first clue about writing html... but in true Amy fassion you're passing off false information as fact because you're too lazy to do research.

Also I know what city and state you live in. I'll find the truth out about you soon.

oh and I almost forgot... did you notice kissncook on there? yeah, she's a real live person, not me under another user name.... so sad, too bad... another amy lie exposed!

You are a TITANIC loser. At best, you have admitted that it is your little buddy.

RAT, you're going to find "the truth" behind why I don't like essaywriters.net's DECEPTIVE and FRAUDULENT business practices? It is what it is. Good luck with your little game. Hahahahah. By the way, it's too bad that I use anonymous proxies and cable lines for all of my surfing. I do so to avoid psychos like you.

Checked my essaywriters' account and noticed many changes made there. They now have a page made for writers to post complaints and other issues on a message board for support reps to address. I suppose they would not have done this had they not monitored the issues posted on essayscam. However, these changes are not enough and those who have worked or are still working at essay writers want to see more changes.

Writers who have been with them longer and have observed their numerous errors and treatment of writers are the ones who can tell whether they are being cheated or not. I for instance, have noticed that a writer's work goes straight to the client without first being scanned for quality and plagiarism. Feeding the paper into a plagiarism software is not enough for there are ways on how to mislead the software. A proofreader must read the work and ensure that it is of standard quality.

I don't understand essaywriters' procedure when it comes to scanning customers' works for quality and plagiarism. When I trace from which site an order is placed - superior papers, bestessays.com, and dissertationsexperts.com - customers are assured that before getting their copy, the paper is scanned for quality first. Had this been actually practiced then more customers would be satisfied with the work.

There are instances also when the paper is scanned only after a customer has received the work with no complaints and has therefore, already paid the company. The bad thing here is that the paper is allegedly plagiarized without giving the writer proof of the allegation and the chance to shed light on results of the scan. Payment for the said paper is then withdrawn from the writer, robbing him or her then of his or her dues.

Essaywriters shouldn't have to wait until a writer or human editor demands for the scanned results of his or her work. Why not give it to the writer as soon as possible to confirm the charge?

People behind essaywriters should also be able to strike a balance on what's fair for both the customers and writers. True, there are writers who deliver second-rate work and these works need to be checked and rewritten to satisfy customers. However, there are also customers who are abusive and demand revisions and refunds be made without sufficient reason. What others don't understand is that writers write only based on a customer's initial instructions. Essaywriters therefore should clarify customer instructions so writers wouldn't have to suffer complaint consequences later.

On the issue of payouts, writers often wonder about delays. These delays and the excuses posted by essaywriters have been analyzed and a trend was seen. They make excuses about not paying writers when pay day is only a day away and it is disheartening.

About ESL writers, I don't see anything wrong with them writing academic papers just as long as they deliver the paper in acceptable quality.

And then about essaywriters' support reps? Some of them are nice, some of them are rude. They expect writers to be professional. Writers expect them to do the same.

Making $1000 a month as an ESL writer? Umm, yes it's possible and not hard in my opinion.
And if you're in a third world country like me, then $1000 a month places you somewhere in the middle class, possibly upper middle class.

@RandomRandom It isn't difficult for most writers who are either working on their own or with a legitimate company. For those who work with Ukrainian, Indian, and other companies, that is a totally different story. These companies put an undeclared cap on the earnings of their writers. Once a writer comes either close to or past that ceiling, the fines and penalties come into play. Then it becomes difficult to earn the said amount. No matter how hard a writer works, if he is subject to unfair penalties and irrational fines, then it becomes question of whether or not the company will want to honor the said agreement regarding salary payments. There are even instances when the company could withhold part of the salary and say "we can't afford to pay the full amount at the moment", which is something that happened to me a few times in the past. It doesn't matter if you are ESL writer or not, if you accidentally signed up with the wrong company, then you will be in salary hell each time you break the income ceiling. So, while you can earn more than $1000.00, collecting on it becomes a different story. This is what makes it difficult for me to say that you can earn that amount easily. Collecting it becomes a bigger pain than it was to earn the amount.

Circling back to the original question, I do not believe that it would be difficult for an ESL writer to rake in the amount of money indicated. Provided he has the ability to create a herd of his own clients as an independent writer. If he has started working for an academic writing company, regardless of the company origins and has managed to spin himself off into an independent writer position by now, I bet that he is taking home more than that amount every month. Even if he is working only on the high school to college level papers.

Prolific ESL writers who manage to master the art of American and UK essay and research writing often find themselves in demand with their repeat clients, while taking in new clients at the same time. I have seen this happen with my own set of writers who are not native English speakers but who are highly educated in some of the best schools in their own country, whose medium of teaching is English. I also require that they have proof of having passed the TOEFL or IELTS test (a hard requirement on my part before hiring them as probational writers for 6 months) for English fluency assessment and order level assignment considerations. I don't mind paying them their cut of the CPP, or more than a thousand a month, provided the quality of their work is always at international academic standards and their work never undergoes a revision request.

An ESL writer who can prove his English skills in posts and whose English is substantially indistinguishable from NES writers can be just as successful as any average NES writer. It may be harder for them to maximize their success, mainly because the really qualified ones are hesitant to lie about being ESL; meanwhile, the unqualified ESL hacks here have no shame (in addition to delusional beliefs about their abilities) and their perpetual lies and the gibberish they think is "English" poison the water for the better-qualified ESL writers, also scaring away cautious clients who become afraid to try any ESL writer. If I still get skittish new clients afraid of being ripped off after my decade-long history on this forum and NYC origin and location, and all of my genuine positive feedback and comments from the other best writers here, the good ESL writers here must have to deal with much more skepticism and hesitancy from new clients considering trying them for the first time.

There are more than a few ESL sites where a writer can earn more than $1000 a month. The writer doesn't need to go independent if that's the monthly target (which is very modest, in my opinion). S/he just needs to find the right site that won't rip him/her off once payment period comes around.

Yes, and that's the winning statement. The writer should be very careful that s/he doesn't contract with a company that imposes stiff unsubstantiated penalties. I know it's hard to know this until the writer has worked with a company for a while, but searching some similar issues and experiences in this forum can help. There are several companies that do impose penalties for almost any reason and hold pay indefinitely. Searching past posts will provide info on many of these. :)

Contracting with various companies simply take time. But, as a freelancer, you should be patient in this long and winding process. It would always be helpful to ensure that you are double-checking the sites that you work for. On top of this, once a red flag sets off in a new writing company, don't be afraid to jump the gun and leave. Write for people who treat you right - and you'll be able to make more than what you had initially asked for.

On the contrary, it is not difficult for these writers out of Asia to learn how to write in the American academic style. There is always the internet to refer to in order to learn the tools of the trade. Then, there is of course, the instructions coming from the student that a highly educated Asian writer will be expected to follow. The research materials are provided by the client, the internet and online libraries provide the rest. As long as the writer is willing to improve his technical skills through self-training and self-teaching, I don't see any problem with a Philippines based writer taking college level orders. I speak from experience, having a few Philippine based writers on staff, I have learned that these writers can actually level-up their writing skills. Provided the company (that's me) gives them the required technical skills training that they require. I require the same training be applied to all my writers, regardless of where they come from. You would be surprised at how many US based writers I have on staff who needed to be trained in research paper formatting and advanced essay writing. Luckily, the training they received from the company helped improve their writing skills so they were able to eventually break out of high school level paper writing. I refer to both the Asian and US writers on my staff in this instance.