pay rates: does anyone pay more than 3-4 dollars per page routinely?

I am wondering whether there are better paying freelance writing jobs out there.

yes.

Of course - $3-4 is unheard of amongst the reputable companies!

Absolutely.

Thanks! Now, the next question is where to find them. Right now, although the copywriting, editing, and writing that I do are largely fascinating, the pay just barely pays for the electricity the computer uses. I suspect that my pay would be attractive for someone living in another, less expensive country.

If anyone is willing to share names of companies that do pay well, I would be most appreciative. The firm I have been writing for advertises per page rates starting at 4$ but usually starts at 3$. I am not sure whether I am allowed to mention names...This firm has been criticized widely, but has paid more or less promptly, albeit at a pitiful level.

I am also interested in hearing how others have managed going solo. It makes me nervous because I cannot figure out how to ensure payment - I suppose I could figure out how to set up a PayPal account (although aren't those usually in conjunction with an entity such as EBay?), but how do I protect myself?

As a mom with an MBA and an undergraduate degree from an Ivy League university, I have lots to offer, but my familiarity with the internet, and doing business over the web is limited by having been immured in mommy-land for a decade-plus. It's a bit overwhelming!

I guess I am nattering, but I do see that there are some experienced folks on this website, and I would be thrilled to benefit from some of your insights.

Thanks!

Recommendations are, unfortunately, not allowed.

Sounds as if you work with EW or AR?

There are several excellent US-based companies. They have been in operation for eons and neither scam nor fine their writers.

Just search ...

I am scared to mention the company's initials until I have something better to count on. It is one of the ones that has been skewered regularly in the past on this site.

Of course, I would like steady work with, for example, a department of a university or other research institution, but I find the quondam ans putative flexibility of the online work appealing. Of course, it is effectively NOT all that flexible, especially for someone with other duties.

What search terms would you suggest searching on? The firm I work for claims US location, but I am fairly certain, from the Hindi and Russian language clues in the work that I do, that the location could be elsewhere(do you think??.

My favorite job was editing a dissertation on counter-terrorism. FUN! My customer received a Distinguished mark on it. Boy, this intermittent reinforcement is a powerful addictant!

All advice welcomed!

thanks

$3-$4 dollars is an extremely rare rate, even for those of us who started out in this industry without much information and guidance. Sites like Essaywriters.net will offer between $0.75 and $2.95 during this time of the year although even that, is just an off season rate because they are sure that most writers who solely depend on them will not have much of a choice. But the high season will see almost every company except allwriting.net raise their cpps to a minimum of $10. Just keep looking around- a rate of $3-$4 dollars is meant for proofreading.

If, however, you find yourself working at this rate for a long period of time then you are either lazy to look around or probably in the wrong industry. You sound like you deserve higher rates.

That is absolutely not true.

Its quite hard to establish the absolute truth on that so I will not defend that position with any passion.
I would love to hear someone who has been in the industry for more than six months talk about working at the rates below what Benancindy is talking about because she sounds new in the business.

Yes, I am a newbie, although not in age or life experience. However, in this online writing stuff, yes indeedie. The last time someone else was paying for my work computer, I did not have a mouse on my desk! I have had to teach myself all the details of mouse, Windows, and internet use by myself. My son is learning them in elementary school. He says I am, "So Twentieth Century, mom!" This contributes to my lack of confidence.

I know that I can help people, and, indeed, a proposed amendment to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Civil Rules of Judicial Procedure on which I worked with a college classmate and long-time friend was just accepted by Hon. Ronald Castille this last spring (yay!). I did all the editing of the legal language, and wrote or edited most of the myriad letters with which we lobbied for this constructive (albeit very narrow and specialized) change to the law of the land. Not a penny of pay for several years of work, of course, but it helped my friend and will help others who are being persecuted by frivolous lawsuits.

My recent searches (thank you for the urging) have not turned up anything obvious in the way of well-paying online writing jobs, but I guess I need to be persistent and as creative on my own behalf as I am on behalf of my clients.

The area wherein I have developed a new, modest expertise is in SEO copywriting. I would ideally like to be able to offer the whole spectrum of service - finding out which keywords to use, for example. My researches are slow. So much is left unsaid; do I have to pay for keywords? And if so, what am I (or my client) paying for in that transaction? My MBA is practically useless in all this since the vocabulary has changed so drastically. Once I get the jargon under my belt, I am sure that it will all resolve into familiar marketing issues, however. Any suggestions of good, clear articles that do not presuppose prior knowledge?? There are plenty of small businesses that clearly need a better, more effective web presence, and I would love to help them achieve it.

And suggestions for search terms to uncover good, reputable well-paying firms? WHen I searched on writing jobs+USA based+high pay (how crass!), Custompapers.com popped up. Is this a known entity? It does not immediately look like the company I have worked for, which definitely has multiple web-names.

Your thoughts and experience and insights are most encouraging. Thank you.

The company you mentioned is one of the oldest in the business and would not have survived for over a decade were it not reputable.

I like CustomPapers.com because they pay right after I complete the project (sometimes even on the same day) and you have all the freedom of work without any supervision and control. And they always pay without unnecessary delays. I guess they are more focused on customer service than pampering writers. If you're interested in a posted project, you bid on it (ie. write for how much you'd be willing to complete it) and to my understanding based on the writer's bid they send a quote to the client. If project requirements change after I placed my bid they send me an email and ask if my bid still stands and if I can still do it (if not I can revise my bid or just cancel it). If a client demands a rewrite or something that was not included in the original instructions they ask me how much I want to charge to fix it and pay me the asked amount if client pays.

Another good thing is that if a client used a stolen credit card on my assigned project they don't reverse my payment but they buy the project from me and probably post it as an example paper. In contrast to some other sites I used to have an account with (essaywriters.net especially), I've never been "penalized" by CustomPapers because there was no reason to "penalize" me ;-). One time I couldn't finish the paper on time, so I wasn't paid because the client couldn't extend his deadline and demanded a refund. I took my risk and lost. But that's something you can expect if you try to take too many orders during a busy season or if you have an emergency (from then on I always email my client if I anticipate any delays to avoid the risk of not being paid).

Overall, I can log in to the writers panel at any time and if I see something interesting I bid on it and then wait if my bid was paid/accepted (they let me know if I got the project usually within 24 hrs from the time I placed my bid; if I don't get a project I just don't hear from them). I have accounts with 4 or 5 other sites so I share my time between them all (especially during slow seasons).

But that comes with some negatives as well. What I don't like is that with CustomPapers you never know if a project you bid on will get paid and will be assigned to you. Other sites make projects available only after they have been paid, so that's more convenient (for a writer; not necessarily for a client). It takes some practice to learn on how many projects to bid so that you don't end up with too many or too few projects. Still, it's usually not a problem to ask them to reassign a project if you feel you're not going to complete it on time (provided you let them know in advance). It takes some time to get used to their system; when you do it works pretty well. Still, I think most writers (especially newbies) would prefer to know in advance if projects they see on the board are paid, so this is something for CustomPapers to improve, if possible.

One of the best analysis I have read in this entire forum. It contains the "SWOTs" of the company. I am not sure it wouldn't be considered a recommend though.

Beatrice,

I can relate to your experience with CP. I tend to take projects from them on a sporadic basis due to various reasons so their system fits me just fine. I also have a real job (my husband keeps telling me doing contract freelance writing online is risky) and take projects from my own steady clients. I love the fact they usually pay the day after I complete a project (unless I'm unlucky and have to fight with a jerky client). The only thing I don't like is that I have to spend a lot of time to read project requirements and bid, and even then, I'm not guaranteed an assignment. But that also applies to my private clients who often waste my time and never pay : (. Do you have an account with other American companies, for example SNR? Is their system a little more friendly? I have an account with AR and EW, but their rates per page are too low to my liking.

C.

what should a student expect to pay for editing services? thanks

It simply depends on the depth of editing required in a paper. A good writer will always insist on offering a price after going through the paper.

In my view, if someone puts a price up front, there may be something fishy.

Not that you would know anything about one....

Yes a good writer is arrogant, is taught swear words at home, commits errors in his/her mother-tongue (so sad), and still claims (self-proclamation like MJ's being KOP) to be perfect = Pheelys, WritersBeware. At least I know two of em.

My bad!

I've never claimed to be perfect, and have fully admitted when I've made mistakes. The fact that you find mistakes where they don't exist in others' writing and refuse to see them in your own writing makes you a bad writer, and a lot more arrogant than WB or I.

$4 is not a price! There's no road-block to find something better!

I have many a time (especially in response to your posts) have admitted my English is not perfect. You have never admitted any mistakes, and I guess you'll never do that.

Yet you self-righteously defend your right to these imperfections as issues born out of national/cultural preference rather than a lack of fluency and understanding. Unless you're actually trying to learn, acknowledging imperfections doesn't matter.


Yes, I have, but the things you latch onto as "mistakes" usually aren't.

Yes, but you have to be working for yourself to achieve the proper rates. Working for an essay writing company limits you to even a dollar of less per page. At these companies, the rates that you mention are the going rate, depending on the project.

$3-$4 represents an advanced writers rate at the essay writing companies coming out of certain sectors of the globe. These are companies that cannot be considered legitimate for any reason. Legitimate companies pay far higher rates, with independent writers normally charging a fee based on a "take it or leave it" scale. The norm these days is usually a dollar per page for the gray area companies. That is the entry level fee. While the next level fee is close to $2 dollars per page. Rather than increasing their writers salaries to help them out during these financially difficult times, they are lowering it to almost unlivable levels for their third world writers.