Is it possible to make a living doing example academic writing?

Hi all

I am a university lecturer and writer. I've been searching the web for writing jobs as I want to stop teaching and write full-time. (I've just completed a dissertation (MA) on Oscar Wilde and loved the process.) The problem is, searching the net I've come across a number of sites that pose different problems: Elance is obviously legit - but it seems virtually impossible to get work (you seem to need to spend days putting proposals together - the proposals:actual work ratio don't seem economically viable or even sensible), oDesk pays peanuts although they have good tests, the majority of sites seem to be scams. Is there anyone on this site who can give me advice? Is it possible to make a living doing academic writing?

Hi linguaga
sadly, recommendations are not allowed in this forum, however, have you considered working as a freelance writer that is not bound to a company? Many writers I know, apart from having a job with multiple writing companies, work individually as well.

Sadly, this post was two weeks old before you came along with some really generic advice. Maybe you ought to stick to "observing"?

Sallysuelovesyou

Thank you for a response that is both useful and, surprisingly (for this site), not rude.

Kizzy has been trying to contact me but I am apparently unable to respond. See the following message:

We're sorry! Due to "S2Papers" fraudulent and illegal spamming activities, you must post at least 15 useful messages in order to be able to contact this Member via email. Please note that if you try to post useless, short messages just to be able to contact this Member, your account will be be suspended!

So please bear with me. I look forward to invigorating replies! I'm not able to keep track of all the rules and regulations of the various sites I've been on, so I can only hope I don't get suspended while trying to connect with a student who seems to have a reasonable request.

Hm, that's really very humane of you. I must appreciate your perseverance.

Meokhan

Thank you for your response. It's quite rare to see a response that is not insulting, offensive and utterly stupid. I see you've been through the mill. You also seem to be amazingly persistent in the face of members who excel at being .... oh, I don't know, words fail me. Good luck.

sss

Thanks you got the humor at last. Please be informed that what you have been doing here is against the rules.

I'm not sure what rules you are referring to - if it is the one about have to post 15 times - well, wouldn't that be an absurd rule. Please count my posts from now on Meokhan, it won't get anywhere near 15. No time to figure out the rules - I have actual work to do.

Smile a little, and enjoy life.

I am really sorry to have disturbed your busy schedule. I'd wish you all the luck. Good you don't know what rules!

I frequent this forum quite often but have always been reluctant in participating in the discussions.

Anyhow, I thought of giving it a go today :)

So basically I am an academic writer. I work with one major writing company. I cannot work with any of the other major companies for the simple reason that they don't hire ESL. Coming to the topic of discussion of this thread, I think the answer is, 'it depends'. I have been working as a full - time academic writer since the last three years and my earnings haven't been great. In a typical month, I earn anything between £200 and £1000 before tax (and on some rare occasions, I manage to earn £2000), which isn't great and cannot provide for a decent living. But it is fine for me considering that I am a full time mum and my husband earns very well. However, I have heard cases (on internet forums) of full - time writers earning over £4000 a month.

So I wouldn't say that the prospects are bad in this career. I relate my low earnings to two factors:

(1) I work for just one writing site so the work I get is relatively less, and

(2) Even from the work that I am offered, I only take up work that I am very confident in (I have only written on subjects that I am specialized in and have never tried other 'related' subjects).

So basically if you work with a number of writing companies and can write on a variety of subjects, there is a possibility that you could have a great career in academic writing :) Best wishes for all your future endeavors.

When do you ever get time to write for students? Has pheelyks infected you with the same disease of hanging around this forum doing nothing?...............Don't try to imitate WritersBware. she has all the time in the world to hang around a sad forum and greatly spew out her virtrol in a bid to make herself feel better(You know,wimps in real life like her always resort to INTERNET to 'lord' over others and make them feel like they are in charge.

You do realize these posts take all of a minute for us to write, right? I spend a total of about half an hour here on the average day, which leaves me plenty of time for my two careers and my family.

I'm pretty sure that I would be able to beat the s-i* out of you in person, as well.

By the way, moron, I get an instant alert whenever someone replies to a thread in which I have recently posted. I don't "have all the time in the world to hang around" this forum. Perhaps, if you had a better grasp of modern technologies, you would understand.

100% correct: since you work for two companies and, on average, you get 2 1500 word essays per month,(earning an astonishing $150 per month then i understand your schedule

but i am just curious: since when did jerking 5 times a day become part of one's family???
mmmmm...........good points to think about


No, you wouldnt. FYI, i am towering intellectual who only publishes in peer review journals and would never engage in physical fights with a proven and irredeemable Psychopath. I am too mature for that.

Technologically, i am millions of miles ahead of you; just the other day my prototype next generation smartphone was thoroughly scrutinized by a European Phone Company. i am sure if it is developed, you will be among the first to line up in the stores.

Why do you care? It's none of your business, right? So please leave me alone.


I can see that very well!


Peer-reviewED


You have impressed us to an enormous extent!

Why would you bother to pick up fights with us then? It'd be nice of you, the "towering intellectual", to leave this forum and show off yourself a place where people can buy it - we won't.

But not to engage in petty bickering on the Internet with a set of made up facts that changes to suit your needs and temperaments.

I believe that you have a typo. You meant to type, "I am too manure . . . ."

Nice correction. You are now a Shakespeare, aren't you?
BTW, who told your decrepit mind that typos are a sign of intellectual/linguistic incompetence?. Unlike you, i never check my posts for grammatical errors before. I am not here to impress students with my skills.

Still, in your thick skull you assume because you can 'correct' other members' typos, student observers will fall for your 'services' and contact you.
Poverty dehumanizes and baptizes every struggling MeowCon out there with a new name- Uncle Tom


before i post, MeowCon

You are on a writers' forum so this has to be dealt with by anyone.

Why ARE you so concerned about my earnings, clients, etc.? You have said this thing a number of times. You've also repeatedly tried to disgrace me (and others) by tagging the such words as associated with 'poverty' countless time.

Analysis of your posts and similar words you have used throughout your posts shows to me you are in need of some mental therapy. You blame other for inferiority complex. However, anyone can see you're full of it.

I have NEVER in all of my posts said anything about your RACE, ECONOMIC status, COUNTRY, they way you make a LIVING, and so on. It's simply because I have a strong belief in presenting arguments for arguments - personal life of ANYONE is NEVER my concern.


Who knows!

Hi Linguaga,

Of course it's possible, it just depends on if you really want to do it. There's a marked difference between running an assignment / essay business and purely writing assignments. The fun part of the business is exceeding peoples expectations after they've been burned by dodgy operators. The not-so-fun part is chasing down leads when you're in start up mode. I digress... if your writing is exemplary, I may have some tasks that you can pick up in the next few weeks.

Kind regards,
EGR

I am a full-time writer, i am writing 1-2 assigments per day and i am in good financial shape.

The thing is to create a good relation with your supplier and to pick up reliable suppliers. networking with students and becoming expert on some courses can bring you lot of work.

@ prowritergr

Great motivation lines.

Kindly name the companies you are writing for. Your 'advice' will be helpful for writers.

Hi prowritergr,

Excellent to hear you're doing well. I've got a few assignments and some writers I've trialled that are not up to scratch.

Let me know if you have any capacity,

Cheers,

Earn Great Results

i do not live in the UK, USA, i am working with suppliers in my own country, ive my own student network and one in the UK who is a friend of mine. The 80% of the assignments are in my mother tongue. My view is to set up your own network of students, make good offers, good services and try to direct on your communication, talk face to face instead of chat, email and etc.

I tried to work with some of the web sites mentioned here, i think one was UKessays but i dont like their way, it is too "fake" for me nor i like the giving my ID and personal info to a stranger. I am friends with some of my partners and we have a mutual understanding on how to work.

i had some typos so it's

I tried to work with some of the web sites mentioned here, i think one was UKessays but i dont like their way, it is too "fake" for me and i dont like giving my ID and personal info to a stranger. I am friend with some of my partners and we have a mutual understanding on how to work.

No problem, I'm based in Australia.

Earn Great Results

sent you a msg

It is possible if you adopt the pheelyks approach as itemized below:

a) Claim you are a native writer and thus you can write professionally in the English language.
b)Align yourself with the high priestess of essay writing(WB)
c) Claim that because English is your first language , you can write even in technical subjects like engineering even though you only possess a weak degree in theater or something

d) Always attack other writers because you think you are the only one who can write.
e) produce garbage for students and when they complain, threaten them that you will report them to their universities.
f) spam forums with your sly ads

That's the pheelyks approach and thus far it has worked for him- at least without the problem of dealing with repeat clients since, as per information in my possession, he has 0 repeat clients

I do claim this. It's also true, which helps.

When two people agree on the truth, it is hardly sign of a strong personal alliance.


I don't claim this at all. I only take orders I am competent to complete, and while there are several technical subjects I am happy to help customers with I do not take orders that are beyond my technical knowledge or abilities.


There are many other excellent writers in this industry and on this forum. I do not "always" do anything, and I certainly do not think I am the only one who can write.


I don't do either of these things. The only time I have reported someone to their university is when they began publicly claiming to have turned in my work as their own--this creates a legal danger for me and is not something I can stand idly by.


The vast majority of my posts are in response to scammers like you trying to denigrate me. I'm not trying to be sly, but it does end up being pretty good advertising, so thanks!


Unfortunately, you have yet to share a single scrap of the "information" supposedly in your possession, so the rest of us just have to assume you're the lying piece of s-i* you are.

In all honesty, it is actually possible to make a living doing academic writing. I've been living off the fruits of my academic writing labors for the past 20 plus years. I managed to get some pretty decent savings out of it and, properly invested, can really help to keep the bills paid and deliver a pretty decent lifestyle. It isn't going to make you rich, but you won't be in debt either. Since you are a university lecturer, you will already have an upper hand on everyone else. You are already in the academic field, have university contacts, and students whom you can approach to help you get started. In fact, compared to everyone else here, you are already halfway towards making a pretty decent income sans the regular university lecturer job. Try to work for yourself and promote your services. Most of the writing companies are scams and sites like Odesk and Elance practically want you to do the work for free. Best bid is normally the lowest bid. So that may not be the way to go for you. With your already existing network, it won't be long before you make a go of this career.

Absolutely. Writing academic papers enables writers to receive competitive salary. The more you write, the more you get.

If you want to make a living doing this job, you have to make sure that you have the writing abilities to do so. Don't think that this job is so simple that all you have to do is know how to write. This is a job that requires a dedication to the craft, an eye for excellence, and a willingness to serve others. It also requires the writer to be a voracious reader whose comprehension skills are that of an advanced level. It cannot be of an elementary or high school level. That is why this line of work is better done by someone who has completed at least an undergraduate degree. A writer of a lower academic proficiency will simply drown under the work requirements. The writer will not be able to meet it. So, to answer your question, certain types of writers can make a living doing model academic paper writing. Just because one can write does not mean that they will be successful as an academic writer.

It may still be possible to make a living as a freelance academic writer, but as I do agree that it's not as easy as many think. As a 20-year veteran of this work, I've seen plenty folks come and go. I've known dozens of people - fine freelance writers all - who tried and failed to make a living as an academic writer. Due to increased competition and decreased number of newly enrolled students, the overall trend is regressive; there are up to 30% less research orders available today than it was several years ago.

One needs to be able to read and quickly understand assignment requirements of all kinds; to be able to conduct research in many different fields, and to quickly and effectively synthesize the information one gathers; to be able to organize the written work according to the specific format called for in the instructions; and, of course, to be able to write about the gathered information.

In addition, multiple deadlines need to be tracked and met, communication with clients needs to be direct and consistent, and the inevitable revision requests need to be handled appropriately. Really, it's like any other field: lots of people may attempt the job, and may even be successful to some extent, but relatively few are true professionals.

Yes. If you're a good writer, it's just a matter of learning how to do it more efficiently and building a clientele gradually but steadily.

The past years have seen an increase in the number of people who are attempting to get into academic writing (whether freelance, or that scholarly stuff). The market has been so highly saturated the past years. Aside from that, it's been quite tough trying to find academic writing service providers who do not fully rip off their writers. A lot of them scrap of so much of the work.

I think this question also is dependent on other factors like where you live, are you supporting anyone else or just a single person, etc. If you live in, for instance, a third world or developing country; then, surely, it would suffice. This is especially if you earn in USD or Euros. You'll be fine. But if you're an individual who lives in an expensive country, then I doubt that you would be okay with what you're going to be earn from freelance academic writing. But also, to note, I have noticed that a lot of new writers are from developing or third world countries. This means getting a competitive pay is even harder because they bid lower prices than those ENL writers. So again, it depends. I guess if you're wildly and amazingly talented at writing, then maybe you could? It's difficult. But I guess it's doable. But I've never personally seen someone do it.

I think it boils down to this: If you plan to work freelance, be prepared to have lots of rejections. If you plan to work tightly academically writing (like in an educational institution), then be prepared to spend more money getting your first stunts published before you start actually making money off of it.

On what basis do you draw this conclusion?

You are mistaken if you think that you will actually be doing example academic writing for students. The students use the "Example" as an excuse to have a ghost writer work on their assignments and research papers, even examinations if possible. You are paid to track down and use relevant research material, collate the information from the material, and then put it into a usable essay format for the student, depending on the writing style requirement of the student. There is no "example" at all in this writing job. You are writing a new paper for the student which, he is definitely submitting for a grade. In exchange for your hard work, you can earn more than a decent income from doing this job. You can actually manage to save up for a retirement fund if you do the job properly for a realistic length of time.