When you say I work for those websites, what do you mean?

Many people say that they work for ******* or UKessay.co.uk or UKessays.co.uk

My question is, how did you join them? I think those websites are for customers.

Like most other professional websites, most essay companies also have "employment" or "jobs" links somewhere on them. Some of them also advertise for writers on job boards. In my case, I send them my resume and writing samples, they do whatever they do on their end to verify my info, and then they send over a formal agreement to sign and return. That's probably standard for legitimate companies.

And non-legitimate ones too

Fantastic point. I also left out the fact that both legitimate and "non-legitimate" [sic] retail stores, investment firms, landscapers, and chimney sweeps all execute formal agreements with their employees and independent contractors as well. Thank you for pointing that out.

Have you been an exwriter that long that you forgot that the antonym of legitimate is illigitimate?

or even 'Illegitimate' if you would care to spell it correctly.

Oh and yes, although illegitimate is the antonym of legitimate it is not incorrect to refer to something as being non-legitimate, as I am sure you will agree, unless you are going to argue that ANYONE who refers to something as NON-LEGITIMATE has got it wrong.

findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3643/is_200004/ai_n8889803

People who say they work for these websites mean just that.

They work for that particular website which is most likely the mother company of some umbrella companies. These academic writing sites try to start up and maintain various writing "fronts" as websites for the clients to sign up with.

There is however, only one company in charge of all of these sites The writers don't even know half the time what the umbrella companies are until it starts showing up in the communications with the client via PM. In order to join the company, you can ask for website details of the mother company from the client assistance officers.

Ask if they have an opening for writers and usually, when the response is affirmative, they send you a link to the mother site where the application process takes place. The umbrella companies also have "jobs" links on the main site, which lead you back to the mother company for application purposes.

Some of them give an email address that you can send your resume to then, once your application has been reviewed, you will receive a link to take a test within the mother company site and from there, if you pass the test that is, you will be given the keys to the kingdom where you can finally create your writer profile and start "working" for them.

I am not sure what the OP could not understand about the term being used by the writers. When they say they work for certain or a series of websites, that means the writer is employed or has work agreements with those companies. They applied either through the actual website, following a Work for Us link or, through an affiliate site that led him to work for the mother company. Work is work. They were looking for work, found an opening they felt they qualified for, applied for the job, and got hired. Nothing mysterious or hard to understand about that. Admittedly, there is no formal contract existing in this work scenario so maybe, there is a mistake in term usage? I think it would be better if writers said they were "affiliated with", rather than "working for" since the lack of a work contract (in some instances) does not acknowledge the writer as a regular employee of the company. Since I offer an employment contract to my writers, I have no problem with them telling others that they work for my company. It is their right to do so since we have a working relationship based on their contract with my company.

It's all semantics. There's always a contractual relationship irrespective of whether or not it's in writing. Whatever the agreement or mutual understanding is (such as relating to pay rates) between writers and companies constitutes their contract, notwithstanding the difficulty of proving the terms of a verbal contract in any adversarial controversy where the terms of the agreement are material to the dispute, but that's a totally separate issue (of proof, not of whether or not a valid contract exists). A simple email exchange that says "We'll pay you $20 per page and all of your work for us must be original writing, delivered on time, and must always conform to the project specs" is an enforceable contract; so is a verbal conversation communicating the same without anything in writing at all. Generally, informal verbal agreements are contracts and they're just as valid and enforceable as formal written contracts; their terms are just much harder to prove in any dispute because there's nothing in writing. (Please note that when I say "enforceable," that just means it's no less valid or enforceable as a matter of law; it doesn't mean that proving your case is as easy as doing so when there's documentary evidence in the form of a written contract that can be used to make your argument and prove your claim to whatever extent the terms of the agreement are relevant to the dispute.)

I always referred to myself as having "written for" essay companies rather than as having been "employed" by them, simply because an independent contractor isn't really an "employee." The term "affiliated" is also somewhat inaccurate, IMO, because that term typically has a very different specific meaning in this industry, often referring to separate companies that have arrangements with one another to share customer orders and/or pools of writers.

I think that when writers say they "work for" a website, that means they are employed by the website. Although an employment contract is never part of the deal when working for an academic writing company, they do ask the writer to electronically agree with a prepared set of working conditions. These working conditions usually outline the company expectations of the writer, penalties, and fines, among other information. It is a different form of an employment contract that is meant to benefit only the company, it is never a two way street with these companies. The writers have to agree to the employment terms, even while still remaining "freelance", which in this case only means that they do not have a bundy clock to punch into at the start of the work day. They still work at their own pace, but not always at their own time.