Nothing, I prefer native English writers.
I checked few samples written by Indians, and I found grammar mistakes.

0.75 cent per word.
$7.5 per 1000 words.

Hopefully, neither of you sell writing services.


One of the most expensive writers I've used was in India. She was a quality writer and able to command prices as high as, and even higher, than native English speakers in the U.S. or UK. I doubt she'd ever write for a fraction of a cent a word.

I recently read on another forum that people on the WF are viewed as a load of cheapskates (yes, I know, another sweeping generalization). But, in this instance you are absolutely correct: you get what you pay for, or maybe I should say, what you are are prepared to pay for.

I couldn't agree more, there are people who may well accept this rate, but you have to question whether they are able to provide a 'quality service'.

My problem with outsourcing content writing in India, is that the English that is taught, tends to be formal English and therefore mis-matched with most writing work needed for my on-line activities.

Structurally their work tends to be great. However, it is the choice of words that sometimes loses the flow for Indian writers.

I am acutely aware that this is a slight generalisation. However, I've noticed that the quality of writers is far better, when you outsource to the Philippines.



mytoy78

Should I pay per word or I pay monthly payment?

I don't know about oDesk or Freelancer, but this is against Elance's TOS. Buyers are not allowed to require bidders to write a sample specifically for them unless they are willing to pay for it. Just ask them to submit samples of previous work.

Who told you that you are an excellent writer? They lied.

The OP's math is way off - the price being quoted is .0075/word, not .75/word.

You won't hire U.S. writers at that price. I think the comment about Indian writers (which she changed) is based on the only responses she had for such low pricing. Of course there are good Indian writers - but they don't work for that amount, either.

If you want good 1000 word articles from a U.S. writer, expect to pay at least three times the price you are quoting.

kay

I don't know which makes me sadder: the fact that people want and expect to employ full-time writers at $0.75 per 100 words, or the fact that global economic circumstances apparently predicate that some writers are actually willing to accept those terms.

I personally use Odesk and it hasnt let me down so far, try it out.

There is no reason that Indians, or people from any country for that matter, cannot learn to speak and write English with perfect grammar.

However - even Indians who have mastered English mechanics still do not write and speak in the same style and manner as someone who grew up speaking English and living in a western country.

It's not about the grammar or the spelling, it's about writing style, word choices, metaphors, and references that are used. Look at TechNHome's posts in this thread. Nothing wrong with them, perfectly readable, but anyone from the United States, Canada, or Great Britain can instantly see that TechNHome is not a native speaker.

When you live and grow up in a country and are immersed in its culture for decades you learn to spot the differences in how people from outside your home talk pretty quickly.

If you are looking for purely technical content where you don't care if the person can be spotted as a non-native speaker then it's fine. But if you are outsourcing content that is meant to sound like it's coming from a single mom in Chicago then the number of Indian (or Pakistani or Chinese or Russian) writers who could pull that off gets very very small indeed and they are not going to be available for less than a penny a word that's for sure.

Now you are joking.........right? You hire educated writers and treat them like children -- and pay them crap to boot. I can't even get my head around the idea of an experienced writer writing for that little - but to work for someone this condescending? Something is very wrong with those people. Period.

Your best bet is craigslist. You will constantly have to work with new writers. No one will keep writing for that rate if there is any research required at all.

But if you're willing to put the time in, you will find enough people to burn through for all your content needs I'm sure.

I agree 100%

I doubt that will fly with Elance and other freelance sites, although I don't know for sure. I personally don't think it is reasonable to expect people to write a sample article for 1/5 of their normal rate, but that's just me. If buyers want to test writers to see if they're a good fit, they can start with a small job first - at the provider's regular rate. If providers want to offer that to get new clients, then that's different. Many types of service professionals offer a first-time discount to new clients.

The standard practice is to ask potential providers to submit samples of previous work or to look at their portfolio. Any serious writer will have a portfolio. That should be sufficient to determine the quality of their writing. Granted, if the provider doesn't have an established feedback history then buyers are taking a risk. I'm sure there's probably the occasional provider whose sample articles were actually written by someone else, but that's a foolish move if they want regular work.

Btw, please don't take this wrong as I'm not trying to be rude, but if you really believe that "most people are completely happy with this option", then in your article writing offer in your signature, why don't you offer the first article for $5 instead of $25 (unless you charge $125 per article and $25 is for a reduced-price sample article)?

I like how people will happily slap down tons of money on "Instant Income On Autopilot" programs that are obviously way to good to be true but if you ask them pay more than $5.00 for something that's actually going to help them they act like YOU'RE the scammer.

This thread has become very entertaining.

Alot of foreigners are getting antsy about remarks made against non-Americans writing skills.

It's nothing personal guys it's just business and truthful business at that.
If you want quality English articles you need a Native American to do the writing for you.
Foreigners just can't match that. Sure they can beat the American prices very easily, but the quality matches the prices.

The easiest answer to your problem:
Look everywhere until you find a descent writer that YOU like that does good work, that is willing to negotiate and compromise.

And remember... you get what you pay for.

There is no fast answer to anything it's all trial and error.

I'm happy to write an article for .0075 a word. There's a small catch. I charge a $125 email delivery fee per article. Martin