What are your tips for OUTSOURCING?

Always check credentials, just because somebody sends you lots of links to sites, or fantastic samples of writing, does not mean they actually produced them. Put simply, a lot of these people will lie to get the job, then provide far lower quality results.

Insist that the completed work be of similar quality to any samples they provide, stipulate quite clearly that you will not pay for work that is inferior to the samples they sent you to win the job.

Define your deliverables, the more information you give in your project brief, the greater the chance of you receiving what you want.

NEVER EVER pay in advance, always use the escrow service, if any freelancer ever tells you that they need any form of advance payment, kick them in to touch.

For larger projects, agree on milestone payments, with a percentage of the project cost being paid at key phases of the project.

I could go on and on, I've seen it all on these sites, most of my regular clients found their way to me through them and tell some nightmare stories about previous freelancers.

Just use your common sense, and you should be fine.

As a writer, my only additions to the above terrific advice would be:

1. Always, always be clear in what you need ahead of time
2. Develop a good working relationship, set deadlines, and outline reasonable expectations.
3. Bonuses are always nice

As for finding writers, the classifieds section here is great, Guru.com is good, and you can also let Deborah Ng at freelancewritinggigs.com know about your job openings.

HTH,
Cary