How Many TOP QUALITY Writers Exist on DigitalPoint?

Before you read this, please note one thing: I am not writing this to offend any talented writers that already exist on DigitalPoint (jhmattern et al) I know some do exist, I am simply curious as to the volume of these people.

Hi,

How many quality authors do you think use DigitalPoint to find writing jobs and contacts? By quality I don't mean the best (I appreciate that good writers can charge thousands for a good piece), I am simply talking about someone who's writing would be worthy of paying around $100 for a 2000-word piece. EDIT: I think 'top quality' was too strong a description to use in the title, I perhaps should have just used 'quality'.

I guess my real question is this: if I was looking for a writer like this (this is all completely hypothetical, don't PM me asking for a job!) would I be able to find them here? If not, where would I try?

Thanks

 

If you have mpney to pay them, you will find them here or anywhere...
Also try various free-lance websites like elance.com or ... I forgot... well, there are many websites that are specialising only at content.

 

You can find them here, but not by advertising. If I were in your hypothetical shoes (please let them be Converse) I would look around at the discussions in the forums and then review the portfolios of the writers there and approach them individually. This way you can see the quality of their writing (yeah, it's a forum, but good writers should have a recognizable voice even in a relaxed setting), review their portfolios and decide who is a good fit.

Your other options include advertising for writers on Craigslist or on freelance writing sites that allow people to post ads. Good hypothetical luck ;P

 

You seem to have a good style even in a relaxed setting Sketchers I'm afraid though, but I'm buying some new ones next week, I hate the ones I have .

I think that's a very good idea and I *may* (for this is, of course, a completely hypothetical problem) do a bit of scouting...

 

There are quite a few here that I know of, although for everyone good writer there are ten horrible ones. I imagine this thread might grab you a few PM's

 

Believe me, they've already started..!

Now I just wish I hadn't given a figure in my post, even if it was just an example!

 

Haha here I'll help you out a bit so you don't get screwed.

First of all never hire anyone for less than $.015 per word (this is in USD), the quality just won't be where you need it, no matter who you hire. Between $.015 and $.025 per word will get you a "fair" quality writing - meaning good enough for the search engines and the average high-school educated reader. This price tier should also get you spelling and grammatical error-free writing.

"Quality" usually starts around $.03 per word but can go as high as $.10 cents per word, at this point it doesn't have as much to do with skill as it does what writers are willing to work for. For example I know a writer who chargers $.03 cents a word and is much better than another writer who charges $.05, but because the writer who charges $.05 cents per word is in a specialized field, he can get away with it. This price tier should output work that an undergrad would not have a problem with.

Last but not least we have the "anything above $.10 per word tier", which is comprised of three different kinds of people: those who overcharge, those who are full of shit, and those that are experts in their niche. This price tier is what you may expect to pay a doctor, lawyer, scientist, etc. on a niche piece. I would never hire a "general" writer in this price tier, but that's just me. The only exception to this rule is the creative writing field (short stories, books, etc).

Hope that helps some

 

It makes me wonder how could they offer very low price writing these articles.
70% of me thinks that most of the articles were spuns from the originals although I can't be sure.

 

Hypothetically speaking, we are here...
Perhaps we should advertise more...but in a market with so many spun articles, original work comes with...original price and as you so ...eloquently put it, talent may be more expensive than you might expect.

Still, freelancing sites might get you close to the target of getting your content written beautifully, but you should be ready to spend a considerable amount of time recruiting there and the odds are good to find both writers and poor excuse of...

Ordering bulk work for the sake of bulk price will make people write in an infernal rhythm to get the work done so the time spent on it will be worth the money they get.

On the other hand if you expect quality, you may be sure that the writer needs to research the niche before writing it so the price will not start at $0.10/word.

The bottom line is: if you need quality content be prepared to pay.

My advice would be ask for previous work samples, or published work. The good writers, research and write on many topics so the more versatile they are, the better are your odds to get brilliant work done.

Best of luck to you.

 

lol

Now, THAT, was funny!

There are a few of us here.

You can also find good writers at content sites, like, say, magazine sites. Just send them an e-mail.

Forget about article dumpers, like, Ezine.

 

Converse lets you design your own sneakers now: http://www.converse.com/?CSID=44_kwid/#/products/shoes/converseOne/scratch

 

The writers out here are the good ones rest...........if you want yourself to be called good write here!!!!!!!!

 

I'm mainly a content buyer and do find it hard to find real native-speaking writers on DP.... even if they claim they are native-speaking writers, they usually aren't. It's a little deceitful but I guess that's the nature of the business to get sales.

Would love to find more top quality writers but not many seem to advertise in the Content Creation section?

 

I used to write all kinds of content here, from adult articles to pieces on the weather in Seattle and even, on one occasion, on engine maintenance.

I did that for around 3 months - then I realized that trying to find legit gigs on DP was a waste of time and energy. Since then I have gone back to writing the odd piece for various magazines; I do miss the extra money DP brought in though.

The reality is that more and more "writers" are coming in and "stealing" our work; if we charge a fair rate for a native English speaker who is committed to providing the best content they can, (let's call it 0.03 p/w,) then we are immediately priced out by mediocre writers who will write a 500 word "article" for $1.

People constantly cheap out and get what they pay for, yet they never seem to change.

I've been published in well known magazines and I still couldn't get work at what would equate to the US minimum wage here on DP.

 

Apart from basic writing and grammatical skills, quality is often in the eye of the beholder. It is very hard to judge quality in thin air between two writers who have good essential/basic writing, language and grammatical skills, and a writer's quality and fitness for a writing job depends on the specific features of the task/topic at hand. Also, a judgement about a writer's quality based on what a writer charges or manages to get from clients isn't necessarily accurate.

 

If they're charging 0.50 p/100 you have to ask questions, though;
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1760687

 

Well I won't be so sure of that. There has been times when I have been real bored and did articles (300 words) for $1. Not too bad when you sit at home and don't want to play any more MMO's.

Unfortunately I do work full time and article writing is a leisurely past time for me. Not something I depend on in the least.

You also forget... if people are from different countries...say South Africa... $1 is the equivalent of R6 or just a bit more there. For R6.00 you can buy some milk, bread and maybe a small sweetie. For some people that is all they need on a daily basis...food, water, and accommodation.

If I was still back in South Africa, I would happily write full time for someone if they paid me $400.00 as that would be a decent salary for a month where I can pay my rent, get food and buy clothes.

 

Just a few actually, tried one some time ago

 

Update to this post:

I posted an advertisement for people to write for me but I wanted high quality stuff, and I got a flood of people offering $5 per 2,000 words and the stuff was just terrible.

I think I've found a couple of decent people though (obviously for much more than $5!)

 

The crappy people and their articles exist because there are buyers looking for them. There are always problems though, like buyers complaining of quality or stolen content.

If you want to get something that cost $100, you need to pay at least $100. You'll never get it for $10. Some buyers just don't understand and some writers are happy grabbing opportunities here and there.