How to evaluate (copy)writer's writing skills?

Can't judge an article from just a paragraph. Have to see the whole article.

Anyway, from this paragraph I didn't get much info of value that I couldn't already guess. Although well written, this paragraph sounds like filler. Good enough for a cheap article, but probably not for one which you pay "higher" amounts.

 

I second this - the sentences are a bit fluffy and the phrasing lacks a sense of continuity and flow. Grammar and such is fine, it's just cumbersome phrasing that makes those sentence hard to read. Solid enough if you're looking for filler, but not something that would bring much value to your project in the long term.

""With the weather about to turn, it’s important to give some consideration to your workout gear. If you think that winter fitness clothing has to feel bulky and uncomfortable, you should think again. With many of the new technologies in winter wear you can find the perfect fit that will keep you at just the right temperature for your workout without the extra fabric and heavy pieces."

Can easily be:

Workout gear should change with the seasons. The latest advancements in winter gear replace the heavy bulk you're used to with specialized fabrics to maintain your temperature without extra weight or material.

 

Yes, it should.

And since there are a lot of people out the who are tired of such short, no-substance articles....

*shrugs shoulders* You would think so, but that is not always the case.

 

Here's my critique...

Seasonal text. A good writer in the IM field should know that your articles are LIKELY to be scheduled for autoposting, and you may have several months of scheduled content already - so there's no way to know what time of year this will be posted.

This feels stilted and awkward. It also feels like the author's first language is from around the Pacific rim.

This is downright rude. The idiom is used correctly, but it's culturally inappropriate. Again, an Asian pattern.

This sentence is WAY too long and not punctuated correctly at all. I'd probably do it like this.

"With many of the new technologies in winter wear, you can find the perfect fit that will keep you at just the right temperature for your workout - without the extra fabric and heavy pieces."

But seriously... I wouldn't write a sentence that long.

This article is fairly priced at $3 for 500 words and not a ripoff at $5.

Author is not a professional in the English-speaking IM market, and almost certainly not a native English speaker - but the writing is not terrible. The grammar is inaccurate, the punctuation lacking, but the spelling is perfect.

This author is clearly trying to write on a professional level, and just hasn't quite found his way there yet - but the problems are minor, and quite likely cultural. I would speculate that an article written in his native language is probably worth two to three times as much, and perhaps more.

 

Are you Sherlock Holmes?

 

No, he's the expert on tobacco ashes.

I've just been a writer or an aspiring writer for over thirty years. I've read a lot of writing from a lot of people.

And surprise! I've got a product on article writing about to come out. Just writing the sales page for it.

 

I concede that everyone reads at different rates, and we're probably talking about articles of different lengths. I'm thinking of a solid 400-500 word article for about $50 with insight and clear language. For me, someone who reads a 250 pages in about an hour and a half, 3 minutes is more than sufficient for an article of that length.

Short doesn't mean no-substance by any stretch. However the majority of articles sold through DP are rather fluffy and keyword laden rather than substance based, so it's a fair argument either way.

 

I'd say the writeup is pretty good if you are looking at creative writing but from my experience, this is not an ideal web content. It is not a good idea to be using too many complex or compound sentences as the material may not come out engaging enough for "readers." When I write content, I always bear in mind that those who visit the page don't actually read, they just scan. Long winding sentences are no-no. It is better to break them up into short simple sentences.

 

From a webmasters point of view this is fairly low value filler, it seems written ok but just filler. It has no valuable info and almost no key words.

67 words with 2 keywords " workout gear" "fitness clothing" unless the website is completely tuned and optimized for these key words they will be fairly worthless.

This writing is not bad,, It is actually nice filler a person can put stuff like this in a site then go back and tweak keywords. It is just not worth $50. it would be good content for .001-.002 a word. But anyone with basic English skills can write this.

 

The answer to the original question is pretty simple:

1. Hire a separate native English speaking editor who can serve as an independent 3rd party to review articles before publication.

2. Review their portfolio. The most important samples are publicly available by-lined pieces written for clients (not their own sites and blogs where they might have posted someone else's work and slapped their name on it).

3. Review their client testimonials and case studies if they have any available. See who those clients are. Are they all non-native English speakers too? If so, again get a 3rd party opinion. Those clients might have had the same problem you mention of not being able to tell if an English language article is top notch or not -- they're just trusting the writer.

4. If you still can't be sure, then hire them just to do one article. That's their "sample." Asking for free custom samples is incredibly unprofessional. If you're serious about doing business with a service provider, you'll pay for the service they're providing -- just don't make more than a single article commitment until you've reviewed their work customized to your needs. That said, anyone spending good money on content or copy should be well-equipped to judge the writer based on their portfolio, with no custom samples or freebie requests needed.

 

I agree with this if they are paid on delivery.

Nobody should demand that you pay in advance on your first order.

 

When it comes to selling, it is the benefits that sell, rather than the features.

 

That depends on A) how badly you want the writer and how in demand they are and B) the type of writing you're looking for (something the writer can re-use or something so highly customized to your business that you're asking them to invest their otherwise billable time in something of absolutely no value to them).

 

If a writer has excellent spelling and grammar, it's a good indication that the quality of the content will be ok. If they've gone to the trouble of properly proofreading the article, they will probably care about the content too.

Also, I think you will be a good judge of how good an article is and the fact that you're not a native English speaker shouldn't affect that too much. You write very good English so you would clearly understand and be able to evalaute articles too.

$50 for a good, proficient writer, will get you a very high standard piece of writing. Good luck!

 

Not necessarily. It is quite possible to write useless gibberish with perfect spelling and grammar.

 

Well, since we're discussing the problem of not knowing how good a writer is before you hire them, I don't really think that's an issue. If you really want a particular writer, you almost certainly have some idea how good that writer is.

Think of it this way.

I want you to bet me this first order that you will do a good job.

And if you won't make that bet, you must think you're unlikely to do a good job.

Does it really matter what the job is?

 

You're right in that if they really want a certain writer, they should already know that the writer's good at what they do. I was just pointing out that it's not as absolute as you made it sound in your previous post. The type of writing definitely makes a difference for some -- whether or not it's something the writer can re-use (versus a press release or marketing copy about a company's product) determines how much of a risk it is to do free work. For me personally, there's no difference. All new clients pay in full up front (for anything $1000 or less), and I have a consistently booked schedule, waiting list, and no complaints about it. Then again, I work with clients who come to me through referrals or my network, so they fall into that group of folks who already have an idea of what they're getting. Frankly, I'd say any client who doesn't have an idea of what they're getting solely from looking at a portfolio either isn't equipped to be hiring writers at that level (that's a pretty basic part of the process) or they're looking at the wrong writers (generalists who are much harder to judge based on a portfolio).

 

Again thanks a lot to all of you!
Mariela, you are sooo kind!
jhmattern, CDarklock, you definitely should make something like a "Guide for potential buyers of $50+ articles about how to find their authors", there must be demand for it in the market.

 

There might be some demand, but most people willing to spend decent money for a writer (which is usually more than $50 per article) already know to go to their networks first. That's why most of those jobs never make it to being publicly advertised -- people already know where to find the writers without having to "look" for them.

 

Good highly paid writers aren't hard to find. They are very good at advertising and marketing themselves. (Or so I have seen)

You can't be paid top bucks if you hide in your closet and expect buyers to find and come to you.