Currently i run business where i sell Wordpress Job Board Plugin, i wanted to increase plugin value by adding some kind of "How to promote your job board" ebook (about 20 pages long). I would like to invest in it $200 so that's $10 per page. Now my question is: is it a fair price and is it possible to get high quality (meaning useful, straight to the point, not rewritten) ebook for this amount of money? If so, then where should i start looking for a content writer and how to separate the good ones from the bad ones?
Greg, you'll probably receive many different replies here. Why? Because the "fair price" issue is the origin of a neverending debate inside the writing community. I'm going to share my opinion with you, but please note that this is really only an opinion. Is it a fair price? When compared to the rates paid by other people here at DP, the answer is a resounding "yes." However, you should keep in mind that there are marketers who pay well over $10/page when they hire writers to produce their ebooks. Is it possible to get a high-quality ebook for this price? Again, the answer is a resounding "yes." Some people will tell you that only lousy writers would accept to write a whole ebook for $200, but I beg to differ. There are many good writers out there who would be happy to assist you if you paid them $10/page. Where should you start looking for a content writer? There are hundreds at DP. In fact, I suspect that you'll receive countless PMs from potential candidates when they read your thread. You may also post an ad at Craigslist. Several good writers ignore CL, but many use it to look for work; they'd certainly find your ad and reply. Deb Ng from Freelance Writing Jobs publishes job ads for free; you may place a writing job ad there. Her Web site is typically visited by several good, experienced writers. How do you separate the good writers from the bad ones? Ask for writing samples, i. e., tell them to show you links to previously published articles (or to paste said articles in the body of the email if you prefer). References and/or testimonials are good too. Whenever you post job ads, pay attention to the way the candidates express themselves when they contact you. A poorly written email or PM is always a bad sign. After all, if a truly competent writer wants to be hired, the least he/she can do is to craft a decent job ad response. I hope this helps.
Thanks for the advice taniamara it was really helpful. I have one more how about posting my job ad to www.jobs.freelanceswitch.com seems to be reputable source for freelance writers?
You're welcome, Greg. Yes, that is a reputable source for freelance writers. However, there's a problem about it: that job board isn't free, i. e., freelancers must pay a fee to be able to contact the job posters. Many freelancers refuse to use this kind of job board to look for opportunities. Why? Because freelancers shouldn't have to pay to be able to find work. If there's someone who should pay for the ads, that would be the employer. In fact, some blogs which cater to the freelance writing audience advise their readers to stay away from places where you're required to pay a fee before you can search for jobs. After all, there are plenty of sites where everyone can post and read job ads for free.
I don't consider it a fair price, but you may get a decent quality ebook for that price from a freelance writer who's new to the business and hasn't raised their rates yet. Instead of FreelanceSwitch.com, you might try listing an ad with FreelanceWritingGigs.com, AllFreelanceWriting.com (run by jhmattern here), or Craigslist.org. They're all free. Finally, jobs.Problogger.net is an option, but you have to pay a $50 listing fee.
I'm going to agree with Latoya; you can find several great quality writers that are new to the business, who have not yet raised their prices to match their quality, that would be happy to accept $200 to produce an eBook. I recently edited an eBook for five times that amount, and have ghostwritten several for ten times the amount you are offering, --but I'll also admit, that when I was new, I did take $0.02 and $0.01 per word jobs. Copywriting and content writing is a market in constant flux; the ignorant, the lazy, and the generally incompetent are constantly being flushed out (and black hats are going with them), to be joined by more sophisticated black hats, more shrewd scam artists, and even lazier writers. Great writers will always find work because they know what they're doing: you might just find a future great writer to work for you.
I will throw my two cents in here. I am an experienced writer with a few online published articles. I believe the fee of $200 is fair. "Fair" is a relative concept. Some people do it only for the money. Others enjoy it. There are others again who only do it as an income supplement. Then you have the newbies who will grab anything, but their quality won't necessarily be as good. I believe the suggestions you have been offered as far as scouting a number of sites is a good one, especially if you are not working to a deadline. I wish you good luck with it. Regards, Laurence