Last Updated on Apr 1, 2020 by James W
This is unsurprising since the majority of essay writing in academia have also been on an “ordered??? basis. The course requires the student to write an essay. The professor wants the student to submit an essay. The student has to write an essay about subject “X???. For the majority of writers coming out of school, they have only ever experienced the request to submit their essay, but almost never the other way around. Never had they ever had to ply their trade, to sell their skills, to become word mercenaries. In the days of old (say beyond a decade ago), generating money from academic essay writing would be so difficult that it would deter 99% of those that tried it. There was no marketplace and no hub. Clients would be difficult to come by and writers were unsure what rates to charge.
The beauty with today’s connected world is that there is a marketplace for almost anything you can think of, and that includes academic essay writing. More and more people, companies, businesses and students find that their time is better spent on something else other than writing an essay. This in turn has created a demand for the services of essay writers. But there was still something missing from the equation. A place was needed where writers and those looking for their services can come together. And so, writing hubs, agencies and marketplaces were born. Acting as freelancers, writers can apply or bid on writing jobs posted by companies and individuals.
These sites are found all over the internet and cater to almost every vertical, interest group and niche. They can be generalist agencies or can supply articles to a very narrow category of people. Take the site Wow Women on Writing. The sites main goal is to connect female writers with writing assignments in the business, freelance and training sectors with a strong emphasis on the female perspective. Or Watch Culture who will pay professional writers upwards of 700 GBP for their essays about timepieces and the culture surrounding it.
Writing essays, as it turns out can be pretty lucrative so long as you are writing about something in demand, and you have the skills to back it up. So how does a writer dip their feet into the “writer for hire??? world? Start with writing about what you know. Recall your experiences, what you have studied and what you have done, then see if there is someone out there that is looking for writing in those areas. Do not get trapped in the whole “write about your passions mentality???. There are millions of people out there who like to travel and therefore think that they can be travel writers. The result, a saturated market in travel writers. Heavy competition also tends to drive the margins lower and lower, as the supply of travel writers currently outweighs the demands. However, if you had experience in B2B (business to business) sales in the tech industry, then you may find a clientele base that is in sorely need of your services and are willing to pay top dollar for it.
It may seem counterintuitive but the best way to succeed is to find a small market where your skills and experiences are treasured. Even in the highly contested travel writing arena, a writer can still command a high price if they niche down. Sure, there may be thousands of writers clamoring for that “Describe an African Safari Experience??? article, but there may only be a handful of writers that can describe the impacts of geopolitical conflicts while hiking through the Hindu Kush valley of Pakistan amongst some of the planet’s tallest mountains.
Writing is an art form, but it is also a trade, and like all trades you should be fairly compensated for it if you choose to bring your skills to the marketplace. Scour the internet for places where writers and the those that need their services congregate.
