Saturday, February 16, 2008

What You as a Writing Client Can Do To Help Ensure Accurate Writing on the Internet

In my last post I discussed the impact that poorly written and not accurate writing has on the internet. If you are a client who needs writing quite often, you can do your part to help raise the quality of writing on the internet. Of course, this puts you at a risk to pay more as prices go up but remember that you get what you pay for. If you pay writers too low, they will have to find other writing work to make up the income and this could impact quality and the production of an accurate article.

Give sufficient deadlines. If you have a deadline and you know about it well in advance, hire a writer well in advance. Don’t wait until the last minute, post a job, and expect a writer to jump through hoops because you didn’t think ahead. And, if a quick turnaround is actually required then pay the writer extra for going the extra mile for you.

Ask a writer to list references used. If you question where a writer obtained the facts for the article or other writing product they sold you, ask them to provide the references used. A professional will have that information readily available and will be happy to show it to you because it helps to give credibility to their work.

Never post your homework on the internet for a freelancer to write. You never know. You may be a writer someday and if you don’t learn to write in college then you might post sub-quality work on the internet too. Then, you’ll wish you hadn’t posted your essays for someone else to write. People who post homework on the internet for hiring writers to complete typically don’t pay well thus making more contribution to writing on the internet that is not accurate and of poor quality.

Look at the writer’s portfolio carefully. If the writer does not have a portfolio then you should not even consider him or her. Even beginning writers who have never sold anything should have a portfolio with samples showing their ability to do accurate and quality writing. The popularity of blogging also makes it possible for a writer to display their personal works.

Use Copyscape to check things. Although Copyscape does not protect against writing that may have been stolen directly out of a book, it will at least spot works copied all or in part from another web page.

If a writer is selling you articles too cheaply then ask why. Some writers with real talent are starting out on the internet and may be offering a low price because they have no reputation. That is perfectly okay but you as a client should just ask the writer why. The answer you get should give you a gut feeling as to the writer’s honesty. If anything, just ask for one or two articles, pay the writer for his or work, and review them to see if you want to continue on with the writer.

Pay your writers at intervals during long projects. If you hire a writer for a large project that takes up most of the writer’s time then make sure you pay him or her at intervals during the project. Writers just generally write with a clear head when they have full stomachs and the utilities are paid.

1 comment:

JOT said...

I have been trying to contact you to see how my project is going and to see if you are going to complete it. Would you please get in touch and let me know?
Thanks,
Joanne