Jun 6, 2018 09:06:38 AM by Lia R
I've noticed a decrease in people looking to ghostwrite and those that are interested aren't very very qualified. The quality of talent for jobs seems to be going down on Upwork. Has anyone else noticed this?
Jun 6, 2018 09:14:18 AM by Irene B
Most writers (in any field) on Upwork are, by definition, mostly 'ghostwriters'. The really good ones demand higher rates - and are pretty much busy most of the time.
Jun 6, 2018 09:21:21 AM by Rene K
The quality of the ghostwriters on Upwork equals the number of ghostwriters divided by the number of clients interested in ghostwriting, times the square root of the average price the clients are willing to pay for it.
It's low.
Jun 6, 2018 10:08:01 AM Edited Jun 6, 2018 10:08:41 AM by Prashant P
@Rene K wrote:The quality of the ghostwriters on Upwork equals the number of ghostwriters divided by the number of clients interested in ghostwriting, times the square root of the average price the clients are willing to pay for it.
It's low.
The equation is wrong. You forgot devide by the cube root of population of the freelancers who would charge 0.1 cent a word.
Jun 6, 2018 12:55:48 PM by Reinier B
@Prashant P wrote:
@Rene K wrote:The quality of the ghostwriters on Upwork equals the number of ghostwriters divided by the number of clients interested in ghostwriting, times the square root of the average price the clients are willing to pay for it.
It's low.
The equation is wrong. You forgot devide by the cube root of population of the freelancers who would charge 0.1 cent a word.
You forgot devide by the cube root of population of the freelancers who would charge 0.1 cent a word, which is a function of the number of freelancers who actually work for 0.1 cent a word...
Jun 6, 2018 03:09:23 PM by Bill H
I find the job posts are getting thinner and stranger. There's the usual glut of jobs for artikul ritters and blug posers, but ghostwriting on internet boards is focused recently on writing romancces at 7K words a day, or writing "my inspirational life story." I have seen few posts that interest me.
Jun 6, 2018 03:53:25 PM Edited Jun 6, 2018 03:58:05 PM by Wendy C
+100 thumbs up @ Reinier.
Bill, you're correct esp. about the "my inspiring story" ilk. Taking money from these people is sad to say the least. IMO - it amounts to blatant thievery. It amounts to nothing more than people wanting their egos stroked.
IF (caps intentional) a person's story is good they will:
1. share a synopsis which, in turn, might pique the interest of qualified professional writer and
2. place a reasonable dollar value on the job. For the uneducated > $5,000 and up is the starting point.
I've seen a mere handful of real possibilities - the kind of stories that could become best sellers - over roughly a decade of FLing on eLance and Upwork.
Conversely, we both know a number of writers who self-publish and have readers in the hundreds of thousands. So, to the OP's original question, it should not be any surprise there are few qualified writers willing to work for low rates, deal with inflated egos, and all the rest when they can actually write what they want, when they want, and make more money.
Ghostwriting an ebook that is to be used as a give-away in conjunction with a product sale or to generate email addresses for a mailing list is something else entirely. These are a blend of writing, branding, and marketing. Ego and hurt feelings have zero play in the equation.