Taking inspiration from some of the kindle threads on here, I hired an oDesk writer to write a 10,000 word story for me. Fee was $50.00 - The man tried to charge more, but I told him that I didn't expect a masterpiece and I would edit it anyway, to give it my own voice. He was fine with it, delivered on time and seemed happy enough.
The story that I got is not anything that I would dare to publish. Apparently, the man didn't grasp the concept of "showing, not telling", so I have to do some major rewriting. I did like the plot ideas though, and he structured it nicely as well.
I got to the point where I had to review his work and because I didn't know what else to do, I gave him 5 stars in all categories. After all, I got what I wanted - A story that I can model into something that I can be proud of and he was aware of that. However, he is terribly proud of his abysmal writing and would have liked to charge at least double (he says other clients pay that, but then, he can tell me anything).
My questions for you writers out there are... When you outsource your stories, what do you put into the job description? Do you say that you need a rough story that you can polish, or do you demand a polished story and hope for the best?
If you do want a polished story, and you get crap, how do you review the people?
I would feel bad giving this man a low rating, even though the work was pretty crap, because I expected it to be crap. I don't think he would have given me a better story had I not mentioned my editing. In that case, I would have given him a lower rating because I'd assume he did his very best and was still crap. What do you think? On the other hand, giving him a high rating feels a bit silly because other people rely on reviews and I wouldn't want anyone to hire him expecting something really good.
Not sure if that makes sense to you... But thanks for any answers in advance!
The story that I got is not anything that I would dare to publish. Apparently, the man didn't grasp the concept of "showing, not telling", so I have to do some major rewriting. I did like the plot ideas though, and he structured it nicely as well.
I got to the point where I had to review his work and because I didn't know what else to do, I gave him 5 stars in all categories. After all, I got what I wanted - A story that I can model into something that I can be proud of and he was aware of that. However, he is terribly proud of his abysmal writing and would have liked to charge at least double (he says other clients pay that, but then, he can tell me anything).
My questions for you writers out there are... When you outsource your stories, what do you put into the job description? Do you say that you need a rough story that you can polish, or do you demand a polished story and hope for the best?
If you do want a polished story, and you get crap, how do you review the people?
I would feel bad giving this man a low rating, even though the work was pretty crap, because I expected it to be crap. I don't think he would have given me a better story had I not mentioned my editing. In that case, I would have given him a lower rating because I'd assume he did his very best and was still crap. What do you think? On the other hand, giving him a high rating feels a bit silly because other people rely on reviews and I wouldn't want anyone to hire him expecting something really good.
Not sure if that makes sense to you... But thanks for any answers in advance!
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