Hiring/reviewing oDesk writers

[MayaMagpie]

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!

 

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[Lex DeVille]

In my opinion your first mistake is going through Odesk for a writer.

Not your fault, just a lesson several of us have learned the hard way.

I doubt he was giving you his very best. The writers on there are getting hit up for a lot of stories because the outsourcing model is gaining popularity

I suspect that most of the writers there have little time to work on quality stories.

To try and solve this problem I wrote an entire guide that was about 2k words long.

It outlined every last thing I expected from the writer. I also offered higher pay for future works if the first work was of good quality.

This helped weed out some of the muck, but by the time I wrote that guide I had moved on from Odesk.

If you want to hire freelancers, I suggest making your terms very clear and offering lower pay from the start.

That way if you lose money you won't lose as much, but when you find the right writer you'll have someone of much higher value.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Oh and if you end up continuing with O'desk I suggest setting a 1,000 word milestone.

That way you'll know if their writing sucks really quickly, and you can cancel the gig if you don't like what you see.

I did that and ended up canceling one for $75.00 because it was horrible.

 

[MayaMagpie]

I picked oDesk because I had some free credit lying around, so in the end I got my story done very cheaply indeed... What do you suggest then, elance? Or is there something even better? I know that elance writers are supposed to be better quality, but more expensive. Never tried them though.

The milestone idea is good, I might do that. I had relied on his samples, which were not bad. But who knows who wrote them?

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I picked oDesk because I had some free credit lying around, so in the end I got my story done very cheaply indeed... What do you suggest then, elance? Or is there something even better? I know that elance writers are supposed to be better quality, but more expensive. Never tried them though.

The milestone idea is good, I might do that. I had relied on his samples, which were not bad. But who knows who wrote them?

I found writers on Fiverr who were willing to write short stories for $25.00 with opportunities to earn more offered.

You have to know where to look though. Go to Fiverr and type "Short Stories" in the search box.

Sort the gigs by "new" and scroll down to the bottom, or even the last page.

Find writers who will write 1k for $5.00 and offer $25.00 for 10k words.

Since they're new to the site they're willing to go the extra mile for some quick pay, and quick reviews on the site.

Make sure you read their gig description. If it contains spelling and grammar errors you can be sure they'll write your story the same way.

 

[MayaMagpie]

Thanks for that tip!
Will definitely check this out, once I'm done editing my oDesk gem... heh

 

[COSenior]

@SinisterLex, I'm amazed that you can get decent work for that price. IMO, it isn't oDesk that's the problem (I came from oDesk, btw). It's the expectation that writers with talent or even competence will work for that price.

@MayaMagpie, I'm a fast writer, or so I'm told, but I average about 1000-1200 words per hour. If you Google ghostwriting pay, you'll find that it averages around $30 per hour for experienced writers. Even experienced writers can't turn out excellent writing in a first draft. It always requires revision, copyediting and proofreading at a minimum. I'm using revision to mean both developmental editing and self-editing.

If you want decent writing, you need a decent writer, and we don't work for $5 an hour, much less $2.50. Of course, if you don't mind publishing the dreck that sullies the self-publishing world at this time (and I include my early work in that category), I guess you can find someone who'll write it for Lex's pay scale. If you're going to spend your time editing it into something that's publishable, why not write it yourself in the first place? Rhetorical question - I know you're following a different model. I just question the model.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I'm no longer offering this to writers, but the original intent was to find writers who were good enough to train, and who were dedicated enough to work for a lower amount if it meant getting higher pay later on. O'desk may have quality writers, but their prices are driven up by heavy competition from numerous people following the outsource model. Keep in mind we're not talking about a $25.00 novel. We're talking about short stories, and maybe novellas. A hungry writer, will write for $5.00 an hour when their job isn't paying the bills and they need to put gas in their car.

Whichever way you choose, you have to add value for both the reader and the writer. Even if you start at a lower rate you'll need to increase it as their quality gets better, or risk losing them to someone who is willing to pay the price.

 

[MayaMagpie]

I just question the model

Fair enough. I am currently using a mix of things. I am writing stories myself. However, I sometimes find it easier to edit what someone else has written, because I catch myself using the same subplots over and over again, the same motives, that kind of thing. So, for different ideas and a bit of variety, I tried outsourcing. I think I will give fiverr a chance when I need more stuff.

I am not trying to get decent quality for that price, as I said.