Hiring A Writer, Freelancer or Full Time

When businesses look for a writer, whether a contractor to provide services as needed or from someone whom they would like to bring on staff, determining who is capable of doing the work is one thing while that person’s availability may be something else. There a lot of
“freelance writers” available for work, but their track record may not have been proven. Then again, some freelancers are extremely busy managing current projects and have little time to consider taking on additional assignments let alone full time employment.

As a hiring authority, there are several things that you can do to ensure that you find a capable and available author:

1. Does the author have experience? Importantly, is he or she able to write on the proposed topic? A good author will have samples of his or her work readily available for your review. Do not assume that all of the author’s work is posted online — for example, I write for several print publications and I know that there are not online copies of my writings available except for people who subscribe to the respective sites. I consider these articles to be my best work and will furnish copies to interested parties. Always ask for samples of related work whether published online or in print.

2. If the author is to cover a topic outside of their areas of expertise are you willing to pay extra for the research the author may need to do in order to accomplish this task? Oftentimes people assume that I can bang out a bunch of articles on a particular subject off of the top of my head. In some cases this may be true, but I prefer to research my material and, in some cases, interview and cite my sources. I expect to be compensated for my research time.

3. Is the author available to work on your project now or is he or she currently tied up with other assignments? How tight is your deadline? Can you work with the author’s schedule or is your schedule not flexible? Would you consider using the same author at a future date for a different project if no agreement can be arrived at for the current project? Jobs come and go — I can busy one week and available the next.

4. Does the author have references? Can you get a person’s name and phone number and contact them about their work? Like hiring a full time worker, three strong and verifiable references should be enough for you to determine whether you want to work with a particular writer or not.

5. How much does the author expect to be paid? Does the author list on his or her website a pricing structure? Can you get an estimate? What payment methods are acceptable? Contracts are the best way to work with a freelancer especially if you are looking for a long term relationship.

6. Is the author writing on your behalf as a ghostwriter or do you want the author to use his or her name and submit the articles to article directories for links back to your site?

Before I accept any assignment I prefer to discuss over the telephone details of what the hiring party wants, what I can do for this person, and attempt to get a better feel for the job. I do not hard sell my work; if someone is interested in my capabilities then we move forward. If not, we both move on. Taking this approach benefits both parties as it ensures that whatever relationship is eventually formed becomes a strong one.

Please note: This article originally appeared on The Article Writer blog on December 12, 2005 as Locating A High Quality Author. It has been updated and reformatted for this site.