500 Miles to Walk

Let’s imagine you are a good writer (don’t get offended at the word “imagine”). You’ve got some trusted customers, you got used to working at custom writing services and on your own. Besides, you developed something like a personal writing style. Well, good news – you did reach a certain success. Bad news – you are very close to reaching a limit. Every writer has to face this problem sooner or later. You reach the limit, where everything satisfies you. And the biggest danger about this – you can forget about self-development. Why look for a good thing when you have one?

Once More, with Feeling

Don’t let yourself get into this trap. Every time you feel absolutely content, change something. Take harder orders. Switch the paper topics, make a research in a field, completely unknown to you. Find a new custom writing service. Look for a strict customer. Give yourself a shake-up. Writer should never get stuck in the same place!

Read More and Mind the Words

Try to read at least two books in a week. It does not even matter what you read – fiction, non-fiction, professional literature, or scientific works. You need to do it in order to expand your vocabulary. When a writer only uses same words in every order, it means his literary death. So remember more words and idioms, and use them!

Take a Break

Holidays and vacations are extremely important to everyone! Even to freelancers, although they often forget about it. When you feel that you are writing yourself out – take a break for several days. Make a trip somewhere – at least, to the town next to yours. Gain new experience, inspire and entertain yourself. You will come back to your writing place with new ideas and with the strength to accomplish them.

Ready Freddy

So, you made up your mind. You got sulfur in your veins, devil watching through your eyes and, well, you are all set to work as an academic writer. But back off for a moment and think: what kind of order should you start with? Should it be a middle-sized essay? Or, perhaps, a set of short essays? Or should you work on a thesis paper? Well, it’s surely up to you, but perhaps my piece of advice will make the choice less difficult.

Easy Come, Easy Go

 Start with a small, easy order – and make sure that you have enough time to cope with it nicely. Perhaps you shouldn’t even start writing from scratch, but take an editing or rewriting order at first. Get acquainted with the structure, common styles and formatting. Certainly, you cannot get a lot of money for a small and easy order – but at least you might be absolutely sure that you will not fail and that you will get clean reputation.

Move On

Now, as you gained some necessary experience, you might take more complex orders – bigger essays, research papers and presentations. Anyways, try to write assignments on topics you are aware of. Do not write chemistry labs, for example, if you have major in economics. Try to be attentive to the details and the opinion of your clients.

Time for a Challenge

After you’ve been around quite for a while and got yourself a good reputation among clients, you might go on and challenge yourself for a little bit. Try to write a thesis paper or an analysis on an unfamiliar topic. But bear in mind – you don’t want to spoil everything you managed to achieve! Be careful, plan everything correctly. The risk should be justified. Do not take the order that is impossible for you to write. An academic writer should push his limits, but it doesn’t mean he has no limits at all.

Take your time, develop your skills and one day you’ll become a professional who is able to write any paper on any topic. I could write “a professional like me”, but, unfortunately, I do have limits when it comes to physics. Well… it leaves more available orders for you.

Meeting Deadlines: 3 Lessons of Effective Lying

Have you ever tried to trick yourself for one or another reason? Sometimes self-delusion can be of service. For example, when I was a student and had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. daily, I used to set my alarm 15 minutes forward because of my habit to rest in bed for another 10 minutes after the alarm goes off. Before I thought of this trick with time I often was late for my classes, but it never happened to me after I embodied the idea with the time shift.

So, if you have troubles delivering your orders on time, you might require a little bit of self-deception as well. I would advise you several tips.

Tip #1. Make an agreement (works with customers only):

Be honest. Tell your customer that it would be easier for you if he always set the deadline a couple of hours (or days) earlier than it should have been set. This way you can deliver every single order on time. The trick is that the client shouldn’t tell you what the true deadline is – self-deception should look utterly real, otherwise it won’t work at all.

Side effects: Customers might get nervous at the reference of such agreement. I mean, it does sound weird and complicated, so, perhaps, you should try this tip only with the clients, who have worked with you for a while and know your strong points.

Tip #2. Switch on Child Control mode

Let’s imagine that you have no trustworthy clients, or that you simply work at a custom writing service. Well, in this case you should limit yourself. Failing to meet the deadline is a childish doing – that’s why it would be reasonable for you to use… Child Control on yourself! Shut down the Internet in advance (for several hours). This way you will have to finish the work earlier in order not to miss the deadline.

Side effects: You may get soft on yourself and give yourself additional time after all. If you think that it is possible, ask your relatives/cohabitants to shut down the Internet for you.

Tip #3. Take hot orders only

If all this time management stuff is too hard for you to cope with, start taking “hot” orders. You won’t have any chance to put away the writing process, because, well, you will be doing your job at the last moment anyways. The only way to complete such order is to work on it right away. Bear in mind, though, - your capabilities are not limitless. Do not take large orders or the ones, which require a remarkable research.

Side effects: Firstly, “hot” orders aren’t always available. Secondly, you might overestimate yourself and miss the deadline, so be careful.

5 Types of Customers. What to Expect from Each?

If you think that academic writer's job is all about writing, you are severely mistaken. Whether you will be successful or not – it depends on your cooperation with a client. During my career as an academic writer I had to face various customers and after long years of co-working I managed to develop my own client classification. According to the results of my “research”, there are 5 general types of clients and each of them requires special kind of treatment.

Type 1: The Passive Ghostly One

If you cooperate with him through a custom writing service, it looks like you were given an automatic order from a computer. You get precise guidelines at the very beginning – and get your money after you send him the order. No feedback, no communication – nothing. If you cooperate with such client personally – it's pretty much the same. The only difference is that you know that you actually work with a real person.

Prescription: If you are a beginner at academic writing, you might have troubles while working with this type of a customer. You've got so much questions to ask – and he definitely is not looking forward to your communication! Try to take as much as possible from the instructions he gives in the beginning – and do not worry. Even if you understand something wrong, he will simply pay you for the order and make corrections himself. He will also provide a better explanation of what he wants the next time.

Type 2: The Perfectionist

He will require you to send him your first, second and third drafts. He will make over one hundred corrections at each of them and expect you to change everything he wants. This client will contact you daily and ask what you have done today to make his order better. Anyways, at the end of your cooperation he will provide you with a long and detailed feedback – and with your payment.

Prescription: If you are a kind of writer, whose first draft is usually final version of an essay and who tends to do all the work within one day – perhaps you should avoid working with The Perfectionist. But if you are a beginner or a perfectionist yourself – this is your type of a client. He will readily explain you every detail you are interested in.

Type 3: The Psycho

You really have no idea what to expect of him. He sets a deadline in a week – and then writes to you the next day and asks for the finished paper. He asks for an essay – and then, after you took the order, you suddenly find out, that by “an essay” he meant “a thesis paper”. If you try to reason with him, he might require a refund – and before you can explain anything to the custom writing service administrator, your rate on the website is already low and you have to pay a fine. You'll get everything back in a while – but certainly not your nerves.

Prescription: Whoever you are – just don't deal with such a client. You can identify him among other clients by ridiculous order requirements or inappropriate prices. But if you do have to put up with him – just try to follow his requirements and not to lose your mind (or money).

Type 4: Mr. First Order

Apparently, he never had to place an order with an academic writer before. At least, because the price he sets is way too high for such an easy order. This customer has no idea of what he might require from you for his money. Little does he know of how to give proper guidelines as well.

Prescription: Teach him. Ask him everything you need and don't be afraid to waste your time – if you provide him with a qualitative order and with friendly support, there is every chance that he will choose you as his “permanent” writer.

Type 5: Your Lucky Number

What can you say – he is perfect. Understanding, patient, helpful. He can put aside the deadline if you really need it. If he requires additional work – he will assign you with an additional order.  Sometimes you wish to pinch yourself just to make sure it is not a dream.

Prescription: Work and enjoy. Apparently, you’ve come across the ideal type of a customer. All you need to do is to accomplish his order as good as possible – trust me, you don't want to lose such a client.

Of course, I only described the most common types of clients. You might get a mix of two or more types as your client – but don't you fret: increasing experience will help you deal with every customer you have to face. Well, maybe except for The Psycho ;)