First, I think your math doesn’t take into account that paying an outsourced writer is a deductible business expense. So you don’t get just $12 income which must be taxed. In fact, you get no net income unless you mark-up the fee of the writer to whom you outsource.

Second, I think it was Mark Twain who said (paraphrasing), Nothing is quite as vicious as one writer criticizing another writer’s work.

This illustrates that any writer to whom you outsource will require time to brief about the assignment, confidence in the writer’s ability to get it right on the first draft, a working relationship that means you can ask for a rewrite and get it promptly and without a hassle and a recognition that you still will be required to edit the work.

Nevertheless, better to have work done than pass it up because of a time shortage, or lose a client or a piece of your reputation because you can’t fulfill a request, or lose your mind because you can’t get work done and you stress out as a result.

Incidentally, I am a free lance writer who meets all of the above standards.

William Waitess last blog post..It truly is a WorldWideWeb

The is ANOTHER reason it’s probably not such a good idea to get someone else to write your blogs for you: it’s not going to be in your voice.

Good business relies on good relationships. One tool in the relationship-building toolbox is open and honest communication between you and your audience; and to get them to like and trust you and feel that all-important connection with you is to write blogs and emails dripping with pesonality.

Pay someone to write it for you and you’re missing out that vital ingredient.

I write for a lot of people, but to be honest there’s only one I can think of whose “voice” is close enough to my own it’s hard to tell the difference.

– Jon
http://www.JonMcCulloch.com

Jon McCullochs last blog post..Proof! NLP makes you Invincible! Not.

Christy – Cooking and cleaning aren’t my things either, but people seem to think that working from home means we enjoy that stuff. Right.

James – Oh, you make it sound so easy. May you be cursed with at least a little indecision for all the rest of your days!

Allena – Your husband sounds heavenly. When I told mine I was thinking about getting a house cleaner, he looked around at all the piles of grime and said, “what for?”

Genesis – I am glad you outsource laundry rather than do it by hand. That sounds awful.

Amanda – I agree with your assessment about taking off the writer lenses when it comes time to review the outsourced work. We’re pretty excited about the writers we are working with, so that should help.

Stacey – Your comment made me crack up, and I have a new-found respect for Mary Kay.

I wondered the same things you did when I read that chapter. One of the greatest hurdles to my writing productivity is that I homeschool my kids. Theoretically, I could outsource that for free to the public schools. Problem is, the public schools here are just plain scary.

We all have to prioritize each task for ourselves I think. I believe that book also mentioned that he also chooses what to outsource by how much he likes/dislikes the each thing. So that’s definitely part of the equation.

Catherines last blog post..Our Favorite Books for Learning About Maps

Nothing like a typo on a writer’s blog!

1. Back in the ’80’s (’cause I’m just that old), I read an autobiography by Mary Kay Ash who started — drum roll, please — Mary Kay Cosmetics. Whatever you think of her pink cars, you gotta admit that she was a pioneering go-getter. In her book, she strongly suggests that any working women absolutely must hire a maid. She says it frees you up to do the important business at hand, plus it’s just nice to have a clean house without exhaustion. That advice has stuck with me all these years although I’ve yet to use it. I must think on this.

2. Why not make this blog your business blog?

3. A friend of mine has a Ph.D. and does fancy consulting work. He also doesn’t mow the grass because he says his time is too valuable to spend behind a mower. So his wife does it. She if often angry.

Another great and honest post if you don’t mind me saying. I love reading this blog especially seeing as though it is all true. As a freelancer myself I understand the problem with outsourcing and I have been there. I remember outsourcing to have 10 articles written for my website when I first started. I outsourced them but the problem was, being a writer myself all I could do was find fault with the articles and I ended up re-writing the majority of them myself. If you do outsource you really will have to try to take your writers cap off when you are reading them. The articles will never sound the same as the ones you write yourself nor will they match what you would have written yourself. It’s really a catch 22. It’s the same as hiring a cleaner, they will never do the job the way you do.

Anyway that’s just my thoughts.

Amanda

In our house, my husband (who is a musician, so he`s home all day) does the cleaning. He`s a total neat freak, so this works perfectly for us. He`s actually been away for four days on tour and the house is now a total disaster. We outsource laundry because really, I just can`t be bothered (and we don`t have a washer, it has to be done by hand here!), and I do outsource some of my online tasks, like research to a VA in India.

Basically, if you like it, it works, and you feel it`s worth it . . . go for it. I don`t think you`re being irresponsible. You`ll both feel better about the whole thing and will be able to focus more on your work.

I had a cleaner for a while- actually they send a team. This was when I was working full time and was a present from my hubs. It. Was. Wonderful.

Use your hubbies! Mine practically JUMPS on the laundry when I say “well, I could do the laundry, or I can make us some more money this evening.” Anything he can do in front of the TV is done (dishes). Anything he can make a game of with the kids (laundry, mowing) is done. Those are the things he does after work anyway (TV and kids).

Allenas last blog post..How Many Pitches Are You Putting Out There?

If you get more time, less stress, an easier life and freedom to explore what you love without losing any money in the end, do it.

Sheesh.

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