The Urban Writers

Working at The Urban Writers has been a challenging and enriching experience for me. As someone who does not have a formal degree in writing, editing, language, or literature, working on this platform has been like learning on the job. One of the best features about this platform is its commitment to quality work, which means that writers work closely with editors on each project and learn so much about their own writing! There are resources for training in various niches and a great community on Slack where people are willing to help those who are confused or unsure of themselves.

What also makes this platform stand out is the admin team—some of the kindest, most helpful, and tireless people I've ever known who are always there to support, help, and guide you when needed. Similarly, we have a payments team that works tirelessly to ensure that freelancers are paid on time and issues are resolved quickly. It makes a huge difference to know people have your back in an industry that is largely unorganized and whimsical.

Over time, the organization has also worked hard to take into account valid feedback from freelancers and make it a just place for us to work. There's more flexibility around managing our time and work, and a lot of emphasis on taking care of our mental and physical health. I've not only grown immensely as a writer here, but I've also seen firsthand what a difference a collaborative and kind culture makes to me as a freelancer.

The Urban Writers are a cosmopolitan ghostwriting group. You can be from Canada, the USA, South Africa, England, Germany or many other places, but as long as you can write well and write quickly, you'll be accepted and have a great time!

Payment is effectively based on how many words you write in an hour, and how much you get paid per word is dependent on the quality of your writing overall. Requires decent time management skills if you want to work full-time, but if you're able to crank out 800 quality words in about an hour, or at least 2000 words in a day, then you're in a good spot to make this a viable part-time job for yourself.

If that sounds intimidating at first, do not fret! For your first few days, you're left to read a training manual in peace and you're always welcome to ask questions when you need to. The amount you'll learn about writing during this period will help you overcome any self-doubt you might have.

The managers and editors themselves are also lovely people. They're happy to answer any questions you might have and will stand up for you in customer disputes if you've done your job well.

The work itself is enjoyable. You choose projects based on current customer orders, which cover a wide variety of topics. Some days you get unlucky and find the only topics available are on things you don't like, but new orders come in fast and frequently, and when you love writing it isn't difficult to weave your passion into any topic you are given.

If you love writing, love reading, love learning for a living, and just need a safe, comfortable space to do all three of those things in, then TUW is the right place for you!

The Urban Writers is not just an opportunity for me, but it is a life-altering experience. For the first time in my professional career, I have come across a team of professionals who genuinely help each other out, without ever expecting anything in return. The higher management is always around to listen to your concerns, address them, and resolve matters. 

The payments are always, and I mean always, on time. The rates continue to rise for all of the writers and editors, which takes away the worry of not making enough money. 

You are genuinely motivated by others in the team, including the CEO and COO. You choose your working hours, which is one of the most attractive highlights. I can decide when I work, how much I work, and what kind of work I do, as long as I ensure to meet the deadline. 

But wait, there is more! Each month, the best of the writers and editors are chosen, praised, appreciated, and rewarded with extra bonus cash, which further heightens the motivation to a completely new level. 

Promotions are awarded purely on merit basis, meaning there is never any room for any act of nepotism or favoritism. 

Diversity is perhaps too small of a word to show just how incredible the team is. It is this mix of people that truly works together to ensure success on both the individual levels and as a whole unit. 

I will not say the work is easy, but if you are someone who loves to learn, grow, and face new challenges, look no further!

You have to start writing non-fiction and then test into other niches. I tested for fiction immediately and have been writing fiction exclusively ever since. I get paid to write fiction—what could be better than that? AND I get to do it in the comfort of my own home and make my own schedule. I can take as much or as little work as I want and never lose my job. The Slack community is impressive, and you can chat with other freelancers. This is very helpful to get questions answered. You get a wide range of customers, some are amazing, and some make you pull your hair out, as with any job dealing with the public. However, the administration protects and supports you, which is very helpful. Since I started, I have grown a lot as a writer and have learned so much from other writers, training seminars, and the editors I work with. The hardest part of the job is when you get a customer who demands more of you than you get paid for and when the project goes into revisions, which can drag on for months as there is no timer, so you don't get paid until it's completed. Administration is fair if you need to get paid and can sometimes offer partial payment to help out. In my opinion, I am extremely happy working for them, and wouldn't give it up for anything else. 

Working for The Urban Writers is easy and fun if you like writing. There are a wide variety of projects you can apply to work on and you can take on one project at a time or even give yourself breaks to ensure you're never stressed and overwhelmed. However the downside of doing fun work in a supportive and low-stress environment is that you don't get paid all that much. You can easily put in 30-40 hours of work just for a few hundred dollars, and while the work is fun, it's just not possible for almost anyone to put out quality writing for more than a few hours a day. Even Stephen King, one of the most prolific writers working today, says 2000 words is the minimum and 4-6 hours a day of reading AND writing is what you should expect to be able to do as a professional writer. Well if you're not cranking out at least 6000 words a day, you will not eat and pay rent in a developed city.

Bottom line: if you love writing and want to get paid to practice doing more of it, The Urban Writers is a great way to do so, but it has to be either a side-gig that you don't mind putting 4+ hours a day into when you're doing a project even though it won't pay many bills, or a springboard to help you learn to self-publish.

I started working for The Urban Writers in 2022 and have been happy and extremely grateful for the job ever since. It is flexible and I get to choose which projects I want to work on and when I am available for projects. I apply for projects that I am interested in and never get forced to work on something that I don't want to work on. When I first started working here I was just starting out as a writer and since then I have gained countless amount of skills from this position. Working with editors and clients really helps me to learn and expand on my current skills. There are platforms and apps on which all of the freelancers can interact and message administration for help and support. There are always chances to ask questions when you're stuck and to hear from other freelancers how they handled similar situations. The company is very flexible with working hours as long as projects are completed by their due dates and as long as the clients are informed and happy.

Once you receive an order, you have about 2-3 weeks to complete it. As an editor, usually that means reviewing requirements, the outline, and plagiarism scan, then you start on a copy editing pass, followed by a proofread, making sure the manuscript adheres to the style guide. That's it. It can be hard to find work at times, but once you develop a name for yourself and learn how to market yourself accordingly, it's not that hard. You have tons of coworkers to seek feedback and advice from and most of them are very friendly and encouraging; management too, although it can be hard to know who to contact and when. There are tons of resources available and plenty of space to grow and develop your skills. I switched from a ghostwriter to an editor here because that's what I wanted to do, but there's tons of niche tests to take too, like fiction, recipe books, self-help, contemporary, and so much more. I highly recommend you give this job a try if you're good at writing, editing, or narrating.

The job I do with The Urban Writers (TUW) is freelance. My typical day is writing the amount of words targeted to be completed on that day to meet the deadline for my project.

When I started with TUW, there were many subjects I hadn't written about, including stock investing, cryptocurrency, health, gardening, parenting, and technology. The COO encouraged us to stretch out comfort zones, helping us grow and expand our knowledge.

What I like most about TUW is the supportive community of freelancers. When you have a bad or difficulty, other freelancers jump and suggest possible solutions. This, I guess, is one of the reasons I've stayed with platform for more than five years.

Though time is something you can choose for your projects, I can usually finish a standard non-fiction book from The Urban Writers in about 2 weeks, while working several other jobs to keep myself busy.
I have learned to work with many different levels of perfectionism from clients.
Management is wonderful and have never failed to answer any of my questions or solve any queries O have had come up.
The workplace culture is supportive and friendly.
The hardest part of the job is finding a quiet place to record and the continued maintenance of my voice.
The most enjoyable part of the job for me personally, is getting to learn from the non-fiction projects I get, and read lovely stories from the fiction projects I do.  The variety is wonderful and I have done projects spanning children's stories, occult, self help and dog training in the last year alone.

I have been with the team for a little over a year. In that time, I have seen them go through various trials and errors, and they have learned from them to be the brand they are today.

It is difficult to balance equal opportunities for all and ensure that you have a perfect team. I feel people point out instances of negative feedback without talking about the success stories. Personally, I have seen many customers return to The Urban Writers to get another book written. The company has many long-standing customers who don't choose any other service.

The management understand how to build a team, and that in itself is quite rewarding. I might come off as an overly-smitten employee with a strong bias. But in all honesty, I have worked with numerous marketing, writing, and publishing companies in my 9-year career and I have never met a team who have build a solid work culture and are always aiming to improve their standards.

Love the culture, love the other writers and editors I work with, and love the TUW team.

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