One concern a prospective client has is whether the writer they are considering hiring is an honorable person. The concern relates to competence and honesty. I was contemplating that concern last night.

How does someone convince anyone that they can be trusted to do the right thing? That’s a big issue on the Internet. Big companies selling products or services have user reviews and the star ratings. Yelp isn’t selling either but reviews business websites using much the same system. In the world of writers, freelancer websites do similar things. Those sites present to you individuals, not companies like ours. Again, they employ ratings systems. Those user ratings systems can be gamed. Amazon, for example, is still trying to find effective ways to weed out fake reviews.

But let’s take it to a personal level. Consider the people you meet face to face. You make an assessment about their qualities. With repeated encounters, you can usually make a solid judgment about their integrity. But if you find their friends and perhaps relatives are a bunch of dirty, lying scoundrels, then you’d reassess your assessment. One is known on a one-to-one basis and is also known by the company they keep. Reputation and integrity. Not something you generally associate with dirty, lying scoundrels.

You’re known by the company you keep. How does that apply to Ghostwriters Central? Sure, we publish client comments. But last night I realized I have a simpler way to demonstrate the reputation and integrity of this business. Look at our writer roster on any page, including this page. These are people of accomplishment and they are respected by their peers. They sure as hell aren’t going to associate themselves with a disreputable, dishonest, thieving business that puts their name and photo on every page!

Case closed.