A writ is just a quest that will pay off in personal status points instead of coin/xp/item rewards. And yes, the same people that give out writs will take the items you found and exchange them for status points. The trick is, you need the
right guy for each tier of drops - the tier 3 guy doesn't want your tier 2 stuff etc.
Here are the 4 guys in Qeynos who do sealed documents:
SEALED DOCUMENTS (Scout Political Faction)
Turn in to the Arbos Tree (Tunarian Alliance), The Elddar Grove
Tier 2 (Paraffin-Sealed): Wanderer Greencoast - Awards coin and 100 GSP each
Tier 3 (Tallow-Sealed): Naturalist Tummyfill - Awards coin and 200 GSP each
Tier 4 (Gel-Sealed): Shepher Sell'ar - Awards coin and 300 GSP each
Tier 5 (Beeswax-Sealed): Preservationist Reynolds - Awards coin and 400 GSP each
You can find the thread with details of turn ins to all four factions in both Qeynos and Freeport
HERE