Writing-World - the site for freelance writers

Deadbeat Employer: 25 cents for 500 words (and you have to be bilingual!)

When Toni sent me a link to this job advert, I thought at first that the rate was 25 dollars per 500 words . But no. The employer helpfully states:

"Please don't be one of those that confuses cents with dollars. This is 25 cents per clear written blog post."

Wow! Twenty five cents ALL TO MYSELF? There's more, though!

"...we will also increase your pay out too [sic] 1 dollars per article in the future once you have successfully submitted up to 1000 unique posts."

Well, that makes all the difference, doesn't it? I mean, after just 1,000 posts (of 500 words each, remember), you could be earning a massive $1 per post! Now, I'm no mathematician, but I've just worked this out, and for those 1,000 posts, you would make...

$250!

How long do you think it would take you to write 1,000 articles, readers? I'm going to guess "a while". Worth it for $250, do you think? Again, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess "probably not".

Of course, you're probably thinking this "job" advert is aimed at the kind of writers who'll barely be able to string a sentence together. You would be wrong, though, because if you want to apply, you'll need to be "intelligent and articulate" - oh, and bilingual. Yes, bilingual. Just think, all of those years studying a second language will be totally worth it when those first 25 cents hit your Paypal account, no?

I'm surprised this particular employer doesn't just charge writers to work for him. Surely that's the next step?

Deadbeat Employer of the Day: "Writers are unpaid for a trial period..."

Spotted on - where else? - Craigslist:

"Writers are unpaid for a trial period, after which writers receive payment on an article-by-article basis..."

I wonder: why do you never see McDonalds advertising for staff who will be "unpaid for a trial period"? Why don't office workers, cooks, librarians, cleaners and, in fact, members of just about every other profession I can think of, ever have to complete unpaid trials before they're taken on?

Oh yes, that's right: because no one in their right mind would agree to do that. So why are writers expected to work for nothing, in the hope of securing a paid gig at a later date?

Sure, the idea of a trial period isn't a new or unreasonable one, but unpaid? Why? Surely these writers can demonstrate their skills in the usual ways: showing examples of work from their portfolios, CVs, references from past employers, interviews, etc? That's generally enough information for employers in other professions to debase their decision to offer someone a job on, so why this distrust of writers?

I have no idea. But I'm pretty sure none of the staff of our local McDonald's are working "unpaid trials" right now, that's for sure...

Deadbeat Employer of the Day: "It's not a REAL job, just a freelance writing job..."

The quote on the left was spotted in an advert for writers posted today at - where else? - Craigslist. The publication in question was a wedding magazine, and what really winds me up about this ad in particular is the idea it seems to express that there's some kind of difference between a "paying job" and a "freelance writing job". Clearly these people are taking the "free" part of "freelance writing" way too seriously...

This is also a classic example of the "we'll pay you if/when we become successful" school of thinking that's so prevalent among a certain type of employers.

This is such a dangerous route to go down as a freelance writer, not just for the obvious reasons (if they're paying the printer, graphic designer and distributor of their magazine, then why can't they pay the writers?), but because it requires the writer to make a leap of faith which is way beyond "reasonable".

How will you know when revenue has started to made from this venture, for instance? Will the magazine tell you? Will they pay retrospectively, so that if they suddenly start to turn a profit in 2010, they'll get in touch with all of the writers who worked for free in 2008? And again, how will you know they're making a profit?

The simple answer? You won't. You'll just have to live in hope, and pray that this complete stranger you've given your work to turns out to be honest. Are you willing to take that risk?

Deadbeat Employer of the Day: Poetry Editor/Sucker Wanted

"I am looking for someone to edit my political poetry for self publication. I cant pay a fee to the editor but you will help in my voice been heard through my poetry and the story of my people"

Wow! The opportunity to allow a poet without a publishing deal to have his/her voice heard! That's reward enough in itself, isn't it?

Well, no, not really, actually.

And the thing is: it's nice to be nice. To help people just for the sake of doing it, rather than for the hope of any financial reward. But it's also nice to eat, pay your mortgage and clothe your family.

As Liz Phair once said: "It's nice to be liked/ But it's better by far to get paid."

Well, amen to that, Liz...

Deadbeat Employer of the Day: Paid to Plagiarize

This kind of job advert makes me sad:

Reword Articles:

Scope:
We need 50 reworded copies of 10 articles.
Each article will be between 500-800 words, and will be provided to you.

Change: Titles, and one word per sentence changed to a synonym, some sentences & paragraphs moved around.

(From -guess where? - Craigslist)

So, basically, what this person is looking for is someone who will plagiarize another writer's work, changing only "one word per sentence" and moving things around a bit.

This isn't writing - it's stealing. Sadly, though, it's all too common on the Internet, where anyone can set up as a "publisher", without any understanding of the ethics, or, indeed the law pertaining to published works.

The rest of this job advert goes on to explain that the articles being purchased are intended for article distribution sites, so not only will the poor original author have his or her work stolen, the plagiarized copies will then appear on multiple different sites, helping to line the pockets of someone with no talent or creativity of their own. Sickening.

I reported this listing to Craigslist, so hopefully it won't exist by the time you read this post. If you're approached by a would-be employer who asks you to plagiarize someone else's work in this way, though, I can only hope you'll say "no". (Although you may want to say something much ruder...)

Deadbeat Employer of the Day: Looking for freelance writers, don't want to pay them...

From Craigslist...

Are you great at what you do? Well, so are we!

Hi-Rise Entertainment in Florida is looking to expand its pool of writing talent. If you're good, we want you!

If you are interested, send your resume and/or sample (preferably multiple samples) of your work (word doc, preferred) to our partner Michael at the email below:

[removed by WritingWorld]

Looking forward to hearing from you!

• Location: FLA
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
• Compensation: no pay

Well, you know what, Hi-Rise Entertainment? You're obviously not that good at what you do, given that you're clearly unable to pay your "pool of writing talent". And for "If you're good, we want you!", read, "If you're a complete sucker who's willing to work for nothing, we want to take advantage of you."

You've paid for your own domain, you'll be paying for things like electricty, accommodation and the Internet, and I'll just bet that "our partner Michael" is getting paid too. Lucky him. But you're expecting your writers to work for nothing. Let's just hope that "no pay" bit was a typo...

A professional freelance writer for $4? I don't think so...

Spotted:

"I need 5 - 300 word articles written about 5 places in Kent England. I can provide links on the web to give you some factual information on these places to give you a helping hand, however the end result of the article must be unique.

I have $20.00 for these articles so please PM me.

Only professional writers please, they are to be used on a law/legal site.”

Quick roll-call. How many “professional writers” do we have out there who are willing to write unique articles for $4 each? Anyone?

You know, I can almost understand the low-paying employers when they advertise on forums (as this was) knowing that the responses they get will be from kids looking to make a bit of extra pocket money, and that the quality of the writing isn’t going to be that great.

I can almost understand that. I still think they’re ripping people off, but if all they’re interested in some low-quality content for search engines to spider then that’s their choice. I may not agree with it (I think these people need to ask themselves why they’re looking for a good search engine placement in the first place. If it’s to bring visitors to their site, then they need to consider the fact that visitors are put off by poor-quality content), but then, I don’t have to: I’m not the person their adverts are aimed at.

It’s when they claim to want “professional writers only” that I start to have real issues with this kind of thing. Because now they are hoping to attract people like me. They’re hoping to attract people like you. They’re hoping that a professional writer – someone who does this for a living, has got it down to a fine art, and does it well enough to pay the mortgage from it – will accept $4 per article.

That’s when I get annoyed.

And the most annoying thing of all? The people who post ads like this want to use your writing to make a profit. Your content will contribute to the success of their business, so they’ll make money from it and you won’t. Other than the $4 you got for writing it, of course.

How is that fair?

Deadbeat employers: More amazing freelance writing opportunities. Not.

From an Internet forum that I frequent:

I am looking to possibly hire some writers for a site that might be built.
These are the requirments:

1. You have past exp writing articles.
2. You are able to write with great detail and correct grammar.
3. You have an interest in the topic and are well versed in it.

I know its a long shot but we will try

Pay will be $0.50 per article and I need about 100 of them. Articles that met or exceed expectations will be rewarded $1.00

Please apply ONLY if you meet the criteria. Plagiarizism will not be tolerated so anyone caught copy and pasting stuf from others will be fired and blacklisted

For once, words fail me. Oh well, if you insist…

Things like this make my blood boil. I mean, fifty cents per article. Fifty cents per article. Why? What on God’s green earth would make a professional writer (or even a non-professional with the “past experience” and “correct grammar” this guy’s looking for, sit down and write a carefully-reserached (”great detail”, remember!) article for fifty lousy cents - or even the $1 he’s promising if it’s exceptionally good?

If it were 50 cents per word, then OK, let’s talk. But seriously, I wouldn’t even write an easy article for fifty cents. Why would anyone do that? That detailed article is going to take at least an hour to write. Where are all these people who’re willing to work for $0.50 per hour? Where do they live? How are they affording the internet connection? And what the hell are they smoking to want to work for this kind of “reward”?

Deadbeat Employers: Fancy a "writting" job?

Spotted today:

“I have A LOT of writting for you xxxx@yahoo.com…”

What the hell is “writting work” when it’s at home, anyway?
On the other hand, I guess you could argue that if they can’t even spell writing, they really, really need the help.

The jury’s still out…

Deadbeat Employers: Been there, wrote that, got the t-shirt...

One of the best laughs I’ve had all day came from this job advertisement I found at Craigslist:

“No pay, but we’ll send you a t-shirt if your article is chosen for publication. ”

Thanks,  inTravel Magazine, I needed some cheering up!