Here are some tips to help you avoid freelance writing scams:
Don’t write “trial” articles.
If someone isn’t intelligent enough to figure out whether or not you’d be a good fit for the job by reading something you’ve already written, then you don’t want to work for them. Scammers ask for “trial articles” then re-sell them illegally or use them on their own sites. Once you’ve given it away, you can’t prove it’s yours.
Don’t give away your SSN.
Unless they hire you, they don’t need it. (Who does a background check to hire a freelance writer?!) Even if they do hire you, employers (U.S.) only need your SSN to report you to the IRS after you’ve earned $600 in one year. They don’t need it before they hire you — ever.
Read the fine print.
Don’t sign contracts that don’t spell out the terms clearly, including what rights you’re giving away and when you’ll be paid. “On publication” could mean never if they never publish your article. Get a date.
Use Google to your advantage.
Freelance writers stick together, they complain on their own blogs, and they report freelance writing scams to places like writersweekly.com. If you’re in doubt, a google search might turn up something.
Trust your better judgment.
Even if you’re broke and really need the money, don’t hope that something sounding too good to be true will really pan out. It’s better to be safe than sorry, as the saying goes.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent tips, Amy, as always!
Smiles,
Michele
Good point about the social security numbers. I have filled out a few applications that asked for them and included mine. Luckily mine weren’t identity thieves or anything, but I hadn’t even thought of that possibility. I also hadn’t thought about the fact that they don’t really need that information.
Hello, I am new to freelance writing and recently found your blog. Can you please tell me what is a trial article?
Thanks Michele.
Ang, I’d never thought about it either until I had someone steal my identity. After that, I’ve gotten pretty cautious.
Jennifer, welcome to the blog! Make sure to also check out the home page at write-from-home.com. There are some good articles there, many of which are written by freelance writers with a lot more experience than I have. To answer your questions, I define a “trial article” like this: an article someone wants you to write specifically for them as an audition for the job, but they’re not paying you for it. I see a lot of these ads for people looking for SEO/keyword articles. They want to see how well a writer can write when given a particular set of keywords, so they ask all writers for a trial article, and in theory, the best writer gets the job. The problem I see with this is that even if the person is truly out to hire a writer, all those other writers are wasting their time doing work for no pay. A legit employer can afford to pay for trial articles if they need to hire this way. But I personally believe that seeing a writing sample (one you’ve already written, either on your own site or for someone else) should be enough for any legitimate employer to base his decision on. Hope that helps. If not, let me know.
That makes sense, many thanks for the helpful explanation. No one has asked me to do that but now I know not to, so thank you again.
I was used by the trial article scam you are talking about. They asked for samples and I later found my writings online, although I was told the unpaid samples would not be used in any way. I reported to their ISP that they had committed copyright infringement, and their website was shut down.
Jennifer, no problem. Happy to help.
Madeline, I am SO happy to hear you were able to do something about the folks who stole your work. I wish more writers would go after people who did that sort of thing. Most of the time, writers feel it isn’t worth the effort, but I think if more writers were compelled to take action less people would think they could get away with it.
Way to go, Madeline!!!!
Smiles,
Michele
Please do comment and discuss.
We love a good conversation!
Please use a name when commenting. Does not have to be your real name or full name. But responding to folks calling themselves "Make Money Writing Online" and such kinda sucks. Calling yourself keywords will likely get you thrown into my spam filter.