'I can pay you IF you really want me to'

I was browsing Craigslist just for the fun of it over the weekend, and since I'm planning on getting back to marketing this week, I decided to glance through the writing job ads. I saw this one in the gigs section and was appalled:

Graduate School Personal Statement

I need help from someone who knows what graduate schools want to hear and can help me get my ideas across. I am having a hard time writing more than few sentences for my personal statement. I don't have too much money on hand to offer, but I could probably come up with $20 if you really want it.

Compensation: no pay

Let's ignore the glaringly obvious issue of this person wanting someone else to do the work so that they can get into grad school, and focus on the last sentence of the ad. In exchange for my expertise about what grad schools are looking for, the time it will take to get into the poster's head and extract their "ideas," and the skill it takes to then put those (probably worthless) ideas into words, the poster is willing to give me GAS MONEY... IF I really want it.

Why does the dumba$$ think I would even be browsing the job ads???

When writers screw other writers

No, my title is not a reference to Kathy Kehrli's Screw You! (one of my favorite blogs, incidentally). Rather, it's a reference to when writers intentionally screw each other over.

I received an email today from a fellow writer, one that I once almost worked with on a project we both got through Writerlance. We both had serious misgivings about the client, and the two of us (along with one other) backed out. That was a year ago.

This writer apparently put me on a mailing list, because today I received an email about a current project the writer was hiring for. I clicked on the link, more out of curiosity (and trying to figure out who the heck was emailing me) than anything else, and found this:

Budget: $30-100

I need 10 articles completed by Saturday, 5pm, Eastern time! This is an urgent project, and please only apply if you can complete them by tomorrow for sure!!!

If you have any doubt about completing them, please do not bid. Place your bid for 10 articles by tomorrow. The articles need to be 750 words long.

You will get the complete details once chosen and I need them submitted to me by tomorrow. I am on Eastern time.

I can pay a total of $30 for the project. If I find a writer that is reliable there will be plenty more work in the future with varying payments. = )

The project itself pisses me off, of course: Ten 750-word articles for $30 is bad enough, but a rush project too? Yeah, sure, let me spend my Friday night working my butt off for your measley thirty bucks!

The fact that it's a writer posting the ad infuriates me even more. Even if webmasters don't always understand why paying a writer peanuts for professional work is wrong, another writer ought to know.

No doubt she signed on for too much work, couldn't finish an assignment, but still wanted to keep most of the income.

I hope her conscience keeps her up at night.

The latest from Anonymous

I just received another comment from "Anonymous" (who claims, by the way, that he is not Knick Onkaspol). I decided not to approve the comment, but I am going to paste some of it here so that I can respond to certain threats "Anonymous" made.

Anonymous says:

Any potential business partner who Google’s his name is going to find this blog which could inadvertently effect his business dealings. Why? Because he made a post asking for writers at a dollar a page? Did you ever once stop and think about Knick, that maybe he is a struggling new business owner trying to better his life by building his own business on a VERY limited budget? You probably didn’t. Because it seems that it is more important to you to drag someone’s name through the mud just because you were insulted by his add. Never at any point of time were you forced to accept.

Your right the first amendment does give someone the freedom of free speech, honestly if this blog was only under Knick and not his full name I could really care less what you wrote on it. The fact is you are slandering his full name, with a big warning “Stay away from this guy” If you had any compassion whatsoever you would apologize to my client and remove his last name from this blog. Stop for one minute and think about how words can effect people. War’s have been started by mere words. This is something else you should know as a “writer”, and then think about how your words may effect someone’s life/business/and credibility.

With that said I am formally requesting that you please remove Knicks last name from your blog. If after reading this you still feel determined to slander my client I will have no choice but to report your website to your domain register (Godaddy) and also to your web hosting provider (The Planet). These are not threats, honestly I prefer to resolve this civilly and save us both a lot of time.

My response:

Actually, the term is "libel," not slander. My blog is NOT libel because everything is either 1) the truth, or 2) clearly stated as opinion. I have proof to back up every factual statement I have made, and all of my warnings are clearly stated as my opinion.

If Knick's budget is as limited as what you say, he shouldn't be hiring writers, plain and simple. The landlord, website host, electrical company, and phone company aren't expected to discount their rates for "struggling new business owners." Writers shouldn't be expected to do this either.

I will not be removing Knick's name from my postings, because it is completely within my legal rights to write about my experiences with him. If Knick doesn't like what I am saying, perhaps he should reconsider what he is doing. All I have done is posted the truth and certain opinions that I have derived from the truth. If this hurts his business opportunities, it is of his own doing, NOT mine.

Another reason...

Since I posted on my blog about Knick Onkaspol and his low-paying gigs, my blog has suddenly started getting an unusual amount of attention in the form of nasty comments. Although I don't know for sure that "Anonymous" is really Knick, I have reason to believe it may be.

The facts:

1) Knick's final email to me, written after I informed him I would be warning other writers of his low-paying practices, stated simply: "Do what got to do and so will I." A badly written threat? Certainly seemed that way to me.

2) Since posting on Knick's low-paying gigs and our email exchange, I have received several rude comments on those posts, containing everything from bad words to indirect libel suit threats to accusations that I am unprofessional.

3) All but one of these posts were made by "Anonymous," and the only one that wasn't came after I told "Anonymous" that I wasn't going to approve any more of his comments.

4) According to my website statistics, the visitors to these specific pages came to my blog from a saved favorites link. In other words, no one has happened upon these pages by searching the Internet, despite the fact that the last commenter tried to make it sound like that's how he got here.

5) All but the last comment were written in the same style as Knick's emails. That is to say, they all had similar spelling and grammar errors, often leaving out entire words.

Do these facts mean that it's Knick harassing me for exposing him on my blog? Ultimately you'll have to be the judge of that. However, if you think, as I do, that Knick is probably involved, this makes just one more reason why you should avoid working for Knick Onkaspol.

Some people...

An "employer" (probably Knick himself) commented on my post of a few days ago, on the lunacy of writing for $1. Click here to read his comment and my response.

The latest from Knick Onkaspol

Knick Onkaspol is the "employer" I discussed earlier this afternoon. I seriously recommend that you avoid this guy at all costs.

Here is the gist of our exchange:

Knick posted an ad.

I responded with my cover letter and resume.

Knick emailed me back with the details of the project.

I emailed him back saying that his prices ($1 per article to start) were insultingly low.

He emailed me back asking why I was searching for jobs on Craigslist if I'm so great that a buck an article isn't good enough for me, and insulting me with the statement, "You might not be as good as you think you are………"

I emailed him back saying that I suspected his gig was low-paying, and wanted to confirm my suspicions (so that I could tell him off). I noted that I would be warning other writers about him.

He emailed me back just now, accusing me of not reading the job description all the way through to see the pay raise he offered for loyal writers. (This pay raise, by the way, is to "$2 onwards" per article. Yippee.) He closed with the sulky statement, "So, go ahead go ruin another person passion by your ego and tell your fellow writers."

I think that this guy's lack of professionalism speaks for itself, but I still wanted to get my 2 cents out there. My advice to everyone is to stay far, far away from Knick Onkaspol!

How much can I get for a dollar?

I really hate people who advertise low-paying writing gigs. No, guys, $1 is not a good rate. Not even for a beginner. No, we are not so desperate that we'll exchange a lousy dollar for the "pleasure" of seeing our work in print.

In my job search today, I responded to an ad that I thought sounded rather fishy. It was seeking "new" and "fresh" writers, and I thought it was probably low paying. Usually people who post ads looking for beginning writers have been told too many times that their payment rates are too low. I responded anyway, figuring if it was a good job, I'd be glad I applied, and if it wasn't, I'd give the poster a piece of my mind.

It wasn't a good job. It was actually a new ad for an old job that I saw a couple of weeks ago, where you write short "free writing" articles (they're not really free writing) for a dollar each. I wrote back, telling him his rates are too low. He sent me a dubious response, including the statement,

If you feel that you are so advance, why you searching for gig’s on Craigslist then?

Interesting.

I know I say this all the time, but I'm going to keep saying it until these slimeballs go away: don't take low-paying gigs! Don't work for a dollar! Just don't do it!

I'd also like to add to my mantra a request that others join me in this cause. When you see a low-paying gig advertised, tell the poster exactly what you think of them. There may not be a practical way to institute a writer's minimum wage, but at the very least we can do the virtual equivalent of tarring and feathering anyone who tries to take advantage of writers!

Click on post title to view comments for this post.

In the spirit of "Screw You!"...

In the spirit of Kathy Kehrli's blog Screw You!, I can't resist the temptation to direct your attention to a pathetic example of a low-paying client who expects the world at bargain prices.

I've noticed with Writerlance that if I post a bid - or a critique, as I did here - before anyone else, what I say or bid will have a strong impact on how people post after me. For example, if I bid a decent rate, fewer people bid in rock-bottom range; likewise, if I comment on the client's insultingly low budget, others will follow suit.

In this case, "tallyho" not only wants a professional writer for cheap (i.e. $5 or less per 700-word article), he also wants one with impeccable feedback. I thought that odd, since his rating was a 3 (out of 10), so I checked his feedback... And guess what? The only person who had given him any yet said she didn't get paid any more than a fraction of what she was owed! Her story was much the same as many other freelancers who find themselves in similar situations... He loved her work, continued accepting it, and then when it came time to pay, said it wasn't of a high enough quality.

In my opinion, there's nothing worse than a client who thinks that complaining after the fact about a writer's work is grounds enough to refuse payment. Clients, if you don't like someone's work, end the project, but you are still obligated to pay your writer for the work he or she has already produced!

Actually, there might be something worse: clients who try to deceive writers. When I saw this project, I entered a fake bid. The bid was for $450, the absolute minimum I would have charged for 30 700-word articles (and even that was probably too low...). Of course, the entire point of bidding was to leave a scathing comment, which read:

Not only are you offering writers slave wages to work for you, you also have the audacity to ask for bidders with good feedback ratings when YOURS shows a track record of not paying! BIDDERS BEWARE!

An hour or so later I checked back, and found that several other writers had commented in a similar vein. However, I was appalled to see that the client's feedback had been erased - he was hiding the fact that he hasn't paid his last writer! I added to the end of my comment:

BIDDERS BEWARE - HE HAS NO FEEDBACK NOW BECAUSE HE HAD HIS FEEDBACK DELETED!

Of course, there are always those writers who see these types of situations as an opporunity to move in and "steal" the job from us self-respecting types. As a result, "tallyho" will get what he most likely is really after - a dirt-cheap writer who will turn in substandard work and enable the client to once again justify his refusal to pay.

Opportunity doesn't stand in for reliable, sufficient payment!

This evening I was browsing through jobs and ran across an ad on Craigslist for PreschoolRock.com, a website looking for writers who are experts in preschool topics. I read the ad and the first half or so of the page on their website describing the job requirements, and then simply scanned the rest before scrolling down to the application form. After applying, I realized I hadn't seen anything about compensation, and returned to the job description to find it. I was rather surprised to find, in a little paragraph toward the end of the job description, a mention that payment is in the form of ad revenue from your PreschoolRock.com site.

I generally don't cater to jobs that offer ad revenue as "payment." I need a set payment so that I know what to expect each month - especially for a gig that would require as much time and effort as PreschoolRock.com demands. However, I wasn't entirely concerned about it - if I got a response, I figured I would just send the editor an email explaining the situation and apologizing.

PreschoolRock.com must be having a hard time finding good writers who will work under their terms, because I had a response from the editor, Stacey Lloyd, a little over an hour later. I sent the following email in response, which I thought was rather nice, considering how I feel about people who pay their writers in ad revenues:

Thank you for your email. After submitting my application, I read through the guidelines a little more closely and came upon the part about writer compensation. Because I depend on writing as my sole source of income, I cannot afford to put my time and effort into a job that does not pay me directly. Taking a chance on ad revenues might be a viable gamble for someone else, but unfortunately, it's not for me.

I'm sorry if I have cost you any of your valuable time in applying before I completely read the page. I read the first half of the page, and got so excited about the job that I scrolled down and applied immediately. Please believe me when I say that I am truly sorry the compensation arrangement will not work for me, because the topic is one of my own passions and the site seems like a lot of fun. If the payment arrangement ever changes, I would be happy to sign on to PreschoolRock.com - but for now, I sincerely regret to say that I cannot.

Best of luck with your site! It looks great!

About an hour later, I received a response to my nice email: "Ah, a write [sic] must also be a good reader." Even though she put a smiley face after this, I found it rather rude to insult my writing skills after I had written such a nice and apologetic email (not to mention rather amusing for her to criticize my reading skills while she - the editor of PreschoolRock.com - included a glaring mistake in the opening line of her email). To add insult to injury, she continued to tell me how successful PreschoolRock.com is, and what a great opportunity it is to work with the company:

Those who have managed to get selected for this opportunity are already seeing that being a part of PreschoolRock.com goes far beyond the immediate monetary gains. One look in our Writers’ Forum (which you would’ve gotten access to) and you would’ve seen all that’s going on behind the scenes.

I have two comments to this: 1) A "good opportunity" is not a substitute for reliable, sufficient payment, and 2) if PreschoolRock.com is as successful as she says, why can't she afford to pay her writers real wages? In general, my bills need to be paid in "immediate monetary gains" on a monthly basis, so I don't see why I shouldn't expect as much from a writing gig.

Taking a chance on my share of ad revenues being enough to justify all of my hard work does not seem to me like fair payment. Other people - most likely people who already have other jobs or live in areas that don't have the high cost-of-living that is found in most of the U.S. - might be willing to gamble on ad revenues or give their work away in exchange for a "good opportunity," but I prefer clients who will pay me an amount that is decided on beforehand. And even though I've spent my freelancing career working for "immediate monetary gains," I haven't suffered for opportunities.

In other words, don't let any employer ever tell you that their "good opportunity" is worth working for nominal or unreliable pay!