Scam? Or Not A Scam?

Wading through help-wanted ads for writers can be tricky. First of all, everyone wants and needs writers but are somehow stuck in this mindset that they don't really need to be paid. I can't really justify this logic (a more drawn out rant may be coming in a future post) but that's the way it is. What's even more aggravating than unpaid "positions," however, are those ads that calm your fears about being paid and the fine print reads something like "10 cents a word" or "2 cents a word" or "20 dollars for fifty one-hundred word articles." There are also the ads that claim their site is finally the way to make a living as a writer, so sign up now!

I have two general rules for this, and then I will touch on some specific sites that you're likely to come across in your hunt.

1. If you have a degree relating to writing and/or any experience whatsoever, do not accept unpaid work. The main exception to this rule is if you land an internship with a magazine that you'd find in the newsstands in New York City. Having the name on your resume, the contacts and the experience is (usually, hopefully) equivalent to being paid. If any ad starts going on about how working for them would be great for "expanding your portfolio" or "gaining experience" or "increasing visibility for your blog" just keep on clicking. Writing for them won't do anything for you, and will do everything for them. If you're concerned about clips, write your own blog (or ten) instead. This will show you're passionate, dedicated, well-informed and knowledgeable about the web.

2. If they ask you for money, it's a scam.  This should be obvious but, then again, if nobody fell for it these scams wouldn't exist.

Now, on to more specific sites. The following are bound to pop up on your go-to job resources (which should be Mediabistro, Ed2010, journalismjobs.com and Craigslist - don't knock it, that's how I've gotten pretty much everything in my life) and after trudging through hundreds of ads and not hearing a damn thing, your curiosity is bound to be piqued. Here's what I've found.

On Demand Studios


I currently am with On Demand. I was extremely skeptical at first, but they are a legitimate business. Whether or not you're going to be successful with them is hit or miss. The concept is that they exclusively receive assignments from various service journalism sites. You sign in and can snap up whatever ones you want. Once an article is claimed, you have a week to submit it to an editor. They request a rewrite, if needed, and as soon as it's accepted they send you the payment through Paypal, which is a nice perk.

The problem is that, unless you're specifically qualified for more niche sites like livestrong.com, their main supplier is eHow.com. These articles are requested by everyday people online, so the titles you're given (the title of the article is all you're given) are usually poorly edited, vague, unclear and totally random. On Demand attempts to categorize them, but they're mostly misfiled. More often than not, I haven't the slightest idea how to approach the article, even in categories that I consider myself somewhat of an expert on. Here's a screen capture of the listings tonight under one of my favorite categories, Fashion:

See what I mean? As you can see, articles go for a paltry $15 a pop, which is pretty pathetic. But, I figured that if I could do 3 articles a week, that would be groceries (it's how you have to think as a freelancer). However, it's so rare that I find a good match that I've so far completed only two articles in the month or so I've been with them. I wouldn't put them down too much, though. Depending on your preferred subjects, willingness to be diligent about checking the listings, and ability to bullshit if necessary, this could be a very good fit. Conclusion? Not a scam. 


Suite 101


Suite 101 is an "online magazine" where writers can join and publish any old article, which is basically like writing a blog. The way writers are paid, though, are through "royalties," which translates to ad shares, pretty much. I haven't personally written for the site because it always seemed sketchy to me, but the message reads loudly to me: you aren't getting paid shit writing for Suite 101. I can't imagine earning more than a couple of dollars total with them. Just examine their pitch closely. Sure, they mention getting paid to write in every section, but what they focus on a lot more is joining a community of writers and getting your words out there. It's just the type of copy that I warned against in ads earlier, only packaged much more brightly. Conclusion?
Scam.


Examiner


Examiner talks a good talk. It looks legitimate enough, and it is a bit exciting to be given a distinct title like "Examiner: Bakeries." Their application looks like they're serious; it is lengthy and demanding after all. They want writing samples, resumes, edit tests and a commitment of x number of articles a week.  But, once all that
is dusted off, they really don't have anything to show. Working for Examiner is yet another commission-only type gig. How much you get paid is dependent on how often your article is viewed which, let's face it, is likely to be "only rarely," for which you're probably getting a couple cents a hit. This does not a salary make. So, a more demanding site with the most constraints of the pack for the least amount of money? Conclusion? Scam.


oDesk


oDesk is similar to On Demand in that it's a resource for other potential employers to put their listings all in one place. They have gigs from all around the world for all sorts of jobs. Unfortunately, they tend to attract ads that are more along the lines of "$10 for 30 articles" than anything substantial. Also, there's some kind of odd process of bidding how much you want to be paid, and when you input that it adds a couple more dollars to what the employer would be billed. I honestly don't understand it, but I've been too afraid  to test it out or look into it further in case I accidentally screw myself over somehow. For reference, this is what a job posting looks like:

It just doesn't feel right to me. Conclusion? Scam.


Yup, it's rough out there. The reality is that I spend at least an hour or two everyday searching through my job resources. Out of the hundreds I see a day, maybe ten are a good fit and realistic to apply to. Out of the ten, I'll maybe hear back from two. And out of the two, maybe one of them will actually follow through with what they promised. Writing ads are as truthful and fruitful as nonprofit and promoting events these days. Don't be that person on the sidewalk shoving flyers in people's faces.