Write - First 4 For Free? You’re Kidding, Right?
Every now and again I run into an ad that says something like:
We’re big and growing and need a gillion articles. Write the first four for free for us and starting with article five, assuming you’ve demonstrated you’re good, we’ll start to pay you.
I never publish these ads. I mean, do they think we’re stupid? Assuming whoever uses this scheme actually needs, ultimately, 10,000 articles. If they get 100 writers to do agree, they’ve got 400 articles for free. That will take maybe two or three weeks, maybe a month, depending, to get edited and up. Then they run the ad again and get another 100… do you see what I mean?
It just seems like a scam to me, so I don’t publish their ads.
But maybe I’m wrong. Have any of you had any experience answering ads like this? What was your experience? Let’s talk about it.
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9 opinions for Write - First 4 For Free? You’re Kidding, Right?
Graham Strong
May 21, 2008 at 9:18 am
Yeah, I also like the ones that say “write us a test article on this subject, and if we like it, we’ll send you more work.”
One day I’m going to take them up on that, Copyscape it, and see where the article ended up — and then send them the bill.
~Graham
Anne Wayman
May 21, 2008 at 10:20 am
If you do that Graham, come back and tell us about it for sure.
Ashish Ahuja
May 21, 2008 at 10:34 am
I thinks its better to write on your own blog and monetize it
Regards,
CA Ashish Ahuja, FCA
A Roaming Blogger and a CA
Indian Chartered Accountants New Delhi India
Company Formation India Private Limited
Celine
May 21, 2008 at 10:59 am
Only a gillion articles? If they were *really* as big as they say they are, they’d need a gazillion bijillion killion articles.
Anne Wayman
May 21, 2008 at 11:04 am
Ashish, yes, altho monitizing isn’t particularly easy, at least it’s yours.
lol Celene… yes
LS
May 22, 2008 at 12:29 am
I see those all the time. I guess there’s someone, somewhere who really does it. But, of course it’s a scam. It’s just a vague scam that isn’t technically thievery since they never actually promised future work.
bleeding espresso
May 22, 2008 at 8:30 am
I’m in a trial period right now but I get paid for the trial articles as well (and yes I’ve already been paid); indeed, even when I did sample blog posts for a blogging gig, I got paid for those. For those hiring writers, that’s the right way to do it.
That said, Publishers Weekly requires a 3 month, 6 review UNPAID trial period; I thought that was odd for such a reputable company. I couldn’t do even the offered trial period because I’m located in Italy, but I’m sure I wouldn’t have been happy with giving up 6 free reviews even for the chance to work with them.
Anne Wayman
May 22, 2008 at 9:35 am
it may not technically be theft, but by any other definition it sure is imo
Glenn Vincent
Jun 3, 2008 at 10:36 am
A publisher asking a writer to work for free is like a car dealership asking an auto maker to send them cars for free. The publisher pays for everything else he uses - rent for office space, equipment, supplies, etc. - but he expects to get his “bread and butter” (the words he prints) without paying the person who produced them? In any other business this person would be laughed at and thought of as an arrogant a$$#@((.
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