Freelance Writing Jobs Accused of Scammery and Fraud

Wow. Just Wow.

I’m floored. As most of  you know, the FWJ Idol contest was created as a way to give this community a chance to pick its newest paid blogger. Today, it was brought to my attention that someone who claims to be a regular here posted a long “hub” about how I’m scamming folks in exchange for free content. The recent gaming of the polls didn’t help matters any.

This distresses me not because the blogger failed to catch the essence of this contest and the FWJ community in his blog post, but because the last thing I want to do is scam anyone. The author, Hal Licino, invited me to respond, which kind of ticks me off even more – why not ask for a quote or comment or my side of the story prior to writing such a negative piece? Isn’t that what seasoned writers such as Mr. Licino do? He chose instead to post a hit piece and then ask for my thoughts -which of course will look like I’m on the defensive. I’m suspecting Mr. Licino needs traffic, and by posting his link I’m sending it his way, but I believe in being fair and presenting both sides of the issue.

I’m also distressed at the responses in the comments from someone who I have had a very respectful relationship with and who is a regular here. Mark Knowles wrote:

I would hazard a guess that like many of us, she is having trouble turning a successful blog into an income stream, and this may have clouded her judgement.

Actually Mark, FWJ is making enough to pay one writer a monthly income and another for a twice-weekly gig. We’re doing fine, but thanks for your continued faith in me.

Now for the meat of the matter, as Hal Licino wrote in his post, the devil is indeed in the details. Since he has been following this contest so closely, I’m sure it’s merely an oversight that he forgot a few key points.

22 Contestants aren’t writing each week. 22 people applied for the job in the comments section of the very first post and 13 made the cut.  We didn’t have 22 writers sending in content at all. Not even close. Each week one or more was eliminated. Some weeks two people were eliminated. We are getting ready to eliminate one more this weekend to make it to the final three.

All contestants were (and still are) offered the opportunity to have their content pulled the week after it was posted, after each week’s voting. This is not my content to keep. I do not own the rights and the contestants are welcome to do whatever they wish with the content. One contestant who didn’t make the cut requested removal and we were happy to oblige. Mr. Licino claimed we offered to pull the content after the contest was over – not true. We offered to pull each week’s content after the weekly poll. Since most writers contribute towards the end of the week, should that have their content pulled it would only be up at FWJ for a matter of a few days.

Contestants are given numbers and anonymous names to keep the voting fair. We’re looking for a blogger and it’s not a popularity contest. At the end of this contest, anyone not wishing to pull content will get their byline and a full bio on each blog post including links back anywhere. Our bloggers won’t be anonymous when the contest is over. Some already have a following.

As for the voting, yes we had issues with someone gaming the polls. We’re trusting our community and contestants to do the right thing but there are always those who need to come along and ruin a good thing. We’re hoping that issue is dealt with. The candidates who come out on top are the same ones who always come out on top – even before the gaming took place. We’re confident the best person for the job will indeed be selected.

I can understand how Mr. Licino might think I’m taking advantage of writers. When it comes down to it he’s not wrong about some things. All of our hardworking contestants have entrusted us with their content for this contest – and no, they’re not being paid for it. Their bylines won’t even come until the contest is over.  But a sucker trap? I’m deeply offended.This contest was created as a fun way to allow the FWJ community have a say in who its next blogger would be. There’s no hidden agenda. Personally I prefer an uncluttered blog and didn’t like the confusion of having dozens of posts a day (as Jodee will attest).

So I will present some facts and as, always, my community will decide what is fair:

• This blog provides a valuable free service to freelance writers.
• For three years we built this to be a place of honesty and integrity. We dedicated our own time educating writers how to set proper rates and stay away from scams.
• Everything I make in advertising goes to paying writers and for the design and maintenance of FWJ. It always goes back to FWJ.
• The last thing we want to do is take from people without offering something in return.

I said it in the past and I’ll say it now. All contestants are welcome to pull their content at any time. I do not own the rights to your content and don’t expect exclusivity. Jodee will be paid overtime to help me pull content or insert bios and links into contestants blog posts at the end of the contest.

If you don’t think this is fair, we have no problem pulling the content, especially since we don’t own it.

In the meantime I hope you will continue to enjoy our contest, even though there are some who apparantly don’t get it.

Have a great day!

Deb