Writing Job Red Flags pt. 2
Hi everyone! I was working on a different topic for this week’s writing weekly, but my work has recently changed. I’ve been working with several different companies and my own clients over the past few years and finally, this year, 90% of my work is now fiction as I’ve turned my focus to my own clients and projects. It’s been an amazing switch and I enjoy my work so much.
With this recent change, I can’t help but look back and think of all the times some weird red flags popped up in the many different companies I applied to since graduation, over the pandemic, and afterwards. It’s exciting when a hiring manager is energetic, contacts you a lot, and you feel like you have a new job coming your way but it’s important to look out for a few red flags and to ask key questions. Like my very first installment in this series, here are some more red flags to look out for!
“You Can Make as Much Money as You Want”
Oh, those so called limitless freelance jobs…
Make sure the pay is enough and is not too low when calculated per hour due to the belief of unlimited projects and work. That means more money, right? Wrong if they are not paying you enough!
Ask, is there actually work available? I’ve been signed onto companies with a promise of a ton of projects only to have my inbox empty for weeks or there is "not enough work to go around." In these situations, ask for numbers and specifics.
One Manager, One Location
While not a writing job—I was applying to teach English at a program in South Korea. I had several interviews and while it all sounded good, it was getting increasingly strange. My requests to talk to others were unheeded, and I was always connected with a guy with an empty Starbucks cup, in a spinning chair, chewing on his earphone cable, in an empty room… He didn’t even have an office. When I asked him about airfare because my contract said it was to be paid to me after I arrive, but it was not clear if this covered both ways or was guaranteed. He said I would need to ask someone else.
I finally was able to talk to a teacher and another employee on a video call but the first thing they said was to comment on my appearance and how I would be a good match because of my looks. (Your looks in Korean culture are very important, but this was a little too far.) Their answers about their classrooms were vague and when I repeated the air fare question (after I was told they could help me with that), they said they didn’t know, I had to ask the original interviewer. Also, these two women sat in an empty room, alone. I still wasn’t convinced this school they were telling me about was real.
I returned to the interviewer and said, is there anything binding the company to paying for my air fare, as they are promising but the contract is not backing up? –he was unable to answer, and I said goodbye.
I share this example because you need to stick to your questions, ask for those facts, and never take a position where everything has not been spelled out and backed up by a contract. (Also, in South Korea, there is a very real problem of fake schools luring teachers from abroad and it’s a huge scary issue. I reported the school. Usually, it is an act to get your money or worse. I can’t remember the name for this situation, but once I do, I’ll make note of it here.)
For writers, when applying to a company, I start to understand and trust them if I can speak with multiple people and not just one person who claims that everything their website advertises is true. I need proof. Cross reference, ask the same questions a few times, and really—REALLY—check those numbers and the promises they are making!
“Whatever I Need”
When discussing a job’s boundaries and expectations, you never want to hear “and whatever else I need” from the client looking to hire you. As a freelancer, you are usually operating on a specific set of services. These kinds of positions are very different from being a regular employee. You will need to be clear on your work process, schedules, and what their money is buying. I’ve been in one or two positions where the client started demanding different services, unpaid, because they were “already paying me” but those services were not in our original agreement. When this happens, renegotiate, and restate your terms. If these asks are in your wheelhouse, then add the services to be purchased.
For example, if I’m hired on as a website content writer but the client wants me to help in organizing data entry projects since I am already there…that is not what they have hired me to do.
Pay per Word Count
While this is an easy way to pay writers because their projects are composed of words, this can get hairy if the company does not take into consideration the time it takes to research, edit, rewrite, and any changes the company asks you to do for a piece.
For example, I worked for a company where I was paid $15.00 per 350 to 400 words. These pieces, including the research took me anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to complete so I was making $60.00 to $30.00 an hour. That was good and covered any additional work I needed to do because the rates had room to do more than just a simple word count.
On the opposite side of things, there are companies that pay only .06 cents per word. These are content mills!! I was pretty shocked the first time I heard this. Other rates were $4.00 per 1,000 words!! 1,000 words can take me an hour to write, so I would be making only $4.00 an hour. Not including the time it takes to research, talk to the client, plan, outline, and more. Where I live, minimum wage is over $8.00 an hour. Avoid these story factories and content swamps. They will waste your time and take advantage of your talents by saying, “become the writer you have always dreamed of!”
Contract Ambiguity
On contracts, when anything is mentioned about what you get paid for and more, make sure it is crystal clear as day! Make sure or request that instead of general nouns, the document clearly states which party does what. For example, if it says, “the magazine will pay for published articles” a scam or a manager looking to take advantage of writers can come back and say that they literally mean a “the physical magazine” and not the “magazine” as in the company (even though that is how the word is used throughout the entire document.) What does this mean? They can tell you only print publications are paid for and what they are not clear about is that they can use your work online without paying you because it’s not a physical “magazine” even after you have created the content.
Run away from these people, they are only looking to penny-pinch and do not value your work. Ignore the statements about how they write for free, or others do because that is not a reflection of you. Your work, time, and effort should be compensated as the contract states.
Conclusion
That’s all for this week! I hope you all learned some new things and enjoyed this post! In the comments below, feel free to share your own experiences about reg flags you saw, wish you listened to, or realized weren’t so bad after all. Thank you for reading!
Best,
Danni Lynn, Evangeline40003