Effective Ways to Avoid Freelance Writing Scams

Nobody wants to be scammed. I know how it feels to be conned online. I am a freelance writer and it’s hard to describe the feeling of being cheated by others who take advantage of people’s passion for writing. It is traumatizing, demoralizing, painful, and sometimes unbearable. There are many kinds of online writing scams that target freelance writers. There are those who employ freelancers but have no intention to remit the latter’s earnings. There are some freelance writing companies that unfeelingly delay freelance writers’ pay out for several months without considering the financial state of their writers.

Newbies need to be aware of the grim reality in freelance writing business if they want to avoid any untoward circumstances. There are many ways to determine whether a freelance writing company is a scam. All you have to do is be aware of the gimmicks of some companies that are out to cheat on freelance writers.

Beware of mega promises. If you stumbled on a freelance writing site that promises hundreds or thousands of dollars per day, per week, or even per month, think twice. Of course there are legitimate freelance writing companies and workplaces that really offer high earning capacity for qualified and good writers, but you have to tread lightly on anonymous sites and posting.

No qualifications needed at all. It may be possible that even legitimate freelance writing companies require little experience, but always be careful when you stumble upon an anonymous posting which requires little or no experience necessary. Always remember to tip # 1 when in doubt.

Flooding and spamming. Real or legitimate freelance writing companies don’t really resort to spamming just to recruit good freelance writers.

Fluffy website. If you can hardly determine who is the owner and where the company is located, then be very careful. A legitimate employer does not have to hide his/her identity from his/her potential writers. It is important that you be able to gather enough information about the company— what they do, who they serve, how they pay, and how much do they pay.

Vague terms and conditions. Once you found out that your target company has ambiguous terms and conditions and unclear payout scheme, back out. Always look at how the company pays its writers. This is one way to determine whether that company really pays its writers.

Reality check. Go to your favorite public forums or blog communities to check whether your prospect company has bad reputation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Check other writers’ blogs who previously worked with the company whether they have good or bad things to say.

That’s it! You have to protect your interest against possible scams.

Why Choose Independent Freelance Writers?

Who are independent freelance writers? They are the ones who transact and deal directly with online clients without any middleman or freelance writing company.
There are thousands of freelance writing companies offering academic and web content writing services to clients across the globe. Some of the well-known freelance writing workplaces are elance.com, odesk.com, academia-research.com, allwriting.net, among many others. Most of these online writing companies offer services at exorbitant prices to online clients. However, the problem is there is no assurance whether the clients get what they have paid for.
There are also thousands of independent freelance writers who directly transact and deal with online clients. In this case, both parties— the provider and the client— are free to name their prices, give suggestions and additional information, discuss the manner by which they transact or communicate with each other, and set the terms of payment. Freelance writer who would like to work under this system must have computer and internet facilities, including ecommerce or online payment methods.
Most, if not all, independent online writers or those who individually transact with potential clients online have previously worked with freelance writing workplaces. Most independent freelance writers chose to leave their former companies because of untoward cases, such as scam, delayed payments, unfair terms and conditions set by the company, manipulation of plagiarism reports, manipulation of clients’ feedback, unfriendly and unfeeling technical support, and exploitation of online writers, among many others.
For clients, it is advisable that they first conduct company background check before placing an order with a particular freelance writing company. There are online writing companies that treat clients well, but are oppressive to their own writers. There are many advantages of online writing companies.

Disadvantages of online writing companies
They offer steep prices. Most freelance writing companies like academia-research.com, writers.ph, elance.com, odesk.com, allwriting.net, etc. offer high or even unreasonable prices to online clients. The thing is, only about 15 percent to 30 percent goes to freelance writers who do all the work, while a huge chunk of the client’s money goes to the company. Online writing companies need to keep their price list because they have employees to pay and a system to maintain.
Freelance writers are not really assessed. Most freelance writing companies do not really check on the writing facilities of their writers. There are some that easily admit freelance writers without conducting qualifying examinations or essay tests. As a result, online clients suffer and are usually barred by hidden terms and conditions of the freelance writing company.
Hidden terms and conditions. Most freelance writing companies have hidden terms and conditions that are unfair to both freelance writers and clients. Both online writers and clients need to be aware of the rules and terms and conditions of a particular company before clicking the start button.
Complaints and unfair treatment. Just use the search engine and try to google freelance writers’ and clients’ complaints about unscrupulous freelance writing companies. There are now sites and forums whose goal is to expose the modus operandi of a lot of online writing companies. Some of these sites are essayscam.org, scamessays.com, ghostwritinguncovered.com, etc.
These are some of the many reasons why it is safer to outsource the services of independent freelance writers, plus the fact that most of them deliver high quality results at affordable prices.

Online Writing Jobs: Important Things to Consider

There are a lot of writing opportunities online. If you think you’re a good writer, there’s a big chance for you to thrive in this booming market. Apart from writing skills, you must have the facilities, such as computer desktop or laptop, internet connection, online libraries, communication tools like Skype or YM, website or blogsite, and fast remittance system like Paypal, wire transfer, Western Union, Xoom, and so on. Anyone who would like to make online or freelance writing as a part-time or full-time job needs to know how to integrate these aspects.
There’s a difference between the terms freelance writing and office-based online writing. Freelance writing enables you to work independently with online clients. Unlike office-based writers, freelance writers have the freedom and flexibility to choose the type of writing jobs they would like to work on. Freelance writers need to have a reliable and fast internet connection.
There are a lot of Academic writing or SEO companies online. All you have to do is google these online writing companies using the phrases “freelance writing,” “online writing,” “freelance writer with pay,” “write for us,” “write for us with pay,” and so on. There are a lot of online writing workplaces that offer writing opportunities to freelance writers. Among these popular online writing workplaces are elance.com, odesk.com, directfreelance.com, crosswriting.com, and so on. These online workplaces for freelance writers provide clients or employers with monthly pay or percentage charge per output basis. For starters, it is not advisable to register with these online workplaces.
There are other online avenues for freelance writers where they can offer their services without monthly charge or per output payment. Online companies like allwriting.net, academia-research.com, among others hire freelance writers who will work on online orders. There are advantages and disadvantages of this type of writing gig. For the advantages, freelance writers no longer have to bid because orders are made available online. Freelance writers will have the freedom to choose the projects they wanted to work on. On the other hand, most of the complaints focus on payment system. Most freelance writers complain of delayed payout, malicious deductions, vague policies that affect payment, among others.
Before barging in, you must conduct a company background check to secure your interests. There are a lot of online writers who blogged about their unhappy freelance writing experiences. If you’re not that sure about the legitimacy or integrity of a particular company, try to google it.