Writer Wrangler

By Writer Wrangler Writer

Li’l Herbert Fuchida

 

So, you thought that setting up shop on one of the freelance job boards was going to protect you from lowlife scammers?  Think again, my writing friends.

 

The evil bastards have infiltrated eLance and other popular bid boards and they’re screwing content writers right and left.

 

Here’s how it goes down.

 

You bid on a job and you get it.  You’re supposed to write ten keyword articles for the buyer.  You hunker down and produce ten beautiful pieces of work.  You zip ‘em up, send them off and wait for the buyer to release the funds to you.

 

That doesn’t happen, though.

 

Instead, the buyer–often within minutes of getting the articles–makes it perfectly clear that he or she isn’t going to give you a penny for your hard work because every damn word you sent was plagiarized from existing articles.  Those articles are already online and the terms of the deal made it clear that you were supposed to deliver 100% original content.  No money for you, freelance writer.

 

You know all about that deal with a million monkeys typing on a million typewriters until one of them accidentally pens Hamlet, but there’s no way in you-know-where that anyone else has produced the work you just sent off.  Your stuff is golden.  Completely original and fresh.  The buyer is clearly out of his or her mind.  You let the buyer know in no uncertain terms that you’re not happy with the plagiarism insinuation and that he or she must be mistaken because you wrote the articles yourself.

 

The response?  He or she doesn’t believe you.  The articles are plagiarized. The buyer claims to be reading them right at that very moment, word for word, on another site.  You stole them.  The terms of the deal required original work and you clearly cheated.  The buyer isn’t going to give you any dough and if you don’t stop the harassment and low-life plagiarist whining, the buyer might just report you to the site and to everyone else in the biz he or she knows.  Oh, and there’s even a little proof for you.  A series of URLs.

 

You check them out.  Sure enough, those are your articles.  They’ve been posted to an article directory under a name that doesn’t match yours or the buyer’s.  The resource box with the articles goes to a redirect on another site that has private registration or that somehow makes it tough to find out who the person claiming authorship really is.

 

You know you wrote them, but there they are, plain as day.  Already online.

 

Obviously, you don’t want to surrender on this deal, but you don’t want to have your name dragged through the bid board mud and you certainly don’t want the buyer ratting your out as a lowlife thief to the rest of the world.  So, what can you do?  You explain that you have no idea whatsoever how that happened and you apologize for any misunderstanding.  You move on, hoping to never experience such a reputation-threatening episode again.  You walk away, wondering who screwed you over and how.

 

Or at least that’s what the scamming buyer on the other end of the transaction is hoping you’ll do. 

Here’s the way it works.  About two seconds after you send those articles, the buyer uploads them all to an article directory that offers instant acceptance (GoArticles.com is a popular choice) or to a blog that he or she controls (often hosted at Blogger.com, for those keeping score at home).  The buyer has the infrastructure in place before you provide the content.  It only takes him or her a few seconds to get the new stuff live and on the web, under a pseudonym. 

 

The buyer reaps the rewards of your hard work, as planned, but with the added bonus that you don’t get paid a cent in the process.

 

All of that self-righteous indignation and concern over plagiarism?  It’s a load of malarkey.  You’ve been stung by a nasty little crook.

 

So, how do you avoid this one?

 

Well, you can avoid the bid boards altogether.  That’s probably the best advice for a million reasons that have nothing to do with this scam, but I know a lot of people won’t believe me. That’s why I recommend that if you’re going to do business via eLance, etc., that you should focus on working with reputable buyers who have a track record on the site. 

 

You can also refuse to lose.  Don’t play defense if you’re getting screwed.  Instead, take it right back at them when they claim plagiarism.  Fight the bastards every step of the way, using every trick in the book to uncover their nefarious deeds and to evidence your original authorship.  Most of the time, you won’t need to do much.  The reason why people run these scams on freelancers is because people back down when confronted with a bully.  If you don’t play along with that plan, you’re more likely to get what you deserve.  If the scammy buyer comes at you with a knife, let him or her know that you’re carrying a pistol.  And that it’s locked and loaded.

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