What we have learned in the past few years is that some services who claim to pay for freelance work done by you, well, simply won't pay you for the work. I can't tell you how many times we have been bitten by people who have taken hours of our research and writing expertise, and then we never hear from them again.
This is why we have made it abundantly clear, our payment is upfront, unless the expenses are over $1,000, (for example, business plans, grant proposals, RFPs,) then we would offer a 50% split of payments, half upfront, and the other half upon completion and delivery.
In a few instances, through freelance farms like Freelanced.com or First Class Writers, we have met with individuals simply looking for a handout. =( These people wanted our services, but then completely "forgot" they owed us money. One instance, we discovered that First Class Writers had gotten an assignment from ANOTHER freelance board, which in turn had been posted by the author's agent, because HE could not do the work he was paid to do. The job went from $5,000, to $2,000 and to us, a measly $250.
Our worst experience yet was when USA Funding contracted with us to write grant proposals for approximately 20 clients, nearly $11,000. We were paid about $900 for the first week, and we were happy, so we did the work assigned to us, turned it in and never heard from them again. =( (a $10,100 loss)
Freelance writers do a tremendous amount of work, and while we may be being decimated by the hundreds, thousands of freelance farms that can simply take jobs overseas for pennies on the dollar these days, there has to be a line drawn somewhere. We do a lot of work, a lot of research and study, and our time and effort is valuable to us. Please remember to pay your writers promptly. If the work isn't to your liking, look at it this way. You just don't go to them again. Simple as that.
For us, the writers, however? We can be scammed again, and again...=( Think about it.
I'm glad to have found this website that isn't afraid to discuss the real problems affecting freelance writers and editors like us.
