Fiverr: High Risk for New Writers

New writers:

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with sites like Fiverr, Upwork, PeoplePerHour, or Freelancer.

These are places where some lucky people have found their favorite developmental editor, illustrator, proofreader, or other book pro.

However, I consistently (a couple of times per month, at this point) have new authors coming to me for help because someone they hired from Fiverr or a similar freelancer marketplace screwed up their project. And, to be clear, they are running from someone on Fiverr in particular about 90% of the time.

FREELANCER MARKETPLACES ARE OPEN

Remember that anybody can make a profile or post their services on these sites with little to no financial investment, vetting, or accountability. ANYBODY. This means people who are just out to collect email addresses for spamming and scamming all the way up to seasoned professionals looking for one more place to attract potential clients, and every kind of person in between these two extremes.

CHEAP PRICES AS BAIT

One of the reasons that freelancer marketplaces can be so risky for new writers is that they can easily be led around by the wallet. When your focus is solely on how much something costs, all a predator has to do is dangle that ultra-low price in front of you and they can get some money out of you without having to do much, if any, work on your project.

For example, if copyediting through someone you found at the Editorial Freelancers Association would cost $2,000, someone on PeoplePerHour offering to do it for $200 might sound like a great deal. That is until you realize that this person charging you 10% of the value of that service is actually just running your manuscript through ProWritingAid, PerfectIt, Grammarly, or some other grammar-checking AI for a few minutes instead of spending the dozens of hours of time that it can take to thoroughly clean up a project of your size. You just paid them hundreds of dollars to do something you could have done yourself without spending a dime.

Low prices don’t necessarily always mean low quality. Some brand-new editor could be willing to work for a fraction of a livable wage because they are trying to serve those first few clients and get some reviews and word-of-mouth referrals going. However, I’ve seen enough newbies get taken advantage of because they were only focused on affordability, that I would caution you against making price your only consideration when it comes to hiring someone to help you develop your book in any capacity.

Think of it like someone selling you a car that normally costs $5,000 for $1,000. For people who have grown up using and driving cars on a regular basis, the first question would likely be, “What’s wrong with it?” But if you’re new to the entire concept of how much vehicles cost, how they work, and what owning one involves (just like a newbie writer entering the publishing world for the first time), you may not realize that the car needing a new transmission, new alternator, and full set of new tires will cost you much more than the $4,000 you “saved.”

FAST SPEEDS AS BAIT

Another way that newbie writers get trapped by scammers is when the writer focuses solely on the speed with which a particular service is completed. If you’ve found that professionals you contact via ACESEditors.org are quoting a timeline of four months to copyedit a project, it may sound tempting to accept the offer of someone on Fiverr who says they can complete the service within three weeks. But the reason that four months is what’s quoted by other professionals is because that would be how long it takes to provide the kind of care your project deserves, especially if it’s a longer piece or a series of books. Because newbie authors tend to be excited and eager to get to the publication part of the book development process, it’s easier to trick them into falling for gimmicks related to speed.

Imagine that someone has the ability to make you a pizza from scratch (fresh dough, vegetables from the garden, etc.) and it is on your table to be eaten in less than ten minutes after you order it.

Can you eat a pizza that was made that quickly? Absolutely.

Will it likely contain a bunch of raw and undercooked ingredients that could make you sick or even kill you? Yes.

When you rush through a process, you run the risk of it not being done to a high level of fidelity and generally harming the resulting product.

Again, someone being able to work quickly (for instance, I’m a pretty speedy typist, so I don’t have to charge as much for my transcription services because it doesn’t usually take me as long as it might take someone who types at less than 100 wpm), doesn’t necessarily always mean a lower quality service. But, as I’ve stated, I’ve seen people be scammed enough by folks who are promising quick turnaround times that I strongly encourage you not to let speed be the only factor you consider when you’re thinking about hiring professionals.

FOR THE “DO YOUR RESEARCH” CROWD

It’s common for people who are more seasoned and savvy in the publishing world to tell newbies to “do their research.” Unfortunately, this is about as helpful as telling a 1-year-old, “do your research” before they pick what kind of candy they want to eat. They may not understand what it means to do research, how to vet the brands that they come across, and how to even read the nutrition facts on the side of the package that the candy comes in.

The same goes for “baby” writers. How would they know if the site they are using to find professionals is reliable? Are the reviews that they are reading genuine, or were they purchased by the freelancer from review mills just to make themselves look good (or posted by friends and family who have never purchased their services or seen their work)? Is the portfolio that supposedly belongs to the freelancer really just a bunch of images from completed works that the freelancer never had anything to do with?

It’s all too easy for a new writer to see those reviews and look at that portfolio and think everything looks great. And when you add to that someone offering them cheap prices and lightning-fast turnaround times, you can see how simple it can be to scam a newbie.

CONCRETE TIPS TO HELP NEWBIES

I don’t know that there is any way to prevent all newbies (in any industry) from being taken advantage of. But there are some tricks I use, and that I’ve seen others use, that can reduce the chances of it happening to you or a newbie writer that you care about (I invite you to share this info with them if you think it will be of service). While not a comprehensive list, here are a few key factors to consider when you’re thinking about hiring a developmental editor, illustrator, proofreader, or other book pro. While any single one of these might not be a big enough red flag to warrant not selecting a particular professional, if you find two or more of these happening with the same person or business, there’s a decent chance you’re dealing with a scammer.

≡≡≡Unsolicited Contact≡≡≡

This is so common, especially on social media sites and forums. And it often comes from writers announcing to everyone in a group or on a page that they are new by posting questions like “Anybody know any good editors?” [scammers see that the poster didn’t specify which kind, so they know they’re dealing with someone who is new] or “Is (insert company here) a legit publisher?” [scammers see that the poster doesn’t realize that, in most cases, if they have to ask this question about a company, they likely are a vanity / hybrid press, so they know the poster probably won’t recognize them as scammers either].

Generally, what will happen is the scammer will comment something like “DMd you” or “Just sent you a message” instead of answering your question in their comment publicly. This is often because they want to begin a one-on-one, private communication with you where no one else can see and point out when they say, do, or propose something unethical or predatory. They want to prey on your ignorance by closing communication off from people who may know more than you about the topic and could keep you safe from the scammer’s tactics.

Many of the most popular freelancer marketplaces have direct messaging options as well, and the same thing can happen (i.e., they reach out to you via DM instead of submitting a quote/proposal through the site like other freelancers would).

≡≡≡Ultra-Low Prices≡≡≡

You can the Editorial Freelancers Association rate sheet as a guide when considering how much a particular service might cost. The sheet provides a range, and I wouldn’t be too worried until you start getting quotes for prices that are well below that range. For example, if full developmental editing for fiction is commonly $0.03 per word on the low end, someone charging $0.025 or so per word wouldn’t set off any alarm bells for me. But someone offering that level of service for $0.005 per word would make me think twice about hiring them. I’d consider the other factors on this list to determine if I’d be willing to take the risk of paying for them to do next to nothing on my manuscript.

≡≡≡Super-Fast Turnarounds≡≡≡

Again, you can use the EFA’s rate sheet to figure out about how long a particular service may take for a project like yours. If someone is exponentially faster than the average times listed, that could be a sign that they aren’t doing the work to the same level of fidelity as their peers in the industry.

If something like proofreading is estimated to take 4 to 6 weeks for a project of your size according to the rate sheet, but there’s someone on Freelancer offering to complete that same service in a single week, I’d be concerned.

≡≡≡No Professional Connection to the Industry≡≡≡

I’m a dues-paying member of quite a few book-focused organizations such as the Alliance for Independent Authors, the American Booksellers Association, and the Society for Editing. While not everyone can afford to purchase multiple memberships to various organizations, it can be a solid sign of someone’s commitment to their profession that they are a member of at least one.

If someone has no connection to their field through these channels, it can be a sign that they aren’t as deeply rooted in their specialty as might be helpful. Being part of these organizations helps professionals keep their ear to the ground when it comes to industry advancements, stay connected with fellow editorial professionals so that they can better help you with getting access to reliable services that are outside of their wheelhouse, and provide a level of accountability to you as a customer when it comes to how they run their business and how they treat their clientele.

Not being part of a professional organization is by no means a guaranteed sign that someone is a scammer, but it’s one of those things that can help you feel a bit more confident that you’re dealing with an ethical professional or company. If they claim to be part of a professional organization of some kind, they should be able to send you a link to their member profile on the organization’s website, or even an invoice for when they most recently paid their dues.

≡≡≡Business Contact Information≡≡≡

Like being part of a professional organization, having business contact information available can represent that the business or individual intends to be part of this field for the foreseeable future and is more than willing to have people find and contact them when they need services. This means having publicly available info such as (1) a mailing address, (2) a phone number, (3) a website, (4) an email address, and (5) social media profiles that you can use to contact them outside of the platform if needed.

Scammers tend not to have much / any of this info be publicly available because they want to be able to melt into the shadows if they start having past clients become aware that they’ve been scammed. The more contact info that’s out there, the more likely people are to try to hold them accountable for their lack of ethics in dealing with their customers.

So, if the ONLY way to contact the freelancer is through the platform where they have a profile, that can be a reason to be extra cautious.

≡≡≡General Ethics Research≡≡≡

Though this has more to do with business entities than individuals, it can still be helpful to know. There are multiple ways in which you can superficially vet a particular business.

The first is to do a simple Google search for “[business name] scam” and / or “[business name] lawsuit.” For example, “Author’s Place scam” or “Dorrance Publishing lawsuit.” If Google can’t find anything, that’s a good sign. If you do get a few hits, read through what happened to see what kind of entity you’re considering dealing with.

Another option is to visit Writer Beware and do a search for the company in question. If you don’t find anything, you can also submit a request for information about a particular company. Writer Beware will get back to you about any issues that they find.

A third option is to check out the Alliance of Independent Authors’ Watchdog Desk and rated list of services. People on the rated list will be noted as one of the following:

► Excellent

► Recommended

► Mixed

► Caution

► Watchdog Advisory

If I were searching for a service provider, I wouldn’t consider working with any entity rated lower than “Mixed.”

≡≡≡Stick to Professional Organizations≡≡≡

One of the simplest ways to avoid getting scammed on a freelancer marketplace is to avoid hiring from them. But some newbies don’t do this because they don’t realize that there are other options.

Most professional organizations have job boards where you can submit details (word count, genre, needed services, etc.) to the entire membership and have savvy, seasoned professionals send quotes directly to your inbox. This is also often faster and easier than scrolling through hundreds of profiles on Guru, Thumbtack, or PeoplePerHour. For example:

► The Editorial Freelancers Association: https://www.the-efa.org/hiring/

► The American Copy Editors Society: https://aceseditors.org/resources/job-board

PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION

Nothing in life is perfect. Everybody can have an unpleasant interaction with even the most well-meaning, reputable professional. But looking for ethical pros in the places where they gather (i.e., professional organizations) greatly decreases the chances that you’ll have to end up hiring a second firm/pro to resuscitate your project after an unintentional, catastrophic run-in with a scammer.

Stay safe out there, writers! ♥