I came across a freelance writing job site called Writerlance.com the other day, and it set alarm bells ringing. The first things I noticed were:
- The truly cheap and ugly design of the site
- The badly written FAQ section
- The fact that the “contact us” link is broken
- The fact that they take their fee BEFORE the writer is paid
Following my gut feeling, I did a little digging and found that Writerlance made a lot of enemies a few years ago. The owners of the site disappeared from view while owing a number of writers their fees—fees that totalled hundreds of dollars in some cases. You can read a few of the angry writers’ comments here, here and here.
Since then, Writerlance has relaunched, and it’s possible that the company has reformed its ways—but it seems unlikely to me. Michael Santiago headed the company at the time of the nonpayment fiasco, and he’s still at the helm today, according to the information on their contact page.
Bottom line: I wouldn’t trust this company to hold my earnings for any length of time. And judging from the bids being placed, those earnings would be pitiful in any case. Browsing the Writerlance job boards, I saw lots of writers placing $3 bids. Since Writerlance takes a minimum commission from the writer of $3 per job, it means that some writers don’t have to worry about losing their Writerlance earnings: they won’t have earned anything to begin with.
If you’re going to explore online writing, be careful. I recommend sticking with well-known writing marketplaces until you gain some experience with online freelance writing. Obviously, I’m a big fan of Elance.com, but you can also take a look at other big players in this space, such as Guru.com, oDesk.com, and Freelancer.com. Whether you make your fortune on these sites is up to you, but at least you won’t lose your shirt!
