A dilemma

A fellow freelancer has a dilemma.

She's been asked to write for a local web site, EatFreshAZ. However, the publisher won't give her an assignment letter outlining the scope of work, deadline and fee, nor will he provide a contract. He told her he is too busy to meet with her for coffee, too.

And he told her the article, despite being for online, won't publish until March, so she can't expect a check until after it runs.

So the writer is getting an odd feeling about all of this and wondered if she should take the work or take a pass. What do you think? It could be legitimate, and she could be passing up a good opportunity. Or, these could be warning signs that something isn't right.

Has anyone else worked for this site or have any experience with the publisher?

I told her to follow her gut, which is what I've had to do when accepting new work.

Sometimes you just don't know. Last year, I accepted work from an advertorial magazine that didn't seem on the up-and-up at first. I did meet the editor at his office, but I had trouble finding it because I forgot the exact address, and when I called directory assistance, the business name was not listed.

I wrote all the copy for two issues, feeling weird about it the whole time, and then got the "we lost your invoice" line when I started asking about it.

Turns out, the publication was an offshoot of a reputable out-of-state newspaper company, and I got all my money and it ended up being my most lucrative contract of the year. I was quite sad when it folded for business reasons.

Then again, I thought West Valley Magazine was reputable, and I found out it's no such thing. It has a history of screwing writers out of pay. Great.

So, folks, what are your thoughts? Is there a good "smell test" a place should pass before you agree to write for it? Or is it just a crapshoot?

I hope this blog will allow us to communicate more freely on this topic so we don't all continue to take work from these lizards. See the next post for more info on that.