Freelancing “On Spec”
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We recently ran into a situation that we suspect was an example of that “big project” scam. The guy said he wanted to see what I would do with a certain topic. It just so happens that I have written and edited a ton of stuff that was on the same topic, so I sent him samples. I had a bit of a “hinky” feeling about it, so I was VERY clear that the samples belonged to someone else and were not available for use. I was not surprised when he came back saying that he needed me to write something exactly to his specifications.
Yeah, right. The fact of the matter is that the samples I provided were not only a great representation of my writing, but they even showed my existing knowledge of the topic at hand. Dude, you can’t get better samples than that.
So, Tamara sent him a very nice, very brief letter explaining that we don’t do spec work. Is anyone here shocked to find out that we never heard another word from him? I’ll go ahead and post the letter here, and you all are absolutely invited to tweak it and use it for your own purposes when someone requests that you write on spec.
For more information on why you should say “no” to spec work, check out this older post on No!Spec.
The letter we used is on the following page. Again, this is just a starting point, but feel free to build on it and use it in whatever way works for your freelancing business.
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Christina Lemmey is the mother of two school-aged girls, a wife, and the owner of 
*Sigh*, I have mixed feelings about this. I absolutely hate it anytime a potential client asks me to do a “test” assignment but at the same time that is how I have gotten every single writing job thus far since I still don’t have a website or market my services and only respond to ads. I have gotten some good jobs after doing but I have also been burned completely. I would like to get to the point where I can just turn people down when they ask for “test” assignments but for now, unfortunately I cannot!
This reminds me of the outfits that want you to write two article “samples” around a given topic (all with no compensation to you) so that they can determine if you are a fit. Promises are made of future work if you make the grade. What a scam. This is a way to get free articles.
Any legitimate opportunity should have staff that is willing to accept and look over your PPW to determine whether it is what they are looking for.
I’m happy to provide samples of PPW but draw the line there. I don’t have time in a working day to chase after questionable opps.
Write and Earn a Livings last blog post..Writing Courses
@Kathleen – Hopefully, these assisgnements you’ve been getting can now be used as samples that you can show future potential clients. Early on it seems like we have to do things we don’t want to do in order to get our foot in the door. I just think that (in most cases) doing spec work is too risky.
@Earn a Living – Exactly!
One of the things I do is tell potential clients that I am happy to provide a spec article — provided I retain the rights if it isn’t accepted. I can almost always get it published somewhere else, and I make it very clear that if the client goes with someone else, I get to keep the article — and if it is used by the company, they had better pay for it. (Although I’m usually a little more polite.)
I really hate writing sample articles “on spec” for exactly the reasons you’ve outlined here! Working without a guarantee of getting paid? Ack!
But if I ever decide to go that route again, I probably should just do as Miranda has suggested: tell the prospective client that I would retain the right to the article if it is not accepted and paid for. That’s a great idea, by the way.
Jennifers last blog post..Who’s insulted?
@Miranda – I’m in agreeent with Jennifer. If one *has* to go the “on spec” route, you’re method definitely sounds like the best way to do it.