OGUALIGHO CHRONICLES: DAIRY OF A YOUNG FREELANCE WRITER – SCAMMERS

This post was written by a guest writer: Gimbiya Galadima

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They had finally gotten you. You were looking for handout money, that’s how you got into this mess. Now a mixture of shame and pride wouldn’t let you tell your story. You had been scammed by someone who said he needed an eBook writer.

A whole thirty thousand words. Chaiii!!! You raised your hands over your head and screamed. Then told yourself internally that you were foolish. Only foolishness could explain this.

No, you are not foolish; you are simply what we call a JJC. Johnny Just Come, Newcomer, Greenleaf. In freelance writing, many of these scammers make do with different samples they have collected from different writers and scam others of whole books.

A safe way to avoid such scenarios is to receive payment per chapter or per portion of work. You can choose not to send the client the whole book until you feel the weight of cash on your hands or hear the melodious ring of a credit alert.

You should also be wary of those clients who themselves are writers on Upwork who collect payment for multiple jobs they are incapable of handling on Upwork. They receive payment in hundreds and thousands of dollars, then they find young writers. People they can pay 0.5 or 1 naira per word, and sometimes choose not to pay at all.

Some of them find flaws in the written work, and then claim they won’t pay. They then edit your work and use it for free. Can you imagine the audacity? Ogualigho, I know you are trying to make money with this hobby of yours and you are disappointed, but you will be fine. Be careful of scammers and try to do the best writing you can.