I found myself wanting to call him, Paula. And when I saw a Father’s Day gift guide pop up on Facebook, I couldn’t contain the tears.

Yes, that’s the dangling carrot! There will NEVER be anyone making that (except the people who are posting this “offer”). It’s a shell game.

They don’t believe it — they simply think if they frame it right, they’ll get someone to do it without realizing it’s a lousy offer.

Ranee, my heart goes out to you. I can’t imagine I’ll feel any differently in two years, either. 🙁

Oh, but the math gets even better. The $40 (closer to $38 after the PayPal fee) includes writing the 1,000-word overview after the in-depth research! I keep trying to wrap my head around why anyone would make such an offer and think it’s OK—unless, as Paula notes in her comment below, they actually believe it’s possible to do that type of research-and-writing combination in a total of under two hours, meaning they want really, really fast instead of adequate quality. Or accuracy.

And I’m sorry for the heartache you’re experiencing today, Lori. My mother died on June 12 two years ago, and I still find myself struggling when the calendar turns to June. The memories remain visceral, and it’s just hard. I’m glad you also have good memories to hold on to.

I recall seeing this listing too and laughing all the way through it. I kept thinking, “This is obviously written by someone who’s never had to research and write a long article.”

I think they think the “..we can pay $5,000 a month if you’re really good” will entice people. Um. Whaddya bet the people who earn anywhere near that must are not the best writers. They’re the ones who can crank “articles” out faster than everyone else.

Well, let’s do the math. A couple of hours of in-depth research at $40 total. That’s 20 bucks an hour, not including PayPal fees.

You can do a LOT better, Ranee.