Struggling freelancers, freelancers who are doing well — let’s talk.
In an unsettling exchange that another freelancer shared with me, a beginning writer was asking for some advice and feedback. Normally, those “feedback” requests get ignored because if every one of them were answered, who would get any paying work done? But because my friend was waiting for a project to arrive, she decided to play along.
The work she reviewed was rough. It fit with the website it was posted on, but the writing was pretty disjointed. The title promised one thing — the article delivered another thing, which turned out to be this writer’s opinions backed up with zero facts or expert quotes. In other words, the article was an opinion piece titled like a how-to piece.
My writer friend pointed these things out and mentioned she needed to include facts of some sort. You know, interview people if need be.
“When you say provide expert comments, does that mean I need to go get experts or can I just get that from the internet?”
Really.
It seems that this woman’s “article trainer” taught her otherwise. Just go to the web and find something to include.
Who taught her? She called him “well known and successful.” Maybe he is on the African continent where he resides (but I doubt it). A search of his site shows that he’s also teaching people how to use Copyscape to avoid plagiarism.
That’s right — if you follow his advice, you’ll have to look over your shoulder a lot.
When I thought it couldn’t get much worse, I found a post that lists his “mentors” — all of them based in the US. Some of them you know well. Self-proclaimed writing gurus who are, right now, selling their products and courses to other freelancers. Some of these experts also think it’s okay to rewrite other people’s articles and repackage them as something new.
Because that is how you get ahead? No.
It’s how you get sued.
[bctt tweet=”Taking shortcuts in #freelancewriting can land you in legal hot water.” username=”LoriWidmer”]
Every. Single. Code. Of. Ethics. says essentially the same thing:
- Don’t plagiarize.
- Give credit to those who wrote or spoke it first.
- Take responsibility for the accuracy of your work.
If you have to use Copyscape, you’re doing it wrong.
We’ve talked about the Pseudo-expert before. We’ve discussed how they use smoke and mirrors to sell the same, tired advice to freelancers. What we haven’t talked about, however, are the repercussions of that advice. Repercussions that you will feel, not them. They’ve got their money. You’re left with advice on how to rewrite existing articles (plagiarism), how to embellish your background (misrepresentation), how to write headlines that oversell the content (again, misrepresentation), how to borrow from other articles to get started freelance writing (and again, plagiarism).
What kind of client do you think you’re going to attract with those skills? And just how long before they refuse to pay for plagiarized stuff or worse, sue you for making them look like fools?
How to avoid legal issues: Follow the code.
- Don’t plagiarize. EVER.
- Give credit to those who wrote or spoke it first.
- Take responsibility for the accuracy of your work.
- Give your clients original work that you did the research and interviews for.
Your clients deserve your best work. They sure as hell aren’t paying for the work of others.
Writers, what experiences do you have with writers or course/book sellers who are selling shortcuts?
What advice can you give writers who have been taken in by these folks?
4 responses to “Your Freelance Biz’s Biggest Legal Threat”
Oh, for eff’s sake.
I can’t believe you had to write this, Lori.
But you did. Ugh.
Yup. And I can’t believe there are people out there teaching others how to cheat on their homework.
You and I and every writer who does it right have job security.
Crazy.
I thought it was odd when my neighbor was working on her mammoth capstone paper asked if I knew of any apps that scan documents for plagiarism. In her case, her professor didn’t want students quoting too heavily from their textbooks, but to interpret it (which was cited) in their own words. She wanted to make sure her interpretations weren’t too close to the original source.
I said, “Sorry. I’ve never needed something like that.”
That right there, Paula — you never needed it. Because you do it right.
I can understand the need of that neighbor since the professor is looking for some indication that students understand what they’re reading, not just parroting it back.
Professional writers shouldn’t need it. I don’t know any instance in which a writer would need it. Well, except in the case of trying to get away with plagiarism.