Ask Anne – Is This Project Real?

Hi Anne,
Maybe you can help me. I answered an add from one of your job postings. The ad was pretty vague, saying only they wanted an expert writer. I got what may have been a canned email in response, which gave a bit more detail and asked for a resume which I sent. A week later I got another email, this time asking what I would charge. I wrote back saying I couldn’t give a flat fee without a much better understanding of the project, and gave them my hourly rate.

Much to my surprise two weeks later I got yet another email saying they wanted to hire me. I’m still not clear on exactly what they want and I’m wondering if there is any way to tell if they are legitimate or not.

Thanks so much in advance,
KS

Hi KS,
Thanks for asking. Unfortunately there is no way to be totally sure any project we get over the internet is legitimate, but it sounds like this one may be. After all, they’ve taken time to send you what, four emails? They’ve agreed to your hourly rate. My hunch is they are confused about exactly what they want, which isn’t unusual. Ask them for at least a quarter of what you suspect your total fee will be up front, or a third, or even half – enough so if you do a bunch of work and it goes nowhere you won’t feel totally ripped off. If they send the check and it clears, they are legit although confused, and you can begin sorting them out with your great writing.

Do you have a question about freelance writing? Ask Anne, The Writing Pro – that’s me ;) Ask in the comments or send an email and put Q&A in the subject line so I can sort it out from spam and I’ll do my best. Meanwhile, you’ll find some Q&A’s here.

Write well and often,

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