Since a lot of my friends have gotten screwed over recently, I just thought I’d share some tips with everyone here.

1. Do NOT write samples for FREE. Professional writers do not work for free. Those who write samples for free are either a) newbies OR b) clueless (no offense, but that’s usually the truth).

Do you see any other professional working for free? If, for example, you need to hire a plumber, do you tell the plumber, “Hey, I don’t know how you work, so your first job should be FREE. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you next time.”

We shouldn’t be treated differently from other professionals. Unless you intended to write for free for a cause in the first place, don’t write samples for free. Your clips should be enough to demonstrate your abilities. If a client or an employer is serious in hiring you, they would PAY you to write samples.

If a client or an employer insists on having you write samples for free, STEER CLEAR. These types are NOTHING but trouble, believe me. Been there, done that.

I was stupid enough to be screwed over twice for doing this when I was a bit newer. I do NOT intend to repeat the same mistake. If I’d have to say it over and over again until I stress it enough, so be it — DO NOT WRITE SAMPLES FOR FREE.

2. If you made the mistake of writing for free, or if perhaps a client or employer “rejects” your articles, post them on the web, ASAP. Put them in your blog, build a new blog with them, post them in article repositories. I don’t care what you do with them, but it’s important to post them on the Internet so that they’ll get indexed by search engines.

If in case your articles appeared elsewhere, you can THEN prove that you own the articles because they appeared on your blogs or all around the Internet with your name, first. To prove that you indeed had posted them on an earlier date, do this:

Quoted from my own article in Desperate Curiosity:

Use the Internet Archive. Input your domain on the WayBack Machine text box and be taken on a trip back in time. Of course, the Internet Archive might not be able to save all your pages, so you have to hope the pages containing the content in question are there.

3. If you’re writing for a client or an employer you just don’t trust completely, and they had accepted your articles, it’s best to create “proof of copyright” so you can argue your case in the future. Here’s how you can do that:

Quoted from my own article in Desperate Curiosity:

a) Save a document file with the copyright insignia beside your name and the date. Do NOT modify this file at a later date even if you change some of the content in your web site later on.

b) Save that same document file with your name, copyright insignia, and the date, as a PDF file. If you do not have a program for creating PDF files, you can try Primo PDF creator — it’s free.

After doing the instructions above, you could also take further lengths and upload the dated files to your server.

4. If you failed to do the above tasks and you found out your content was sold somewhere else or posted on the web site of the offender, contact said slime ball and ask for remuneration. For this cause, ALWAYS save ALL your emails. Do NOT delete even a single one. An email is legally binding. You can use it in court if ever the need for such arises.

If the offender ignores your emails, give him an ultimatum by which you’d take the next step. For an example, see this article on How to Collect Payment from Deadbeat Clients.

If the offender STILL does not pay you by your set date, contact the web master where your articles were posted and inform him of the situation. You might be surprised — some web masters would be sympathetic.

If the web master does not sympathize, inform people of what the offender has done to you. But REMEMBER, back up your claims with PROOF or ALWAYS claim that it’s “your opinion” and be liberal with your “ifs” (i.e., IF this company is a scam) if you can’t provide proof. The last thing you want is for YOU to be accused of sour-graping and for YOU to be threatened with libel. PROOF people, speaks in volumes.

5. And finally, if you haven’t done anything wrong, if you backed up your claims with proof, do not be afraid of threats of legal action. Most shady companies use this to provide verisimilitude to their claims of being legitimate. My most recent brush with a similar one being this.

To know how your articles could get taken down from web sites and de-indexed by search engines, read my article on Plagiarism on the Web.

PS: I forgot one of the most important ones!

Ask for a percentage of the payment upfront. Or at least ask for staggered payment for bulk work (i.e., 50% payment upon delivery of 50% of the work). This is NOT applicable for subcontracts. But for those working p2p with clients, heed this advice.