WRITING

Is Freelance Writing the Next Get Rich Quick Scheme?

I’m not knocking the hustle, but some of these courses give me drop-shipping guru vibes.

I’ve been publishing regularly online for only a month and have already been bombarded with writing courses that promise to solve any and every problem an aspiring freelancer might have.

Consider the following rhetoric popping up with (some, not all) freelance writing gurus. Some of this is copy-pasted. (Truth is stranger than fiction, after all.)

“Make $1,000 in your first month on X writing platform! Register for my $1500 course, now $500! Only for the next [insert generic countdown widget]! Don’t miss out!”

“Only making pennies creating online? It’s your own fault if you don’t follow the advice in my course to the letter!”

“Keep at it for months or even years- you can’t expect a return right away! How dare you desire minimum wage for hours upon hours of work?”

No corner of the internet is free from get-rich-quick schemes.

Woof. I get second-hand gaslighting just from glancing at these brightly colored landing pages.

Now, I’m certainly not knocking on writing courses. I’ve taken many craft-focused classes since I graduated college in May of last year. I’m a scriptwriter by trade and taking more courses prepared me for the MA program I’ll be attending in London in the fall. (Yes, I had to bring it up because I still can’t believe it’s real!) I think honing our skills as creatives is critical. Learning never stops.

What I have an issue with is promising vulnerable creators financial security if they sink hundreds of dollars into a course that promises results…. especially during a pandemic.

If someone is telling you they have all the answers, it’s probably a lie. Actually, scratch that. It’s definitely a lie.

I cannot stand seeing these sales tactics used on creatives and freelancers. It’s already hard enough to get decent pay between the rise of the gig economy, lack of union protection for workers, and an unprecedented global tragedy. Why resort to promises that are inherently exploitative?

“If only if only” the poor author cries,

“The get-rich-quick freelance gurus stopped telling their lies.”

While the content creator waits below, hungry and lonely,

Asking “Will I make my money back soon?”

“If only, if only.”

I am flabbergasted seeing gurus guarantee success for creators on a single platform that may or may not be experiencing constant pivots over a period of many years. (I’m not speaking about a specific platform, by the way. I believe the principle can apply to any platform that offers a monetization program for its creators.)

There is nothing wrong with offering career coaching and services or courses that focus on craft. But promising a specific return on a particular platform without encouraging the student to diversify their income feels dishonest to me.

Guarantees in a creative field feel exploitative.

To give an example outside of the world of freelance writing, I’ll reference similar tactics from an acting guru I won’t name. Same formula, different flavor. This guru promises more auditions, more callbacks, more money- guaranteed!

“Not seeing results from a $300 course? Then level up! Do one-on-one coaching with me for $1,000 a month. You’re not seeing results from that? Well, it’s your own fault. You must not really be implementing the strategies.”

“Can’t afford the coaching because you’re not getting a return on your investment? I’ll give you this session at a discount because I’m not trying to make money off of you. I care about you!”

“I care enough about you to give you a little tough love. I care about you enough to blame you for trusting me.”

Repeat until the student has nothing left to give.

The feedback loop of “any creative can make money if they try hard enough,” to “if you don’t succeed, it’s your own fault,” is an upsetting phenomenon I’m tired of seeing. In Death of the Artist, this is explained as the inability to see the bigger picture and instead of blaming economics on the individual.

You can never guarantee the outcome. Only your system.

Sure systems are more likely to create the desired result. If I want to run a marathon, I’m more likely to finish if I train every day instead of sitting on my bed watching anime and eating an entire nine-ounce bag of sweet and salty kettle corn. (Yes, that is how I am spending my weeknights as of late and I am unashamed. Work has been intense lately, okay?)

But as hard as you train, there’s nothing you can do if the event is spontaneously converted into a pogo-stick competition day off. Your marathon training will be obsolete.

The same goes for putting all of your content creation eggs into a single-platform basket.

Gurus can make all the promises they like, but they can’t control a platform’s algorithm. They can’t control a platform’s vision. They can’t control their staff or goals. They may have found success on said platform, but ultimately they’re not the ones steering the ship.

If a guru tells you to focus solely on short-form video on Instagram Reels to make money and Instagram dies, you’re going to be left with the inconvenient task of adapting when you could’ve been repurposing the content for both Instagram Reels and TikTok from the outset.

That is the very reason I do not trust freelance writing gurus (or a guru in any field) that guarantee success. None of us know what the future holds.

Take a course on the business of writing. Take an intro course on a genre you’ve never explored before. If your favorite writer is offering career coaching that isn’t based solely on one metric of success and it’s within your budget- why not take it if it fills a need?

I have no problem with creators monetizing their courses- as long as they are honest. The last thing I want to see is my colleagues falling prey to gurus that promise the world on a silver platter.

Lydia-Renee Darling is an actor, writer, and creative in Madison, WI. She is also a self-titled “quadruple M”: a mixed, multi-hyphenate media maven.