New writers:
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with sites like Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, PeoplePerHour.com, or Freelancer.com.
These are places where some people have found their favorite developmental editor, illustrator, proofreader, or other book pro.
However, I consistently (a few times per month, at this point) have new authors coming to me for help because someone they hired from Fiverr or a similar freelancer marketplace screwed up their project. And, to be clear, they are running from someone on Fiverr in specific about 90% of the time.
Remember that anybody can make a profile or post their services on these sites with little to no financial investment, vetting, or accountability. ANYBODY. This means people who are just out to collect email addresses for spamming and scamming all the way up to seasoned professionals looking for one more place to attract potential clients, and every kind of person in between these two extremes.
This is risky for a newbie because you don’t necessarily know what to look for to determine if someone is a quality professional. This is especially true since many new writers seem to only be concerned about whoever is offering the cheapest price, regardless of the quality of services being provided. Low prices don’t always mean low quality (for instance, someone new to the field may charge lower prices to build up a portfolio). However, criminals and unethical people often charge low prices because they know that’s an easy way to attract their victims.
Take buying a car as an example. If you’re brand new to the concept of owning a vehicle because you’ve walked or taken public transport your whole life, having you shop for cars online is a high-risk situation. How would you know where the most reliable sites are to find a vehicle? What’s a scammy-low price versus a scammy-high price versus a fair price? Does the person selling the car need to have a degree in mechanical engineering? Are dealerships better than individual sellers? People tell you to “do your research” before you buy anything, but how do you know if you’re looking in trustworthy places? When you look up some specialist, they speak in a bunch of jargon you can’t understand. When you think you’ve found someone who isn’t quite as car-savvy, you wonder if they know enough about what they’re doing to be a reliable source of information. The whole process can get overwhelming pretty quickly. The easy solution (though, not necessarily the best one for you) is to just get the cheapest car you can find.
Of course, this likely isn’t the cheapest overall because it guzzles gas, leaks oil that you have to replace every couple of months, needs significant repairs a few times a year, and needs four new tires because the ones it came with are bald and leaky.
Was getting the “cheapest” car really worth all the extra expenses that came along with it?
Freelancer marketplaces work in a similar manner. Could there be quality professionals on a particular site? Absolute. Will you be able to find them? Maybe.
Sifting through freelancer marketplace profiles can be a grueling, time-consuming process. Here’s a recommendation that can save you a lot of headache and energy.
Instead of using freelancer marketplaces, check out professional organizations related to the service you need. These are places that pros invest money in being part of. That is why you’d be hard-pressed to find a lot of spammers and scammers, so the quality assurance work is essentially done for you ahead of time.
These sites often offer free job posting services for authors and agencies looking for professionals. So you can post the word count of your piece and what service you’re looking for and get a bunch of quotes from seasoned pros straight to your inbox without you having to scour a bunch of profiles on different sites all over the web.
My number one go-to for just about any book service (from developmental editing to illustrations to advertising help) is THE-EFA.ORG.
But there are others for different kinds of services:
The Society for Editing
ACESEDITORS.ORG (for editing services such as manuscript evaluations, line editing, and proofreading).
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
SCBWI.ORG (for illustrators for covers and interior images)
And, of course, you can search on your own, if you wish. There are lists of dedicated sites like these at Writerwerx University.
Nothing in life is perfect. Everybody can have a bad interaction with even the most well-meaning, reputable professional. But looking for pros in the places where they gather greatly decreases the chances that you’ll have to end up hiring a second firm / pro to resuscitate your project after an unintentional, catastrophic run-in with a scammer or an amateur.
