Applying to Freelance at Reedsy

 Most of you know that although I am a devoted Guru fan, I haven't been getting much work there since I returned to freelancing. In fact, much work in the writing area hasn't been posted to bid on. I assume this is because all those "get-rich-quick" YouTube schemes that used to focus on hiring a freelancer to write/edit a book for you to post on Amazon have now turned into letting ChatGPT write your story for you. Good luck with that... 

So, I reevaluated Upwork because that and Guru have traditionally been the best freelance websites, in my opinion. This is primarily because of the SafePay/Escrow features. 

I did recently see a promotion (or rather an anti-promotion) for Reedsy. It was by a vanity press trying to sell its own "cheap" editing services. I investigated and discovered that according to Reedsy itself, its freelancers make a whole lot more than what I usually make, and they primarily attract overflow work from traditional publishers. This looked appealing. 

The catch is that they are picky in whom they "hire" or rather allow to work on their website. You fill out a profile, with a minimum of three links to books on Amazon and your website, and then they look and see if you are good enough to work for them. They do not, however, during this application process specify what you need to get hired--er, rather to work on their website. This is buried in a separate link.

First, you have to have worked in traditional publishing as an editor. For me, this was no problem because I have. The problem is that they want you to link to the books where you have worked as an editor--but these books can only be on Amazon because they will not let you upload a book from smaller, niche publishing company websites or from university publishing companies (where the theses and dissertations I have edited are published).

Presumably, you have to actually be credited as the editor (and I am not sure if I have ever been because I contractually do not allow my clients to use my name on their work without written permission--I also work under a lot of non-disclosure agreements). So, in short, I could not upload any of my "real" work. They do not tell you why you are denied, but I am certain this was one reason.

Second, although the profile you fill out asks for 3-5 book links, the hidden page on what they are looking for says you must have at least 5. Since they will not allow you to upload any more than 5, I question how you can have "at least 5." Perhaps they should have one of their editors look at their requirements and update them.  

I am glad there are "freelancing" websites that actually screen their employees. However, I have used many good editors on Guru who have probably not ever worked for a traditional publishing company. I also don't think a link on Amazon is the best way to determine if a publishing company is a valid publishing company. I cannot tell you how many publishing companies that have been formed in the past 5 years and post all their books on Amazon because they technically are self-publishing other people's books, are not legitimate publishing companies. 

The problem is that they cater to traditional publishing companies (the only ones who can probably afford to pay the prices). It makes perfect sense that they would want to use people who already have worked there. My question is, why are these people now freelancing if they were good editors at their respective publishing companies?

I do wish I had known these requirements before I went through the process of applying. It was a complete waste of time and had I known the requirements beforehand I wouldn't have bothered.

Kirkus Review's Slant for Traditional Publishers

Traditional publishers and those who service them are not ignorant about the self-publishing cash cow. Kirkus, a review service that has been around since the 1930s, specifically focused on traditional publishers and was funded by them, until it learned it could make money from indie publishers. It then set up its "Kirkus Indie Reviews." Now, in general, Kirkus only gifts less than 3% of all the books it reviews with a star. It also only gifts about 10% of its reviewed books with a "Get it" status (the second highest favorable review). Most of its books get general reviews containing the good and the bad, and I read about 20% end up with bad reviews. That means, starting off, you have a 1 in 5 chance of paying over $400 for a bad review. 

For comparison, if you submit your book for the traditional Kirkus review (which I believe is only for traditional publishers), the editors will pick which books get any review (I believe this is 10,000 books per year) and 10% of those books will get a star. 

Whichever way your book gets a Kirkus review, understand that you cannot get a star just because the reviewer liked your book (i.e. you cannot become eligible for their $50,000 prize just because you got an excellent review). The editors at Kirkus are solely responsible for giving out the stars and promoting the book.

However, Indie authors need to be aware of a few contract clauses that Kirkus has stuffed in that mean you may not be getting a fair review. Note: although the top of the Contract says it is a general contract, it specifically talks about Kirkus Indie--so it does not apply to traditional publishers.

First, know that you cannot cancel the contract, but Kirkus can cancel it as long as it refunds your money. It does have any time limits on when it must do this, however. 

The most important and detrimental thing about their contract is two-fold. (1) You do not have any input into who is reading your book, and Kirkus does not have any contractual guidelines that limit who can read your book. This is important because Kirkus can assign your book to be reviewed by anyone. If you have a sci-fi book, they could give it to someone who only reads romance. Even worse, they could give your romance to a computer programmer who only reads books when he gets paid to do so by Kirkus. His review, based on his lack of knowledge about any sort of writing except computer programming, is perfectly acceptable under the Kirkus contract and you cannot complain about it. Nowhere in the contract does it say the reviewer has to be qualified to review the book, but it does say you cannot even request that the reviewer is qualified to review the book.

(2) In addition to the above, under "Miscellaneous," they clearly state they can hire freelancers to review your book. This means, you are not getting reviewed by Kirkus review staff with years of experience. No, if you are an Indie author, you are going to be reviewed by a freelancer. 

Kirkus' contract fully covers its butt. In my opinion, its "Indie" section is nothing more than a moneymaker for its annual award, which it usually gives to traditionally published authors. In 2024, all the finalists were from major publishing companies or their imprints. I did not go back further than this, but I presume the results are the same every year--especially since it seems most of the stars go to books selected from traditional publishers by editors and those same editors give out the stars. 

They state they make the "best efforts to provide" an unbiased book review. It does not say they will provide an unbiased book review. Nor does it say they will provide a "fair" book review, i.e. one by a qualified reviewer who actually reads your book in its entirety. 

Kirkus has been targeting Indie authors for years with marketing campaigns. My advice to those who are self-publishing is to save your money. 

BYOBA: Buy Your Own Book Award

 There are so many horrible books I have read lately that are "award winning" and by "award winning authors." Yes, you can buy your own book award, but why go to the trouble when you can just make one up yourself and post a website somewhere for it? This fad is going to cause serious problems in the future and the people pushing these awards should be prosecuted for fraud. These are not real awards. 

One example is: Literary Titan This not only allows you to pay to get a book award, you also get a good review (or many good reviews) out of it. 

Another is the Book Excellence Award. They are trying to sell you their promotional services. 

Yes, bad reviews are hard to stomach. But they should be learning points. Did the reviewer personally not care for your book or was there a universal flaw that needed to be fixed? Being told your book is amazing as long as you can pay someone to say that is not an accomplishment. 

How do you know it is a fake award? There are many ways to tell. 

• You could read a few samples of the "award-winning" books on Amazon and look for typos and content issues. 
• How long has it been an award? If it has been around for decades it has a better chance of being legitimate. If it started after 2019, it's probably a scam.
• What kind of prize do you win? A lot of awards talk about the "cash value" of the prize you win. For example, with the Book Excellence Award, you get a grand prize with a "cash value" of $30,000. Now, that is their estimated cash value and the only real thing you win is a free marketing package that the sponsoring company does. Grand prizes should be the chance to get real representation and traditionally published or produced. 
• Is the sponsor their own editing/marketing/book cover design/vanity press type company? If it is a company that is selling any book related services in addition to the contest, its a scam.
• If the award is offered by a publishing company, look carefully at their website and see if authors must do pre-orders or pay a fee to get their book published. If either of the above is true, the contest may be a front for getting more clients. There is nothing wrong with entering it (as long as the entry is free or low enough cost you don't mind losing the money), just be prepared to be solicited if you lose the contest. 
• How often are awards given out? If it is any more frequent than yearly, it's a scam. 
• High entrance fees.

A lot of people say if there are a lot of categories it is also a warning sign, but I disagree with this. Final Draft, for example, is a good reputable script competition, but it has a ton of different categories. The more categories and the more prize levels the more likely you will win--especially if you write in a niche category. However, a lot of categories doesn't necessarily mean it is a scam.

Probably the worst part about being self-published is that major publishing companies frequently are the sponsors of legitimate book awards. This means, in case you didn't guess, that you will probably not be able to enter.