A New Way Some Sneaky Article Writers Use To SCAM You Which Is Almost Impossible To Catch.

very interesting. I don't think there is a way to actually catch this unless the person doing it, or people, will go crazy with it and the market just becomes aware of it.

Thanks,
Sebastian

Hey ryanman,

This isn't something new at all, especially in the IM arena. Matter of fact, it's been going on for some time now. This is why I use the same article writers I've had for some time.

The best prevention is to write content yourself, and if you absolutely have to outsource, get writers you know and trust to write for you.

If you catch someone copying other people's work, and trying to pass it off as thier own, expose them for who and what they are.

That's all you can do.

Was on GAF or Elance?

I think it is very difficult to catch such people...You can only catch them if you have read the ebook from where articles were taken.

I think your title needs edited as it is directed toward article writers which is not fair to those honest article writers. This person must not be an article writer if he has to copy your own work to create an article, thus why the title of this thread should be changed..

Would hate to give people the wrong idea about "real" article writers.

Then again I will never understand why people run to a freelance site full of scams when it is obvious that the warrior forum is full of very talented people.

James

That's a tough one to manage. But quite sneaky on the article writer's
part though. At least copyscape cannot read paid publications.

The pittance that most article writers sell their wares for must lead
to things like these in order to survive. When you think you are
getting a 'deal' you are getting scammed.

This is no way justifies dishonesty but at least explains it IMNSHO.

-Ray Edwards

All I can say is that you were really smart to spot that one, especially as it passed copyscape. I also agree with the point that copyscape could do something about it. However, how about if hackers manage to break into the database and have free access to every book on copyscape? Paid uploaded book ofcourse. Just my thoughts.

Hi,

When everybody would indeed load up their ebooks to Copyscape, a whole range of new problems could arise. What if (some of) these ebooks would be sold as PLR products later? The makers shouldn't forget to mention that to Copyscape, then. Or else some people who would - totaly legitamately - use that PLR content for the creation of a series of articles, would get in serious troubles because they're accused of plagiarism.

It's more complex than one might think.

Yours, warriorly, Ed

Any one with experience of say 15 years plus in editing will be able to detect changes in style within a document.
Further, writers have distinctive styles which are almost like signatures. Doing the writing yourself is not a solution, you may need to handle managerial functions.
You have to put newcomers under the microscope and watch them.

I think you may need to read the posts above a little more carefully!

I used to work for a top level marketer, and I managed his content publishing division. I dealt with the writers under his employ, most of whom were freelancers. The scenerio you provided is one which happened to us a few years ago.

It taught us a very valuable and expensive lesson.

Since that event, we have included an indemnity clause in our standard contract for freelance writers (and programmers as well). The indemnity clause binded the freelancers to any liability that would arise from the works they will submit. Such liability may be a consequence of damages caused by plagiarism, delivery of false information, or untruthful remarks that bismirch the reputation of another party.

Our intention was not to absolve ourselves from all liability arising from the aforementioned possibilities, for such was impossible as we knew that as content publishers, we are responsible for the content we circulate and we should do our own due diligence.

Our intention was to strongly send a message to the freelancers we hired that unethical and irregular activities will be treated with corresponding severity, so that they would - as they should - extend the professionalism and the honesty demanded by their noble work.

I am happy to report that it worked.

I think that it is hard to tell if someone is plagiarizing something. The best thing to do is have a good memory of what you write. I am new at this and have yet to really get into the whole thing, but in my schooling I have seen many plagiarized papers. If they use quotes and reference, then there is no issue. I think that if one is using your work, it is good to quote it. But I recommend that you have a percentage on what should be original work. I like to write 80% original and 20% reference for my school papers.

As a content writer myself, this puts a bad name to all the honest writers trying to make a living.

I guess there is no real way to tell until the author of that paid ebook is complaining that you're publishing their content for free.

Ed

With all due respect, as an article writer (and a damn good one at that if I do say so myself) I can say that there is a way that you can guarantee that you are getting original stuff from the writer. Ask to see a copy of their research notes that they used to create the article. I always keep my research notes on my articles so if my contractee wants to see them, he or she can. I also use direct quotes from the people I interview or from articles I read in the research phase. Insist on direct quotes as well. This way you are able to see who all they are getting their information from.

I know I should be able to get as much as 5 cents a word for my work but because of under bidding by cheats like you have had to deal with, I am stuck only getting 2 cents a word, however, I do not lower my standards one bit because of the lower price I have to settle on because I know that sooner or later, the cream rises to the top and the dregs will settle to the bottom and I will start getting paid what I am worth.

That is my 2 cents worth, well maybe more than that since it is more than one word I wrote here.

You need an idemnity clause in the contract with the writer. Ask for the input documents for the article, usually this will be in soft copy and hard copy. The hard copy will obviously have to be returned.
Get four or five articles read for consistency in style. If you pay very little some writers are going to squeeze quality, even if they don't blatantly plagiarize. So unless you are facing a crunch...
Stay with writers whom you know but keep more than you need. This way if one or two drop out you will still have a fallback. Look around for new writers even if you can't give them work you can recommend them to others.

As for the comment that earlier writers were getting 5 cents a word and now we are getting 2 cents, this plunge began in 2008. A lot of people have moved into writing since then. There are good writers who are getting much less than earlier. Every person who is undercutting is not necessarily a plagiarist.

Very strange that nobody asked how much was paid for these articles.

The simple fact is that far too many people expect quality articles for a few cents.

My own writing style and the amount of research I do for my articles means that nobody is prepared to pay a fair rate for the work involved. When I do get a commission to write articles, they are delivered with details of all research sources, (acknowledgements to Authors and Publication). The last articles I wrote were about stoma care and a comparison between internal and external pouches. There were three articles to be used in news letters for the general public and (in 1984) earned me the equivalent of $4700 in today's terms.

In a generalised topic like Internet Marketing where there is really nothing new to say, all research will tend to produce look-alike copy but if you are only paying $1 to $4 an article, what more could you reasonably expect?