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-   -   For my writing group--is this a real offer or just another scam? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=620082)

  • Dec 16, 2011, 08:05 AM
    paultodd
    For my writing group--is this a real offer or just another scam?
    I keep getting e-mails from Real Writing Jobs, offering to help me get real jobs in the fielkd of article/blog spot writing, proof reading etc, but they are also asking for $68.00 as a fee for signing up, and offering over $3000 worth of extras free as part of the packege deal.
    I need to know if these people ar actually for real, or just another scam site for gullible people to be ripped off.
    I already write articles for magazines and journals, but didn't approach these people in the first place, as I'd never heard of them.
    Is there anywhere I can check up on this offer, as I have other friends who are also being sent this e-mail/offer, who are thinking of signing up for it, but I told them to hold off until I asked your people about them first, as you seem to know much more about these sites/offers than anyone else I know of.
    You helped me out before with someone trying to scam money out of me, and I for one am so thankful that you were there, as you proved my suspicions to be true, and I don't want anyo of my friends to be scammed by t5hese writing job offers if I can help it.
    Again, thanks for all your previous assistance, you're the best there is.
  • Dec 16, 2011, 08:16 AM
    Wondergirl
    Any time you are asked to pay money up front, think scam. I Googled that site and see that they have flooded the Internet with "proof" that they are legit.

    I just called my home library and asked the reference librarian on duty. She said the same as what I just said in the above paragraph -- scam. All of that information is free. If you need legit sites, let me know. I too am a published author and will be glad to help you.
  • Dec 16, 2011, 09:27 AM
    Wondergirl
    Here's a really good site that also sends out a free e-newsletter every Tuesday. The market recommendations every week are good ones with information included as to what each market currently wants, plus there are articles that include writing and publishing information and tips.

    Writing for DOLLARS!
  • Dec 16, 2011, 09:35 AM
    LuckyChucky13
    Scam. 100%.
  • Dec 16, 2011, 09:59 AM
    paultodd
    I would love to hear the names of any legitimate sites you know of, as I run a small writing group for people with learning disabilities, and they have all been sent this e-mail, but I'd much rather they learn of real writing sites instead.
    They all would benefit from seeing their efforts printed in real articles/magazines etc, as they all have come on so much since they came to me for help in forming a writing group for them, and I'd also like to get somewhere with my own efforts, as I am quite prolific in my own way, and would love to make a career out of writing myself.
    Thank you so much for your help, as I just needed the back-up for my own suspicions, as I keep getting these kind of e-mails daily, and they seem to be targeting people who are both vulnerable as well as gullible.
    Again, my most heartfelf thanks to you for your time and help.
    All the very best to you in your own writing endeavours.
    Any help you offer will go a long way with the people around me in the group.
    Thanks again.
    Paul Todd
  • Dec 16, 2011, 10:14 AM
    Wondergirl
    I did list one very good site in post #3. Also, think small -- area newspapers, local non-profit and hospital and church newsletters, or even start your own newsletter or blog. The important thing is to write well, get it edited well, and then see your work in print, never mind the pay. Most writers start writing and getting published for free, just to get a foot in the door.

    Is your writing group physically or mentally disabled too beyond the LD? What ages? In my writing group is a young man with Asperger's. He wrote a story about fishing and how it helps him with not getting mentally lost stimming, being calm, focusing, eye contact, socialization, etc. and got it published in an autism magazine. In other words, write what you know.

    ***ADDED*** Silly me! I forgot to mention current publications at your public library. There are all sorts of writing guides and books (Writer's Market, Literary Marketplace) and magazines (The Writer) about current markets, including children's publications and Christian ones.
  • Dec 16, 2011, 10:30 AM
    paultodd
    The people in my group range from mentally disabled to physically disabled, but we all have the love of books and writing that brought us together.
    Many of them suffer from varying degrees of dislexia, and came to me after being turned away from other writing groups, and asked me to help them, so I formed the group for them, and have been helping them with their writing skills ever since.
    We have members who have missing digits, partially sighted (even one who has been blind since birth), and others with varying disabilities that have left them unable to find regular work, so we all, myself included, are hoping to make something of our writing, all the while supporting each other as much as we are able.
    Some have already entered writing competitions, and been placed in the top 5 places, which has given us all a much-needed boost in confidence.
    I myself am physically and mentally challenged, but write for various magazines from local journals to motorcycle magazines, giving a perspective view ofb the different lifestyles from a disabled persons point of view.
    The people in the writing group I started came to me because I was the only disabled person who they could find who has already made a name for himself as a writer.
    The other groups they approached turned them away due to their disabilities, which disgusted me, but having already approached the same groups myself, seeking membership, I have experience of what they were faced with.
    I have struggled with learning difficulties of my own, and poersevered alone for many years, and know just what thbey are going through, and so am more than sympathetic to their needs.
    We've not been going long, as we have limited access to a meeting place, but we're growing stronger within the group as time passes.
    I cannot tell you how happy I am that you were there to help in my inquiry about the writing jobs e-mails, as you have saved the members of my group not only a large amount of money (they're all on disability benefits), but also a lot of heart-ache from being scammed.
    Thank you again for your wonderful help and time.
    Yours in gratitude
    Paul Todd
  • Dec 16, 2011, 10:38 AM
    Wondergirl
    My library writing group has members who are hail and hearty (most of the time :)), mentally ill and unmedicated, one has MS and is in a wheelchair, one with Asperger's, several people over 60 (one uses a scooter), and we welcome anyone who loves to write. We usually number around 12 and meet twice a month. We have writing exercises from time to time and also listen to each other read new writing (and then critique each other). About half the group has gotten traditionally published (for free or for money) during the three years we have existed.

    Please feel free to ask me questions and brainstorm with me here.
  • Dec 16, 2011, 10:55 AM
    Wondergirl
    I had started a Yahoo Group so my writing group members could post questions, and I could give grammar tips and offer more writing exercises. We're now doing a group blog, remembering that we won't post a story or article if we hope to get it published. (Some publishers frown on Internet posting as being already "published.")
  • Dec 16, 2011, 11:08 AM
    paultodd
    Your members sound as interesting as the ones in ours :-)
    Most of the people in our group are in their 30's, but there are also those in our own "Over The Hill Mob" (over 40's, myself included), and we all take part in the various exercises that are the heart of the group.
    We have people who's families were divided during the Uprising at the start of the last century (One of our members had a father and brother in the British Army, and two younger brothers in the IRA, all living under the same roof. His stories in the historical exercises make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.).
    We have quite a few who are in the "Young Bloods" (Under 20's), who are all able to write in more than one category, and one who also provides the artwork to go with some of the things written, and she's only got one hand, and that has just 2 finger and a thumb left on it, after she got bone cancer as a child, and lost one hand and most ot the other.
    All of them are happy to be able to find an outlet for their creativity, and also to just have other people to talk to, which is something that really goes a long way to helping them.
    Some of our members already write for the local church magazines, and write stories for their grandchildren too.
    I've been writing since I was 4yrs old, and recently created my own genre of sci-fi, which I've christened Eco-Punk, and have gathered a small but fiercely loyal fan club for my work.
    One of our members has been deaf for many years, so we have all started to learn sign language also, in order to talk to her face to face, and not leave her feeling left out.
    John Connolly, the thriller/detective writer came to see us a while ago, and gave us so many pointers on character development and plot devices, we could have written books on just those two topics alone.
    He also handed out so many compliments on our efforts that we could barely squeeze our heads through the door at the end of the night, we were so proud of ourselves.
    Other writers have come to see us, and been so critical and negative, that they lost a good many fans when they left.
    John Connolly is a true gentleman, and a friend to anyone who asks for help.
    I would love to swap some ideas with you, or work out some new ways to approach helping people with disabilities to write, as I'm pretty much swamped with questions most of the time, and can't answer all of them.
    A few fresh ideas would go a long way to getting our creative juices flowing.
    We run poetry, short-story, scenario, children's story, news item, gossip column, book review, letters page, problem page, serialisation and local interest pieces in our newsletter/journal, as well as a host of other topics, but any ideas you could share to help us expand our writing and interest would be fantastic.
    We can't pay you for your input I'm afraid, but we will spread your website address here around as many people as we can.
    Thanks again for your help.
    Paul
  • Dec 16, 2011, 11:43 AM
    Wondergirl
    It sounds like you are a terrific leader. My suggestions will pale in comparison with what you are doing.

    What we did one time was look at an ambiguous picture and write a short story about it (http://projectivetests.umwblogs.org/...0/tatpic21.jpg OR http://caramelbonbonetchocolat.files...0/10/tat-5.jpg). Another time, I gave them a first sentence ("It had been a cold winter so far.") and asked them to write a romance or western or scifi or thriller from it. Or (verbally) provide the next sentence to show a certain genre. We've worked on grammar exercises, synonyms and antonyms, developing characters, etc. (all verbally as a group).

    John Connolly!! I'm totally impressed!
  • Dec 16, 2011, 12:15 PM
    paultodd
    We also do something similar, by opening a magazine/web page, picking a picture we like, then writing a story/article about it, all with our own perspective of what we see.
    One of the most popular characters in my sci-fi stories came about this way, after I saw a picture advertising the Hit Man: Las Vegas video game (The bald guy in the suit).
    I created a character who is a Corporate Accountant, who is sent in to investigate financial wrong-doings, and who is a cross between Jason Bourne and James Bond, and is very, very good at his job.
    One of our members is an accountant, and has become a fervant fan of the stories of my take on Accountants, and has added my stories to his regular reading materials availlable in his office for visitors.
    I have to laugh when he tells me how he'd love to throw his clients out of high windows, or "give 'em two in the head," like my character does.
    He also comes to the modelling/wargaming club I run for people of all ages, as well as to my spiritual talks/seminars (I'm a spiritual teacher in my "day job" ).
    I've just been roughing out an idea for a story based on someone contacting a site similar to this one, only the person who gives advice on the site works for a secret government organisation, and is a secret whistle-blower, giving out state secrets on the sly, using the site.
    It's early days yet, but I'll work on it some more.
    I'd love to keep in touch with you, and swap stories and ideas, as you've already given me more inspiration in a few answers than I've had all year.
    I'm so glad I found this site, especially as I was directed to it by someone who was trying to scam money out of me at the time.
    Talk about being your own worst enemy.
    I gave one exercise to my group that we were given in school as a child, one night, and the essays they gave back frightened me, they were so incredible and imaginative.
    The exercise was to write 2 A4 sheets of paper, describing the inside of a ping-pong ball (Yes, I know!! ).
    One of our senior members turned in a beautifully worded history of life lived inside the confines of the ball, complete with creation myth, dogmatic religion, and social life, which shocked everyone.
    He now writes the most amazing existential stories I've ever read, and before the exercise, he struggled to write anything.
    I was driven almost out of my mind when I had to do the exercise in school, whereas he was driven into his mind, and found so much beauty in there that he now lets us all share with him.
    You must be someone special too, you know, helping those in your group, so don't deny your own gifts, as they are a shining light for others to follow and benefit from.
    Got to go for now, as I've a few ideas racing through my head for other stories, so must get them down or I'll forget them.
    If you'd like to keep in touch, you can contact me at:
    >email address removed for privacy<
    I'd love to brainstorm with you :-)
    All the very best
    Paul Todd
  • Dec 16, 2011, 10:08 PM
    poet31
    This sounds like a scam to me. The fee is what makes it suspect, just like the countless number of work at home scammers. Don't trust it. Peace and Love.

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