Can Writing Coaches Be Trusted Or Are They Shameless Scammers

Can Writing Coaches Be Trusted Or Are They Shameless Scammers

They say that those who can’t do, teach. Generally, people wouldn’t trust a plumber who has never touched a pipe and wouldn’t dream of hiring an electrician who doesn’t know his way around wires. Yet where it comes to writing, writers pay thousands of dollars to so-called writing coaches without checking their credentials.

Anyone can call themselves a writing coach. Some even reference articles online and books on Amazon, but have they written those articles and books or were they ghostwritten by a talented writer?

One thing scammers targeting writers do very well is talk. With their silver tongue, they can sell snow to an Eskimo.

Let’s take Michael for instance. Michael is active on social media, promising writers that they too can make thousands of dollars from freelance writing. He offers to be their coach. 

Writing Mentor – I Want to Help You Speed Up Success & Make You a Wealthy Writer

Here’s the thing… freelance writing is the easiest way to make money online fast. 

Whenever you see ads like this … RUN! Don’t believe anything these ads promise you. The only purpose of these ads is not to make you a better writer but to open your wallet. Ads like these won’t help you become a better writer, but they will make the ‘coach’ richer.

If a so-called writing coach states that he made $1,000, $5,000 or even $10,000 in one month, you can bet your bottom dollar that he didn’t do it with writing, but by scamming folks like you.

If you have a flair for writing and your ambition is to be a freelance writer, or even write and publish a book, attend a real writing course in a college or join a writing club. You won’t have to fork over thousands of dollars and you will learn from a professor or someone certified to teach.

You might argue that writing coaches have a website with testimonials of past clients. Fake, all fake! The coach himself writes those testimonials and if you see pictures of ‘past students’ you might find that they are family members, friends or people who were paid to have their picture taken.

If you want to know how to be a successful writer you can do so with minimal effort and zero dollars. I tested it on Google.

How to be a successful writer - About 582,000,000 results (0.59 seconds) 

How to write better - About 2,970,000,000 results (0.58 seconds)

How to be a freelance writer About 209,000,000 results (0.80 seconds)

How to market my work About 5,530,000,000 results (0.76 seconds)

About 901,000,000 results (0.59 seconds)

Sue, a friend of mine, is a very successful freelance writer but her success didn’t come overnight. For two years she toiled with articles and product descriptions for a handful of dollars.

Her work got noticed though and she was contacted by two websites who offered her a contract to write 20 titles per week. She earned about $500 a week. When the contract finished she set up her own website and offered her services to various organizations. Even though her rates were far from cheap, her extensive portfolio gave her credibility. Within one year she was so in demand that she had to take on two extra writers to cope with the workload.

Stories like these you can believe. It takes time, effort and considerable talent to earn a living as a freelance writer. Anyway who claims that you can make thousands of dollars within no time with little or no effort is lying.

Michael is from the only scammer who targets writers. Kary Oberbrunenr is another one. He charges his ‘students’ a minimum of $5,000 to join his so-called Author Elite Program. When I called him on it, he said “I’m not asking for people to pay me $5,000, I’m asking to invest $5,000 in their future.” Such baloney!

Shameless scammers they are and I hope you don’t fall for their tricks.

https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/questions-and-quandaries/dealing-with-editors/how-to-defend-yourself-from-writing-coach-scams