How do these people find me?

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Rant warning!

My ad:

Newsletter articles wanted (low-paying market)
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Notes in the Margin, a free occasional newsletter by Kristen King, is seeking articles and reviews of interest to freelance writers and editors and the folks who use their services. Payment for articles ranges from $10-$15 for original articles and is dependent on length. Reprints are accepted, and payment for reprints is on a case-by-case basis. Guidelines and submission information at http://www.notes-in-the-margin.com/.

The response (generalized to protect the writer’s anonymity):

hi Kristen

My name is Ivan A. Write and I live Not Where You Live.I do freelance writing for one Subject Area and also i write about another Subject Area thats completely unrelated to anything in you’re add.

Im willing to work for you guys

Cheers
Ivan

After some deep breaths, I wrote back:

Hi, Ivan,

If you’re responding to my post about needing articles for my newsletter, please see submission guidelines at www.notes-in-the-margin.com for information about my audience and what kind of content I need.

Best,
Kristen

Given that the ad specifies that my audience is “freelance writers and editors and the folks who use their services” and that I’m looking for articles and reviews about subjects of interest to them, AND that the website does the same plus lists past newsletter content AND that his purported areas of expertise are completely and utterly unrelated, I figured I’d never hear from the guy again. Wrong.

Hi

It doesnt state what content is needed as i specialise in Subject Area and Subject Area.
So when can i start and also what about payment etc?

Cheers

Ivan

I am not kidding. And if he is kidding, it’s not funny. There’s nothing cool about wasting an editor’s time. My reply:

Ivan,

I will not be utilizing your services. It’s clear to me that you have not visited the site or even read the … post very carefully. Both explicitly state subject matter, audience, and payment terms for the Notes in the Margin newsletter, and both specify that I am seeking articles, not hiring for a position. I strongly recommend that in the future, you carefully review advertisements before responding to them, and that when you do respond you spell, capitalize, and punctuate your messages correctly. Good luck to you in seeking other work.

Best,

Kristen King

Is there anything remotely unclear about “articles and reviews of interest to freelance writers and editors and the folks who use their services. Payment for articles ranges from $10-$15 for original articles and is dependent on length” or the word counts and specific payments for each article type listed on the website? Does the list of highlights from the July issue leave much room for debate? I really don’t think so.

My advice to anyone planning to respond to my ad or anyone else’s: READ THE AD. Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. But first, READ THE AD. To do anything less is extremely unprofessional and completely disrespectful.

End rant.
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