I thought I had made it as a freelancer. I had sold hundreds of articles for one platform and had received glowing reviews from satisfied customers. I remember feeling proud when I read comments such as,
"You're amazing, Greta!" and "This is INCREDIBLE! Always love your submissions!"
Then, one day, I got an email that changed everything. It started off about some changes to my account, and my heart skipped a beat...
" Verblio continuously assesses the needs of its customers and the global content marketplace to ensure we're delivering the content our customers are requesting.
Going forward, we are making some changes to our writer pools.
Unfortunately, that means that we will no longer need your freelancing services.
We appreciate the contributions you've made to our customers in the past, and want to give you some time to plan ahead. Here's what you can expect:
My account was being closed without any warning or explanation as to why.
16 hours.
In appreciation for my hard work, and to give me time to plan ahead, I was given 16 hours.
Sixteen hours to submit my final piece before my Verblio account vanished into thin air.
I tried to convince myself that it was a mistake. After all, I had received nothing but stellar reviews. I had made writing for this company my passion. I had made it my personal mission to exceed customer expectations every time. And I had the five-star reviews to show for it.
l asked for clarification multiple times, but all I got was a confusing, automatic response after four tries.
We have noticed a few issues in your writing that are cause for some concern, While we understand that mistakes do happen, your writing does not currently meet our Verblio standards for quality.
As a result, we will be placing your account under review. This means the Verblio team will be reviewing your next submission.
I desperately grabbed onto this generic reply as proof that it must have been a mistake. It didn't answer any of my questions, acknowledge my situation, or even make sense given the circumstance... But there was hope! Finally, someone will realize that there was some terrible miscommunication and it would be cleared up as soon as someone reviewed my account. I mean, how could they close my account after all the hard work I had poured into their platform? I had delivered nothing but top-notch quality content and had dozens of glowing reviews to prove it.
Despite having proven myself countless times with hundreds of successful article sales and glowing client reviews, I still found myself frantically pouring all my effort into 384 words- my final chance at redemption- to prove that I was deserving of the platform's trust once again.
I obsessed over every single word, carefully selecting each one and crafting every sentence to convey my expertise and passion. I proofread and edited and proofread and edited and proofread and edited until every single one of those 384 words was perfect.
You can read that article here, by the way.
And I waited.
I waited and waited and while I waited I realized that I wasn't working for myself, even though I was freelancing.
I was "working to make someone else rich" and "giving up my dream to help someone build theirs" and all the other cliches that I started freelancing to avoid. This unexpected turn of events made me realize just how dependent I had become on one platform. They held the reins, and I was merely a pawn in their game.
I had poured my heart and soul into my writing for this company, but when I did the math, I discovered that in the past nine months, they had made $40,000 in profit off my work alone, while paying me less than a 20% cut from my own work.
But as the saying goes, when one door (or freelancing account) closes, another one opens.
The same week that my Verblio account was unexpectedly closed, I was recognized on NewsBreak with an article acknowledging my talent as a writer. The article not only praised my work but also gave advice to other writers based on my writing style.
Comparing the two platforms, NewsBreak allowed me to write directly to my audience and engage with them, unlike Verblio which had no communication. NewsBreak encouraged interaction and reminded us that writing connects our thoughts to others.
In my featured article, I shared my thoughts on the importance of researching our audience and responding to their comments.
Writing is not just for ourselves but for the audience we want to captivate.
NewsBreak's supportive culture, of prioritizing an ongoing dialogue between writers and readers, taught me the value of communication and eventuallyled me to a unique opportunity to attend a press conference for America250, a multi-year, nationwide project curating the largest, most diverse collection of stories.
A nationwide storytelling project aimed at giving everyone a voice.
This amazing experience reminded me that writing that truly resonates can never be a solitary endeavor, but a bridge connecting our thoughts and stories to those of others.