Amy Coleman: Copywriting with Heart Amy ColemanCopywriting with Heart Does Not Pay Contract Writers for Work Greenville Internet
If you are a freelance writer who receives a contract or offer from Amy Coleman (Amy Preacher) and/or Copywriting with Heart, proceed with caution. It is highly likely you will not be paid.
Coleman targets new, inexperienced freelancers who are primarily seeking to grow their skill and experience.
Coleman works with an online tool called Trello. Overall, project management is poor. She "hired" an "editor," who is, in fact, a personal friend (Trisha Necole Faulkner Wright). Based on industry standards, Wright has no grasp of English. Wright's work is filled with consistent typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors. Also, Wright was noted by numerous writers as being rude, condescending, hypocritical, and confrontational.
After having completed months of project work and being paid on a one-month after approval basis, Coleman suddenly stopped paying. When confronted by the writers she had not paid, she claimed PayPal was to blame. I was using PayPal with several other clients and another company that contracts writers with no hiccups whatsoever.
Fastward roughly 45 days. Coleman was still pushing off payment due to an "unresolved and open PayPal issue affecting everyone that banks with a specific chain." I contacted PayPal directly. I quoted Coleman's exact statement regarding the open issue. PayPal had no knowledge or record of any such problem and advised me to document all further communication, in written form if possible. Within a few days of my actions, Coleman paid all outstanding work.
In hindsight, I should have cut ties right then. But Coleman pushed a major "organization update," and the changes seemed quite good. It convinced several of us to stay despite Trisha Wright's incompetence as the direct editor of our work.
Coleman and Wright pushed a massive increase in volume. In just a month and a half, I had roughly $400+ of outstanding service work. All work was marked as "approved" in Trello, and the waiting game of getting paid one month out ensued.
Abruptly and with no communication or explanation whatsoever, Coleman removed me from her Trello board with two full months of work completed, approved, and awaiting payment.
To date, some 60+ days later, Coleman has sent no communication and no payment.
Ironically, Coleman made a big scene in Trello last year about how horrible it was when she was stiffed for over $400 in payment for services performed and emphasized how she would never do this to anyone.
Hopefully, Coleman will make massive changes in her business etiquette, especially in the areas of payment for services rendered and professionalism. In the meantime, if you are a freelance or contract writer/editor, I would strongly discourage engaging in any business with Amy Coleman. It's a monetary risk you do not need.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
ArcadiaLynn
Chatsworth,California,
USA
All Lies
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sat, November 26, 2016
I worked for this company for nearly 2 years. From the very beginning, you are told that payments come on a specific day of the month, once a month, with few exceptions.
The editor was not nasty or rude. She spent a lot of time taking questions, working with the writers to help them make even better content. She often offered to work one on one with the writers if they wanted. She went above and beyond her job, constantly working to help the writers. Her work is not littered with mistakes nor is she a mean person. Every time I had a problem she was more than happy to explain what was wrong and how to correct it. I learned more from her than I did from any previous editors I've ever worked with. Why does it matter if they are friends? It doesn't. The editor is a sought after editor/writer who works with a huge variety of websites.
As for the comments that the poster was never paid, it would be interesting to know if they were fired for plagiarizing or for outsourcing work as these are both clearly stated to be reasons to be fired without pay. Period. It always seems like people who are fired for being lazy or dishonest are the most likely to strike out at others.
All those "pushes" of massive volume that the poster complained about were actually a couple of posts on the Trello board asking if anyone felt like they could do more work each month. No one was forced to take on work they didn't want to do. It was always each writer's personal choice about how much work they wanted to take on each month. If the previous poster took on too much work, that is their own problem. It was never a requirement for this team to take on a specific amount of work. Everyone was allowed to work as little or as much as they wanted.
As for the Paypal issue, it was explained clearly to the team members that there was an upcoming change in bank accounts and that it would delay payments for a few days. It wasn't a long time and everyone who posted on the board about payments WAS responded to quickly explaining the delay.
Clearly, this person is a disgruntled ex-employee for a reason. The team members who followed the rules and did not plagiarize or outsource their work were all content to work with this company. The only angry people I heard from were those who were fired for breaking the clearly stated rules and even then, the owner was willing to give people a second chance.
My experience with this company has been fantastic. The owner and the editor were great to work with. I would return to the company immediately if I did not have carpal tunnel which prevents me from writing as much as I once did. The owner is always honest and upfront with the writers and the editor is firm, but kind.