At least you are getting paid. I enjoy a tiny, tiny bit of local fame as an herb expert. I have been interviewed twice by different freelance authors for different local publications. I spent an hour on the phone with each one, explaining and spelling horticultural terms and techniques. I was promised my name and a link to my website in each article as payment. Neither article was ever published so I was never “paid”. I wasted two hours of my valuable time.

So what should I do the next time an eager freelancer calls me for an interview? Do I turn them down, essentially punishing them for the sins of other people? Or do I risk wasting another hour of my time, likely for nothing?

Freelancers, please feel free to weigh in about this.