SeanPaulMurphyVille: Writer Tip #42: Scammed, Pt. 2! Headfone

Friday, March 1, 2024

Writer Tip #42: Scammed, Pt. 2! Headfone

I'm a writer and I'm always looking for someone to pay me to write. That's always been a little more fun than writing on spec.

I've been getting job posts emails from Linkedin for scriptwriters for audio dramas, and I was curious. Who wouldn't want to write a few audio dramas? However, whenever I clicked on the email link, Linkedin would report that the job was no longer available. This was usually only one or two days after the job was posted. Then essentially the same job would be posted again, with slightly different parameters. That's always sketchy, but it made me even more curious. I knew I had to click on the post on the day it first appeared and I finally did. I applied immediately.

Unfortunately, I did not screengrab of the original job post itself and Linkedin had already pulled it when I went back. However, the same job posted by a different person with a different company name:

I did get an email response from the company the next day. Here it is:

Dear Sean,

Hope you are doing well.

You applied for the position of Script Writer on Linkedin posted by Script Craft Talent Hub. They have reviewed your profile and shared it with us. Based on your application, we would like to advance you in the process.

To give you an overview, Headfone is an audio drama platform with over 20 million users offering a rich variety of audio drama shows, including genres such as Romance, Thriller, Horror, Drama, Self-help, Comedy, and more. Headfone already has 1000+ American Writers on the platform and is expanding quickly.

In this role, you will be writing original scripts for audio drama series. An experienced producer will be assigned from the Headfone team to assist with the script, casting and production.

As a next step, we would like to share a pre-screening assignment with you. If your submission aligns with our expectations, we would be happy to onboard you as a writer.

_________________________________________________________________________________

ASSIGNMENT

Disclaimer - This assignment is only for the screening process, your work will not be utilized by the company for any other purpose.

Listen to all the episodes of the show - Night Shift and write Episode 6 for the show. Refer to the Sample script to understand the format.

As you would need to listen to the complete series for this assignment, we would like to provide you the discount code ASSIGNMENT90 to unlock the subscription. Please note that this discount code is created only for the purpose of this assignment. Please don't spread this further.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Remuneration Structure - At Headfone, we operate under a Revenue Sharing Model. This unique system ensures you earn 50% of the subscription amount ($7.99) when a user decides to subscribe via your show's page on our app, ensuring that your earnings are tied directly to the success of your work. E.g. if 100 new users purchase the subscription via your show, you earn $400.

Please submit the assignment in PDF / Word format as a reply to this email. We look forward to working with you.

Best Regards

Utkarsh Nigam

Content Director, Headfone

Web | iOS | Android | Linkedin

Okay. So far so good. I'll listen to your sample show. The first episode was free, a policy reminiscent of the one practiced by my local street pharmacist. Here's the screenshot for the show. It looks like the first episode got considerably more listens than the subsequent ones.

It wasn't good, but being a writer, I thought it would have better if I had written it. I applied my code to listen to the following episode and got this screen:

Danger Will Robinson! An eighty-cent charge to hear the rest of the shows? I wouldn't pay one cent for a job interview, and there's no way I would ever give them my credit card information.

Usually, I would respond to the email to get more information, but I didn't feel the need to bother this time. The folks at Reddit did a good job analyzing this so-called opportunity. Some fellow writers actually went through the entire process and finished an audio drama. So this is not a total scam like the previous one I examined. However, none of the "successful" writers seemed satisfied with the experience or the compensation. I would definitely avoid this opportunity at all costs, and any other one that asks for your credit card information.

A pity. They seem to be based in India and I've become quite a fan of Indian cinema. I would have enjoyed working in that milieu.

Remember, there's no shortage of people looking to take advantage of writers! Be wary!

Other Writing Tips:

Writer Tip #1: The First Act

Writer Tip #2: Write For Actors

Writer Tip #3: Don't Work For Free!

Writer Tip #4: Make The Changes

Writer Tip #5: Manage Your Expectations

Writer Tip #6: Hone Your Scripts

Writer Tip #7: How To Make Movies For A Living

Writer Tip #8: The Query Letter

Writer Tip #9: Nobody Wants To See Your Crappy Little Movie