OMG!! They hired me as a senior editor for 2 days then fired me over a minor mistake without talking to me. I was devastated but immediately got a bad vibe. I’m glad to know it was a good thing I didn’t stick around😭
Hailey! I’m so, so sorry to hear you had to deal with that. That’s a horrible way to treat people, I’m so sorry you went through it. I think you definitely dodged a bullet by the sounds of it!
This is actually so eye-opening and I'm so sorry you had to go through that and this is coming from someone who has dealt with (and is still dealing with) plagiarism (because what they did or are doing to you is literally plagiarism in a form).
I just know this took a ton of courage to post, and I’m glad you said something. I’ve gotten weird vibes since I was auto subscribed to their publication after answering a pitch call, but at some point I became an annual (paid) subscriber. I think I wanted access to some zooms or something, idk I will say they are good marketers! this was a good reminder to cancel my paid subscription to this other publication (something I was planning to do at the end of my year anyway, but this made me actually do it).
I for one appreciate everything you do, and your authenticity is so apparent. It can’t be faked, and maybe that’s part of the ~vibes~ I picked up.
Thanks Julie. It definitely was not the most fun I’ve ever had writing, it just became impossible to ignore. I mean, 10,233 links clicked in 11 months is embarrassing. And I can’t think of a way this could even be defended?
They are definitely excellent at marketing. I was on their free plan a year ago and it was pretty relentless. Reviews don’t seem too positive from what I’ve seen.
Hopefully we can keep up the work we do here at the FWN! Really appreciate the kind words. Authenticity is definitely a word I’m happy to be correlated with!
Their subscription is $19, but they have an entirely different model for $25, meaning the people paying $19 are only gaining a fraction of access. I asked if it was better to pay the $25 if that contains all of the leads for work, pitches, contests, and everything. I received a non-answer. Struggling beginning freelancers absolutely do not have $44 to pay monthly.
Plus, some of the leads are pulled from threads, LinkedIn, and even Reddit. I thought that was strange, too. Plus, plus, some of the leads are defunct.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Steph! Apparently there are a lot of AI training roles too? I’m not sure that’s something any writer wants to see.
I’m uncomfortable with tiers of access like that too. We try and keep it affordable here at the FWN, and I can’t understand two different costs for access? That would be insane. You’re paying already, you should get everything!
It’s also nigh impossible to cancel your MWYJ subscription and if you do, you won’t get a prorated refund. That’s been my experience having paid for a year’s subscription and then trying repeatedly to cancel and get a refund. Substack can’t help, and the creators can’t help much. The money’s gone.
I am sorry you and Melissa are going through this, George. Thank you for all your efforts to help us editors and writers 🫶🏻 We do appreciate you and we often know the kind of work it truly takes to build trust and communities like these.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Mariah. I’m sorry it was such a negative one! Substack has a default 7-day refund policy that overrides individual creators, so you should have been able to get this sorted. Sorry to hear this didn’t happen!
Thanks for your kind words as well. It’s a lot of work that goes into this, and it’s so frustrating when that work is taken and repurposed for others to make money out of.
Thank you for sharing. I did previously subscribe to them and just cancelled. I had noticed the similarities and was already considering cancelling because I've found FWN provides much, much better value, so this confirms it. Thank you for everything you do, the time it takes, and for even increasing your offerings but keeping your membership affordable.
Thank you Alix, and thank you for the kind words! I’m delighted the FWN has been of value to you. Hopefully we can keep that up! Please do reach out if there’s anything you’d like to see added here too. :)
I think it's very important. I have subscribed and cancelled a few times to that newsletter. I hope that Amy or Kyle responds to you. We should all be doing our best to support each other, even if we're competing in the same lane.
I quit their newsletter recently because it was awfully expensive and the content felt, for lack of a better word … hollow? Now I understand what my intuition was picking up. Ugh. Switching my sub to your newsletter. So sorry this happened to you.
Thanks for joining us, Stefene! And I'm sorry to hear you didn't have the experience you paid for. Quite a bit of money to spend to end up disappointed.
Thanks for the note! The theme of June 2026 seems to have been ‘grifters gonna grift.’ July’s theme is kicking grifters to the curb and starting from scratch. :) So I’m glad to have found you guys!
This is so good to know. I recommend them (and y’all!) in my classes. Will definitely stop now. These comments are full of insight too. Thanks for all the work you do, George 🤘🏽
OMG!! They hired me as a senior editor for 2 days then fired me over a minor mistake without talking to me. I was devastated but immediately got a bad vibe. I’m glad to know it was a good thing I didn’t stick around😭
Hailey! I’m so, so sorry to hear you had to deal with that. That’s a horrible way to treat people, I’m so sorry you went through it. I think you definitely dodged a bullet by the sounds of it!
Oh that's major tea!
I always had a bad feeling about how they had been running their operations since I first stumbled upon them in, idk, 2022. Glad this confirms it.
They also penned a book, "Write for Money and Power," entirely written by our good friend Chat GPT.
The market is not in its best shape as it is. We don't need to have those individuals further poisoning the (not so gurgling) well.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Angelica. Really interesting to hear your perspectives on this!
This is actually so eye-opening and I'm so sorry you had to go through that and this is coming from someone who has dealt with (and is still dealing with) plagiarism (because what they did or are doing to you is literally plagiarism in a form).
Thank you Feifei, I really appreciate the support. And I’m sorry to hear you’re going through something similar! It really is an unpleasant feeling.
I just know this took a ton of courage to post, and I’m glad you said something. I’ve gotten weird vibes since I was auto subscribed to their publication after answering a pitch call, but at some point I became an annual (paid) subscriber. I think I wanted access to some zooms or something, idk I will say they are good marketers! this was a good reminder to cancel my paid subscription to this other publication (something I was planning to do at the end of my year anyway, but this made me actually do it).
I for one appreciate everything you do, and your authenticity is so apparent. It can’t be faked, and maybe that’s part of the ~vibes~ I picked up.
Thanks Julie. It definitely was not the most fun I’ve ever had writing, it just became impossible to ignore. I mean, 10,233 links clicked in 11 months is embarrassing. And I can’t think of a way this could even be defended?
They are definitely excellent at marketing. I was on their free plan a year ago and it was pretty relentless. Reviews don’t seem too positive from what I’ve seen.
Hopefully we can keep up the work we do here at the FWN! Really appreciate the kind words. Authenticity is definitely a word I’m happy to be correlated with!
I KNEW it, but I couldn’t prove it.
Their subscription is $19, but they have an entirely different model for $25, meaning the people paying $19 are only gaining a fraction of access. I asked if it was better to pay the $25 if that contains all of the leads for work, pitches, contests, and everything. I received a non-answer. Struggling beginning freelancers absolutely do not have $44 to pay monthly.
Plus, some of the leads are pulled from threads, LinkedIn, and even Reddit. I thought that was strange, too. Plus, plus, some of the leads are defunct.
So glad to know my intuition is working 😅.
Thank you for writing this!
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Steph! Apparently there are a lot of AI training roles too? I’m not sure that’s something any writer wants to see.
I’m uncomfortable with tiers of access like that too. We try and keep it affordable here at the FWN, and I can’t understand two different costs for access? That would be insane. You’re paying already, you should get everything!
It’s also nigh impossible to cancel your MWYJ subscription and if you do, you won’t get a prorated refund. That’s been my experience having paid for a year’s subscription and then trying repeatedly to cancel and get a refund. Substack can’t help, and the creators can’t help much. The money’s gone.
I am sorry you and Melissa are going through this, George. Thank you for all your efforts to help us editors and writers 🫶🏻 We do appreciate you and we often know the kind of work it truly takes to build trust and communities like these.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Mariah. I’m sorry it was such a negative one! Substack has a default 7-day refund policy that overrides individual creators, so you should have been able to get this sorted. Sorry to hear this didn’t happen!
Thanks for your kind words as well. It’s a lot of work that goes into this, and it’s so frustrating when that work is taken and repurposed for others to make money out of.
Thank you for sharing. I did previously subscribe to them and just cancelled. I had noticed the similarities and was already considering cancelling because I've found FWN provides much, much better value, so this confirms it. Thank you for everything you do, the time it takes, and for even increasing your offerings but keeping your membership affordable.
Thank you Alix, and thank you for the kind words! I’m delighted the FWN has been of value to you. Hopefully we can keep that up! Please do reach out if there’s anything you’d like to see added here too. :)
Oh boy. What an eye opener.
This was really, genuinely not a post I wanted to write. But this one was just *too* much for me to ignore. Thanks for reading, Diane.
I think it's very important. I have subscribed and cancelled a few times to that newsletter. I hope that Amy or Kyle responds to you. We should all be doing our best to support each other, even if we're competing in the same lane.
I’m not until now aware of these folks. Given the way they behave they’ve lost a potential client.
I quit their newsletter recently because it was awfully expensive and the content felt, for lack of a better word … hollow? Now I understand what my intuition was picking up. Ugh. Switching my sub to your newsletter. So sorry this happened to you.
Thanks for joining us, Stefene! And I'm sorry to hear you didn't have the experience you paid for. Quite a bit of money to spend to end up disappointed.
Thanks for the note! The theme of June 2026 seems to have been ‘grifters gonna grift.’ July’s theme is kicking grifters to the curb and starting from scratch. :) So I’m glad to have found you guys!
This is so good to know. I recommend them (and y’all!) in my classes. Will definitely stop now. These comments are full of insight too. Thanks for all the work you do, George 🤘🏽
Thanks Tawny, appreciate the support and the mentions! Hyped for our next class😎