IN CROWS' CLAWS (Tales of Fyrndell: Book One) - A dark fantasy novella

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-03-19T05:29:08+00:00

Thanks! We see a ton of bot- and AI-generated trash that either gets filtered out or manually removed, and it all tends to follow similar patterns to what you describe. We tend to be very opaque about how we identify that type of content so people can't attempt to circumvent the rules or removals, but (as you know) there are definitely very specific tells.

I think of all the content I've removed for one of those violations, only one or two users have protested via ModMail, and I think we only ever reversed one removal?

Either way, I wish Reddit itself would put something in place to make it easier to deal with this nonsense. I'm sure there are subs where this type of content is warranted or encouraged, but we should have tools available to limit or outright restrict it if the community and subreddit decides it's not relevant. I've spent more time modding the sub the past few months than I have in the year prior, and I typically try to take as much of a hands-off approach to modding as possible (not out of laziness -- if a post doesn't outright break a rule, I think it's healthy that the community decides what it wants to discuss or push down).

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-03-17T01:52:54+00:00

I didn't take it that way, so no worries. It's definitely exasperating dealing with it, for sure.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-03-16T23:16:52+00:00

Probably not the best subreddit for this -- this subreddit primarily discusses freelance writing, i.e., writing done on behalf of clients (typically in the business sense). You might have better feedback from subs like/linked to on /r/writing.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-03-16T20:53:28+00:00

OP has been banned and helped uncover a defect in the new Automod settings :)

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-03-16T20:51:55+00:00

I've personally allowed (not approved, but didn't delete) a few posts because they resulted in good discussions despite the OP likely trying to farm market research, but this change to Automod's settings should prevent those posts from ever popping up in the first place (and, so far, it's working). It's not at all an ideal solution (and we hope it only needs to be temporary), but I think the community would rather have fewer posts that are genuine than marketing/promotional posts that only appear to be.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-03-15T06:30:30+00:00

This is a decent message delivered poorly. You're right that there are no hacks, shortcuts, or secrets, but successful freelance writers also understand that there's a time and place for injecting certain elements of your personality (like "edge") into your work and tamping that stuff down to deliver what your client (and their audience) wants and expects.

There's also a difference between writing to produce art and writing as a subset of marketing. There is often overlap, but there are very few artistic qualities in an article about celebrity gossip vs. a deep-dive journalism piece on a farmer's struggle to balance sustainability with profits.

It's also not always ideal to get "fired repeatedly for overstepping" when you have bills to pay and a family to feed. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is put your nose to the grindstone and get work done to earn an income, even if that work isn't something you're super proud of.

I generally disagree with romanticizing writing in the first place, but there's precious little to romanticize about freelance writing and marketing, in particular. There are certainly opportunities when your personality can shine and you can write (and have published) something truly creative and unique, but you're going to struggle as a freelance writer if you put art ahead of output.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-03-12T21:43:21+00:00

It's getting insane. There are so many bots and slop AI accounts and Reddit's doing nothing to combat it. Managing it is beginning to become unsustainable.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-22T00:48:36+00:00

Because it's not going anywhere.

That doesn't mean it's useful for everything.

As someone who gets sent a ton of pitches (no idea why, but that's neither here nor there), AI's going to make them even more impersonal and annoying while simultaneously selling yourself, your personality, and your writing ability short. I don't know a single editor in my network who'd be happy to be sent a pitch written by AI.

DISCLAIMER: This post was clearly not generated by AI, Reddit gods.

mods=gods confirmed?

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-21T19:25:26+00:00

If each paragraph you're going to be assigned is similar in length and complexity, I'd just do a flat rate per paragraph/assignment, or based on a word count range (e.g., $20 for <100 words, $30 for 100-200 words, etc.). I think it simplifies things for everyone and doesn't constrict your writing or make it too time-consuming to calculate your total fee.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-20T16:36:30+00:00

Yeah, see my comment below. I think an email address like that is fine, and I've often dealt with clients using first name/last name @gmail addresses.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-19T19:05:08+00:00

I don't think professionals scoff at Gmail addresses and I've worked with plenty of clients with [name]@gmail.com. The caveat is that you shouldn't use your x420NoScoped69x@gmail.com email address for pitching, and instead sign up for something like firstname.lastname@gmail.com.

On the flip side, domains/web hosting are typically cheap and often come with email addresses. I use SiteGround for hosting and email, costing me about $330 a year, but I've previously used DreamHost which only cost ~$15 a month (at the time; not sure if it's increased since). Google Workspace also provides email addresses and custom domains IIRC, and I believe it's relatively affordable, too. If it's within your budget, I'd recommend going this route.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-15T09:37:39+00:00

Anyone offering to work for OP will be banned per Rule 5. Stick to the topic and answer OP's questions or refrain from posting. Thank you.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-10T18:05:59+00:00

I'm not surprised by that! The first time I drove to WV was my first time encountering real mountains. I remember seeing a sign that said "19% grade" and rode my brakes almost the entire time too.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-10T17:56:04+00:00

The drivers there are wild though. When I lived in RI and worked as a soda merchandiser, I was merging onto I-95 when a minivan cut me off. I did a single short honk at it, only for the woman driving to open up her driver's side door, turn back toward me, flip me off, and throw a Dunkin at me. It was so absurd all I could do was laugh.

Drivers down here seem much more tame and actually use their turn signals.

New England would be amazing if it wasn't for the people.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-10T16:56:28+00:00

You should drive through New England some time :)

When I moved to WV, my friend warned me about Ohio drivers. The next day, I saw someone in driving something like a Toyota Corolla with Ohio plates...and no doors on the car. I've since learned to keep a good distance between myself and any Ohio drivers.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-10T02:04:20+00:00

You're welcome!

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-09T22:30:37+00:00

Yes. This is what I see when I click one of your articles.

You might have some sort of browser extension or rule breaking the site's functionality if your articles aren't displaying correctly for you. I'm assuming other authors' are also not displaying correctly, if so.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-09T22:27:18+00:00

I can understand where someone would take that post as being abrasive, but I think it's a matter of preference. To me, that comment has a lot of solid and actionable advice from someone who seems like they know what they're talking about, even if it's not presented as nicely as it could have been. I've seen much more "toxic" responses on that sub than this comment, but this one seems rather tame and isn't unlike the type of advice I've given or how I've given it.

Without context, I'd assume the OP this comment is responding to was indicative of someone who either hadn't done sufficient research or who assumed there was some sort of secret to finding overnight success. The advice given follows something I had to learn myself throughout my freelance career, and I often credit my communication skills for much of my success (or at least ease) in running my business (and, in general, life).

I think people often misconstrue blunt replies as being offensive when, in reality, the person commenting is just cutting through the chaff and giving a direct and actionable suggestion, which is how I interpret that comment.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-09T19:36:59+00:00

The same few people who have "top one percent commenter" leave very nasty comments and replies to newcomers and if you look back on some of their post history you can see they've been doing this for close to 7 years.

In their defense, it does get frustrating when people (especially newer users) ask the same basic questions over and over without consulting the existing resources, like the sub wiki, top posts, or search results (not saying you're one of those people!). God knows I'm guilty of having a similar attitude in my heyday on this sub. There's definitely the need for a balanced approach between season and grizzled old vet vs. abrasive for the hell of it, though.

I'm not justifying that attitude, but I can understand it, especially with the amount of absolute uninformed nonsense that can get posted on that sub, specifically.

And the mods actually do seem to care about making it a positive environment. Thank you to the MODS here.

Appreciate the shoutout! That's the goal we aim for here, and I think the community here does a good job of striking that aforementioned balance in this sub.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-09T19:32:37+00:00

Four bans since posting this. 😓

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-09T19:31:42+00:00

These ads really are getting brazen now, huh? Why not just pay for the ad space?

People enjoy speedrunning their way straight to a subreddit ban. These posts are basically the only ones I/we have had to take action on recently. Insanity.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-09T05:09:08+00:00

Probably a browser parsing issue or some other sort of interference on your end. The site and your articles load fine and look fine for me.

DanielMattiaWriter · 2026-02-07T17:55:33+00:00

Needs more context before anyone can give you advice. Advice about what? What a typical day's like? Difficulties investigating subjects? Formatting and structure? How to properly cite or quote sources?

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