Professional writer refuses unsolicited commission work offer from artist after being fooled before, and the artist responds with insults and accusations and gets blocked

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Feb 28, 2026 10:00 AM EST

Better safe than sorry, and No is a full sentence have never been so apporpriate. I know most people do not get rewarded for being careful, more often than not they get punished for it. And i also know saying no is portrayed as being simple, but in this world it is treated like an insult, especially when it is said to someone who has already decided they are entitled to your attention, your guilt, or your wallet

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  • Young woman with curly dark hair sitting cross-legged on a bed, focused on typing on a silver laptop, with a smartphone and book nearby in a softly lit bedroom.
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I'm being called out for saying No

    I am a writer, let's just say that. New to the writing game, artists reached out to me to try selling me art.
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  • I thought, what the heck I'll give it a shot, it's nice to have people notice me.
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  • What I didn't realize at the time, is that these people are using spam bots and most likely have not even read my work.
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  • I realized that the hard way of being suckered out of a lot of my savings.
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  • It left me in a state I call "Financially traumatized" (Basically broke and panic attack threatening to break out if the possibility of repetition of said events).
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  • Now I'm super careful of who I agree to converse with so I don't get trapped in paying for something I don't want.
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  • Young woman sitting on a living room couch, focused on working on a laptop placed on her lap, with a notebook and phone on the coffee table in front of her.
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Recently, someone sent me a message saying they loved reading my work, and they had an ideal for the next chapter if I was willing to discuss with them.
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  • Also they draw art. I asked them which work they were talking about and they said which one.
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  • This fanfiction based off a video game, not only that but it's based on another fiction I already wrote, so it's not like it can take many creative liberties.
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  • I told her (I could tell she was female based on the username), I already had the chapter planned out and told her what was planned.
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  • She still seemed eager to connect with me which I found suspicious. Yet she said still had an idea for the future, so I decided to hear her out, telling her I probably wasn't going to use it.
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  • Young woman sitting on a couch indoors, thoughtfully holding a pen to her lips while writing in a notebook, surrounded by soft pillows in a cozy living room.
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I had a feeling she was a scam artist, I ran into one before, where they make art for you anyway without your consent and if you try to cut them off they will attempt to sue you.
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  • A new writer, still figuring out the rules, gets hit by the usual invasion of unsolicited art offers that smell less like fandom and more like spam bots sniffing for easy marks. After a losing stretch of interactions that drained savings, left panic attacks in their wake, and trained them to recognize scam patterns, the obvious move is to guard the door harder. Yet the moment they try to enforce that boundary with a stranger who says she loves their work and wants to “discuss” ideas, the script flips. Saying “I did not ask for art,” “I cannot pay for it,” and “I do not want to work with artists anymore” is not negotiation, it is self‑defense. The expectation that the writer should have predicted the person’s emotional investment in an unpaid favor is exactly the kind of pressure that keeps vulnerability profitable.  

  • So I decided the method of communication so I could block her easily if this was the case.
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  • We start talking briefly on discord, talking about trivial things like allergies, and then she decides to share her idea.
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  • Her idea was something I could clearly remember already writing, but I figured maybe she just skimmed over that part while reading.
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  • So I tell her that part was already written, and share the part it was mentioned.
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  • Young woman sitting on a couch in a cozy living room, writing in a spiral notebook while looking toward a laptop on a coffee table, surrounded by decorative pillows.
    via Corinne Kutz

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Then I realize the way she was talking was a way one would describe an image, so I quickly added that I didn't want any art from her and I couldn't even pay for it.
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  • She then posted some of her gallery to try to impress me, and offered me a payment plan.
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  • Entering one of those in the past got me trouble when I decided I didn't want what I was buying, (it was too expensive), besides they don't wait long enough for you to earn the money you need for purchase.
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  • So I told her I don't want any art as I am "Financially traumatized," and refuse to work with any more artists.
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  • She also asked for an honest opinion of her work, and I told her I didn't like her art (which I honestly didn't).
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  • I warn her if she tries to press me on this I will block her. She tells me I should've been more clear as she already started making the art for me, and lo and behold she presents the line art already in progress triggering my PTSD surrounding the artists.
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  • She then tells me I'm being r de and not speaking professionally enough with her. Continuing to look at our discord conversation gave me panic attacks so I did as I warned and blocked her.
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  • I was still scared she might try to sue me, so I copied the part of our conversation where I clearly said I didn't. want any art and she clearly went ahead anyway.
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  • Just to be sure I looked up if I was really trapped in payment because she felt owed or misunderstood my meaning and luckily most of the general public said no because 1.
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  • most scammers will try to pressure you with sympathy "I worked so hard on this consuming valuable time and money, pay me anyway" (I have been pressured with that line before and succumbed, paying for something I didn't want).
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  • 2. If it was a true commision we would have agreed on price and she would have taken a down-payment before starting, otherwise she's doing this unhired.
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  • I copy all this research down for good measure, some of it being advice from a litigation lawyer.
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  • She reaches back out to me the original way she contacted me and offered to discuss the payment plan, but I told her I didn't ask for it so I'm not paying for it.
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  • She tries the line, "I worked so hard on this consuming valuable time and money, pay me anyway." I got suckered with that line before and I wasn't getting trapped again.
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  • So I post my proof I didn't ask for it, along with all my research saying she's not owed anything.
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  • She tells me she started the project because I said I couldn't pay for it so she offered me a payment plan, she even tried calling me to discuss (for a few seconds according to the log).
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  • She did something nice for me and I'm not giving her the time of day. "How would I feel about that?" I was going to respond to her saying I never specifically asked for it or hired her so legal proof says that it's a gift I didn't want.
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  • I didn't get the chance before she sent me a second response saying she wasn't pressuring me at all, I didn't have to pay anything, she was doing something nice for me and I blocked her and didn't give her a chance to talk things out with me.
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  • She thought I was educated and I turned out to be so r de. Then she wished me to have a nice life because I broke her heart.
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  • Still holding the fear of being potentially sued I held onto that paper trail where I said no, and the advice of legal teams to prove she doesn't have a leg stand on if she happens to find me one day, or tries to sue my username.
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  • Maybe I could have handled that better, but I was in too much of a state of panic to type straight.
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  • What do you guys think? EDIT: Most people seem to just gloss over the fact that this has been happening to me for a while and think I'm a naive fool, just I'll just detail my experience 1st year: Didn't know anything about art scams, gave the scammers a shot, realized they charged an arm and a leg.
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  • 2nd year: Realized how taxing it was and tried to cut-off deals already in progress or go for reserved slots, later that year found out reserved slots don't mean squat, and they try to pursue legal action.
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  • Also reached out to reddit complaining about my problem and people kept insulting me calling me a gullible idiot with no backbone.
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  • I didn't need the verbal ab e for my problem sol removed the post and reported the people insulting me.
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  • The artist’s response is textbook guilt acrobatics. She presents paid‑plan schemes, shares her gallery, pushes for an opinion, and then pretends the line art she starts is something the writer somehow triggered by being honest about not wanting it. She tests the line, tries to frame herself as the injured party, and when the door slams, paints the writer as unprofessional and heartless. The moment the conversation starts triggering panic, blocking is not melodrama, it is triage. The extra layer of copying legal advice, chats, and disclaimers is not paranoia, it is damage control after years of being told every problem was their own fault.  

  • 3rd year (this year): When someone confronted me with potential legal action I showed her receipts saying I already cancelled the project and she retorted that she didn't recieve the final payment.
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  • So dealt with that and now am thouroghly traumatized. I didn't have anyone in my life telling me about the scammers, and the only people I did have kept victim-blaming me for my actions.
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  • Most Therapists agree that isn't the right course of action. I found another reddit post about someone talking about being roped into scams much like I was and people were a lot more sympathetic to her.
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  • They told her anyone could fall for these types of scams, and she wasn't alone. I'm not too green as I said, I did research recently saying what people can and cannot force me into.
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  • Advice from the lawyer says the right course of action is to detail to the person that we don't have an agreement and then to block.
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  • As for people telling me I should just ignore the scammers, I do that 98% of the time
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  • I only keep myself open to people willing to discuss writing over fanfiction, and every time else except for this recent time they were harmless.
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  • Update #2: People are wondering why I'm getting so bent out of shape from people insulting me on my situation, well let me tell you my tragic backstory...
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  • I'm neurodivergent, diagnosed with social anxiety when young but ASD girls are usually misdiagnosed as such and it seems to be more than that.
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  • I had trouble understanding how people were supposed to act that I thought I was alien when I was young.
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  • I was bu ed from the age of 10-17 years old for being neurodivergent. I was insulted, taken advantage of, threatened, bossed around, and made the b t of people's jokes.
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  • No matter what I did I was a target: keeping to myself, defending myself, or trying to be alone, people would attack me or turn me into the bad guy.
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  • I was verbally and pschyologically abused by my classmates for years, it was a wonder I wasn't suicidal.
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  • After some time in therapy I came to an understanding: even if my classmates couldn't handle me, it wasn't right for them to take out their frustrations on me either and tell me it's my fault for the bad things happening to me.
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  • The core conflict here is not about art, it is about permission. The person is not asking for proof they were nice or generous enough, they are asking for confirmation that they did not magically become legally or morally responsible for someone else’s unilateral project. In a world that treats “no” as a conversation starter and “I’m not interested” as an invitation to guilt, choosing to protect yoursafety and finances is not impolite, it is the only form of sanity that does not involve signing yourself up for other people’s fantasies.

  • So I REFUSE to put up with people victim blaming me ever again. The therapist also helped me with being a victim of scams and told me that scammers affect even the most careful of people.
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  • That is what needs to be said, but people, like my father, choose to victim blame, "he didn't raise no idiot." My Mom and sister, tell me it's not my fault because I didn't know, it happens to even the most careful and now I know for next time.
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  • That is the approprite response. Right now I have no contracts with anyone, and I know not to respond to anyone offering to sell art.
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  • They only way I will take said art is they are willing to make them a gift with no price tag, which surprisingly happened to me with a reported scammer.
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  • I will not send them any money and keep my stance that I am not asking for any art so I will not purchase any.
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  • Thank you for everyone telling me I should just block them, but they are already blocked on all fronts.
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  • I did that the moment the communication stopped. All I wanted. was some reassurance that I was safe if they ever tried to sue, because I wasn't sure.
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employment issues work artist writer advice freelance
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