Today I found out that WriterAccess has a new dashboard for its writers and has eliminated its forums. The only way I learned about it was by reading a message on a forum for another service I write for. Some people got an email about it. I didn’t, probably because I asked to be taken off their mailing list. The mail I had been getting consisted of promotions for webinars and such which were directed at clients, not writers. WriterAccess’s Byron White must have concluded that if writers weren’t interested in those, we couldn’t possibly want to be notified about a total redesign of the platform we use.

Update, July 14, 2020: Things haven’t turned out as badly as I feared. Either WA backed off from the 24-hour deadline for Solo orders, or they expressed themselves in a confusing way. I’ve been getting paid for my articles. There are still Casting Calls. Solo and Love List items have returned to the dashboard. On the negative side, the forums are truly gone, and I can’t disable Love List emails from clients I’m not interested in (i.e., low-paying ones). More than half of the problem was, ironically, bad writing and communication.

If there had been a link on the new dashboard to an explanation of the changes, it wouldn’t be so bad. But there’s no explanation beyond “Welcome to new talent portal! Please use the Feedback orange button to report any bugs, requests, or feedback for betterment. Thanks!” (And I don’t see an orange Feedback button.)

The time to respond to Solo orders (orders assigned to just one writer) used to be typically 3 or 4 days. It’s been changed to 24 hours, and the clock starts ticking when the request is posted, not when the writer sees or accepts it. Solo and Love List orders are no longer dashboard items. The “Next Pay” item says “coming soon.” That’s disturbingly vague.

The elimination of the forums seems to be because they can’t or don’t want to dedicate enough staff time to moderating them. That’s not a good sign for the company’s health. Moderation of forums shouldn’t require being on the premises, so don’t blame COVID-19.

There’s a furious discussion on Reddit about the changes. It includes a copy of the email that some writers received. Several comments complain about broken functionality.

I could be mistaken about some of the things they’re doing. The email as quoted on Reddit is often vague and confusing. “We pulled the Casting Call option out of the order form, for lots of reasons. Casting Calls are now more of a recruiting option for clients that are looking for special skills, expertise and eagerness for the opportunity—symbolized in personal responses to the requirements.” There is still a place for Casting Calls in the dashboard and a nonzero number. Are these all legacy items? “Response time to messages is a part of our new algorithm.” Algorithm for what?

I like the kind of assignments I often get through WriterAccess, and the pay has been good. This comes as a shock. I’m still taking it all in, but it looks bad.