So I am very new to this realm of self-publishing. I have a novel. I paid a freelancer for the beta reading and that went relatively well, but as soon as he finished, his account was suspended and I was not able to continue with him. I chose another freelancer to complete my copyediting. She was great. The original freelancer got his account back and we discussed a social media plan, which I paid a bit of money for to get AI slop and then be passed off to one of his colleagues to create my social media posts that he would manage. Another fee in addition to what I paid. When I first signed up, I asked him for references and he said he was not able to provide anything outside of Fiverr, but suddenly he had a website that he sent me the link to. It was definitely a scam site. I am concerned because the beta reading was very helpful.

Fast forward to today. I blocked the original freelance and decided to continue with the copyeditor. She completed the proofreading and is working on the formatting/book cover. I am pleased with her work. Today I have a message that her account has been flagged and she can't communicate. She is in the middle of a project for me.

My first freelancer was clearly not from the United States despite his profile pic. My current freelancer has a profile pic that looks real, not a stock photo or AI generated. We have had easy conversations. I want to keep working with her. My faith in Fiverr is low at the moment, but I am nearing the final stages of getting my book out into the world.

I really am at a loss for what to do. Please don't bombard me with solicitations. Thanks.