Dear XXXXX,

While I would be happy to provide you with a sample article for our regular fee, our company doesn’t support work on spec.

From a freelancer’s perspective, we feel that spec work is an unfair practice. While we respect that you do not want to commit to hiring someone you have never worked with before, it essentially boils down to us paying you (in the form of our time and skills) for the privilege of consideration for a job.

I don’t mean to come off as though my company isn’t interested in the job; on the contrary, we feel that we could create a good, long-term working relationship. I just wanted to be clear about my company’s policies and let you see things from our side.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you in making your final decision.

Thanks,
Lorna Doone Brewer