Unfortunately, there will be bad eggs out there. The advice I can give to avoid or reduce the pain is to thoroughly vet and to protect yourself (kind of like dating). Copyrighting is not very expensive. Look into it when you're close to the collaboration point. The real thing, not the poor man's version. Also, like I said before, give clear upfront directives. This should include scheduling, deadlines, formatting, revision and editing thoughts, style, compensation (milestone, frontend, backend, percentage, royalties), and anything else you can possibly think of. Find or create some type of contract for the freelance work you're hiring them to do. It could address nondisclosure or any of the other legal mumbo-jumbo (not a lawyer, not even close so get that part from one of those guys). And finally, remember whose project it is. If it's yours, be the director. If you're not satisfied, speak up. I like to get the first few pages as soon as they're done. That way if there is an issue with the tone, style, characters, environment, etc, I can address it early and not have to have something on every page redrawn. I also ask for character sketches or model sheets. I try to get detailed ones of my main characters and at least one location done before any work is started. Moral of the story: Be clear. If you work out as much as you can up front, there will be less surprises or complications (which can ruin a professional relationship or set the project back months) as you go.
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