by Leo Wiles
18 November 2015
Thanks as always for the List. I have a question that is probably all too familiar to many freelancers; do you have any advice about how can I get an invoice paid for work that has been published and is now 127 days later than the 60-day post-publication payment date?
Am I within my rights to resell the story elsewhere if they don’t pay? I am thinking about joining the MEAA, which I believe can help with retrieving unpaid invoices, but of course the fees are quite high. I’ve discovered there are at least three other writers in the same situation with this company. Anon
Let me say straight up that although I studied Law for Journos, and love a good legal eagle series, that’s the extent of my legal expertise. With that aside, even a blind man could see that you and your freelance brethren are being unfairly treated. As you point out however, this is a situation that most of us have experienced more times than we care to think about. It’s hard to believe that something as simple as being paid could end up driving many of us into the arms of another publication or even profession. I know I ended up going back inhouse for a stint after the freelance cashflow situation became too stressful.
However before you lawyer up – or change vocations – may I suggest a few other options:
Do not on-sell your piece before this matter is resolved. At present you have the ethical upper hand on re-selling your copy, which may give them leverage to back out on paying you.
Find out where the weak link is. Is it with your commissioning editor, or does the fish rot from the head down? When located at FPC, Vogue had a policy of low rates of pay because everyone wanted the prestige of writing for them; it had nothing to do with the lovely editorial team.
Know your enemy. Is this publication renowned for paying badly or is the publisher in the red, which is why they are dragging their feet? If it’s the latter I’d think about not writing for them long-term as one day they may shut their doors and you’ll end up out of pocket for good.
Get cosy with someone in accounts. I had one editor was so bad at coughing up I used to send her my invoice and cc it to the accounts department. My wait time went from months to a week.
Show them you mean business. If you’ve already played nice and sent a firm but friendly note with your reissued invoice, pointing out that it is now 67 days past their agreed 60 days after publication contract, I’d go hardball. Reissue a new invoice, cc it to accounts and point out that you’ve added in a 10 percent late fee that will go into effect in 7 days time and will work as compound interest on every day after that.
Form a posse. Call everyone you know who is owed money by them, and those who regularly write for them, and unite. Refusing to write until everyone’s outstanding invoices are paid.
Have the final word. If I never wanted to work for the publication again I would head to a free legal service and have their legal expert send your client a letter, or call the MEAA and see if they had any free advice they could offer. Sometimes they will give basic advice over the phone.
Burn bridges and be dammed. As a last resort I would threaten the title and the publisher with the small claims court. The problem with this last resort is that it is exactly that. Because sometimes even when we’re in the right, we can end up as the whistle-blower being made to look and feel like somehow we did the wrong thing. You also need to work out if the time, money, heartache and potential attack on your reputation within the publishing house is going to be worth the outstanding fee.
Did you successfully make a late payer cough up? If so please share, as I am sure there are hundreds of us who have or still face cashflow issues due to regular late payments.
