If writing is something you do for money, then take a professional attitude about money. When you buy groceries or pay the rent, do you haggle over the amount and delay paying for months? Of course not. So when you sell your pieces, why should you expect anything less than prompt payment in full?
Tips for Getting Paid
1. For every assignment, confirm in writing (this can be by email) what you will deliver, when, how much it will cost, and when payment is due. Sometimes you will have a written contract with these terms spelled out. Special terms like a kill fee, photos, the nature and scope of rights you are selling, should all be included. They are out of scope for this article, however.
2. Some editors are notorious for requesting multiple rewrites with no extra compensation. If you want to write for these people, you are asking for headaches, but unfortunately sometimes you can't avoid them. In these cases, it's even more important to confirm the terms (see #1 above) AND to specify that there will be one set of revisions not exceeding 20 percent (or whatever) of the word count, included in the price. After that, revisions will be charged at $X per word. (You may set any price for revisions, and it need not be by word).
3. Deliver the work on time and to the specifications agreed upon. After all, you can't insist on payment if you haven't done the job.
4. Deliver an invoice with your work. The invoice should say "Payment now due", provided the confirmation you sent out in #1 had that as a term.
5. Your invoice should say, "Overdue accounts will be charged interest of [fill in rate] beginning 10 days from the due date".
6. When you receive payment, send an email confirming that you received your money and thanking the customer for their business. Pitch your next piece.
When the Account is Overdue
7. Be reasonable but strict. At 10 days, start charging interest. If you receive payment before 30 days, as a matter of goodwill and convenience, reverse the interest charge - the customer has ignored it and so should you unless you want to make yourself more trouble than it's worth.
8. At 30 days, phone the editor to say, "Your account is 30 days old, when can I expect payment?" No matter what they say, send a reminder letter and an invoice with interest added.
9. At 45 days, send a second reminder letter and an invoice with red on it, the overdue amount highlighted, and interest added.
10. If you get the runaround - "Oh, your bill must be with Accounting" - or whatever, send the editor a copy of the bill no matter who the original was sent to.
11. At 60 days you have to make a decision. Are you going to keep waiting or take action? It's expensive to sue customers and it doesn't make them love you. But, if you have decided never to work for them again anyway, then you don't have goodwill to worry about. If you decide to sue, send a demand letter saying the action will be filed in court in 5 business days unless you are paid in full before then.
12. Suing for small amounts is not expensive in cash, but it does take some of your time. Nevertheless, there's nothing like a writ / statement of claim (or whatever it may be called in your jurisdiction) to get someone's attention. Be sure to claim for everything you are owed, including interest and the cost of your legal action including both the out of pocket costs to file your claim, and the cost of your time to go through with it.
13. If you have no choice but to work for the slow payers, then ask them for payment up front. Offer a discount for this. Some people offer a discount on their first invoice (e.g. "10% off if paid in full by April 1st, 2007").
14. Don't work for non-payers. They owe you. They are not paying you. Are they your favourite charity? If you consciously decide to work for free that is your decision. If you work for a non-payer out of some naive belief that they will change their ways, you will not be able to pay your rent.
Finally, some words on marketing.
15. One aspect of marketing is picking your clients and pruning your client list. You should always be looking for better clients and dropping the worst 10% or so every year.
16. Respectfully and objectively, share credit information with fellow writers who are willing to do the same with you. Check out new customers before you spend time working for them. If they already have a reputation for slow or non-payment, walk away.
And some words on cash flow.
16. If your assignment from an editor is going to involve significant out of pocket expenses, ask for an advance. That is your own money at risk. Decide whether you can afford to lose it.