F*ck You. Pay Me.
It was, and remains, one of my favorite videos talking about freelance payment problems. Mike Monteiro, design director and co-founder of Mule Design Studio, took the internet by storm back in 2011 when his talk from Creative Mornings Creative Guild went viral.
As well it should have. Monteiro started his nearly 40-minute session with excuses we’ve all heard:
- We ended up not using the work
- It’s not what we wanted after all
- We got someone internal to do it instead
- We canceled the project
- We didn’t get the funding we thought we’d get
- We think we’ve already paid you enough
- It’s not what we were hoping for
I could add so much more to the list, like:
- There were numerous errors (often delivered after the late fees are applied to the invoice)
- We need to change this entirely to this approach now
- We decided to go in another direction
And so on.
I was watching this video yesterday because, in conversation with a writer friend, money came up. Specifically, money a client of his needs to pay.
It’s arguably the toughest conversation writers have with their clients — that the client owes for the project they’d contracted for, even if they’ve used any of the excuses listed (or not) above.
It’s not about not upsetting them or not ruining the relationship. It’s about protecting yourself and getting what’s owed you.
Here’s how to remove payment problems from your freelance writing business:
Have airtight contracts.
It’s more than you owe me X for Y. It’s about spelling out exactly what the project scope is, what the deliverable and deadlines will be, a thorough accounting of payment and terms, what the remedy is for a breach of any of the contract terms, what the late-payment fees are and when they’ll be applied, and any other verbal agreements you made. If it isn’t in writing, you may never see it.
Remove the money stigma.
Monteiro touches on this briefly in his talk, but it needs more daylight. Freelancers should never fear talking about money with clients — particularly with clients who owe them money. You have to be comfortable knowing that collecting your fee is the natural next step in your client work process, which goes something like this 1) contract for the job; 2) do the job, and ; 3) collect. Stop thinking money will ruin the relationship. If that client hired you, it was with the understanding that you’d be paid for your time and effort. They know going in, as do you. I’d argue that money will ruin the relationship if you don’t ask for what’s owed. And if asking for what they’d agreed to pay ruins it, it wasn’t worth keeping.
Don’t focus on the money.
Didn’t see that coming, did you? What I mean is don’t make money the only thing you negotiate. Negotiate terms that you both like. Negotiate every part of that relationship. Make sure you both know what’s to be delivered, what the next steps are, and what recourse you both have should the draft not thrill one of you. Offer a set number of revisions. Also, I tend to alert new clients to the fact that the draft is not a final version — it’s a starting point. Establish that they don’t have to love it right out of the gate, but that they do have an opportunity to work with you to get it to where they want it.
Include money in the negotiations, sure. Just don’t think it’s the only thing that stands between you and payment.
Get a deposit.
New clients, in my opinion, should certainly pay some sort of deposit. That shows good faith on their part, and it tells you just how serious they are about paying you later. If it’s a large-enough project, set benchmarks along the way for payment — such as when you deliver the first 25 pages or you reach 5,000 words. It helps both you and the client. You get paid, and they get to spread payment out so that it’s more affordable.
Stick to the facts.
Know those clients who use the “Money is tight right now” kind of emotional ploys? Don’t be like that. Stick with the facts: you delivered X and they owe Y. No emotional games. No begging. No shouting. You can get firm with them: “The invoice is now 30 days past due” or “Per our agreement, I am due from you a check in the amount of $XXXXX. Please remit payment within 10 days to avoid further late fees or litigation.” Firm isn’t emotional — it’s outlining what’s already been agreed to and stating fact. Don’t ever get into an emotional tussle with clients. It’s a no-win situation.
Getting payment for freelance writing work should not be an issue, particularly if you’ve worked your way high on the freelance food chain. But it still happens. Reducing how often it happens can mean applying these simple fixes to your daily routine. Sh*t will still happen, but you’ll be much better equipped to handle it when it does.
For more suggestions on payment and contracts, watch Monteiro’s presentation. It’s worth your time — he outlines how to protect yourself and get payment.
Writers, how often do you run into payment problems with clients these days?
How do you ensure you get paid without argument?
5 responses to “How to Remove Freelance Payment Problems”
It’s getting harder and harder in this area to get potential clients to sign a contract, or even a basic letter of agreement. Mostly because they want to keep changing the parameters of the job. Another reason most of my current clients are over the bridge.
Then here’s a little trick I learned from Anne Wayman (I think? Maybe Cathy Miller?): have them confirm in an email the terms. Without a “Yes, that’s the plan” kind of response, I don’t lift a finger to the keyboard.
The more they insist I don’t need a contract, the more I know I do. And the less likely I’ll work with them. I hate having to approach each new negotiation expecting the worst, but it’s saved my arse more than once. And it’s just good business. Any client who would get offended by it isn’t necessarily a client who understands the business side.
Sorry. Off on a tangent! LOL
A few years back, a client I referred to as The Slow Payer used such a ridiculous excuse for not paying me that they are now a former client. He’d always had a lame excuse for not paying invoices on time (and they said that paid within 45-days of publication, but that NEVER happened once in the two years I worked for them). This last time he had the flu. For like three weeks every time I called to follow up on the invoice I was told he was out with the flu.
I told the gatekeeper—and emailed the client the same thing—that even school kids who are home sick have to do their homework. Apparently he won’t allow anyone else to sign checks, so I told them he either needed to delegate someone to can pay the publication’s vendors or someone needs to take the invoices and checkbook to his sick bed, hand him a pen and say “Sign these,” then pop the checks into envelopes and send them out.
That got his attention. As did the bit about perusing “alternate means of collection” if I didn’t have a check within the week.
A friend had a similar issue with that place not paying a $600 invoice. She finally emailed him, and cc’d the editor, and added a comment along the lines of, “Surely, a successful business shouldn’t have trouble paying such a small invoice.” They overnighted her check.
It’s the “alternative means of collection” that got him moving, I’d bet. Clearly he doesn’t care about owing you anything, but he does care about being chased by a lawyer or collection agency.
Good for your friend. See, you both hit his ego (and his wallet to some extent), and it moved him. It shouldn’t have to come to that, but damn, I applaud you for it!
I think this time my friend finally decided to sever times completely with the Slow Payer. She’d gone a year or more, but finally caved and accepted an assignment. She was hoping that he’d gotten his act together. He hadn’t. I told her if he approached me about writing for him again I’d demand 50% upfront, if not payment in full. But one of the tricks he uses to slow down the payment process is promising that EVERY word will be counted and paid for, and they round up. So if you were assigned 1,000 words and turned in 950, you’ll be paid for 1000 words, but if you write long you’ll be paid for every other published word. Sorry, dude. They extra $20 or so I MIGHT get is not worth waiting an extra 30-60 days to be paid.