lwidmer | Words on the Page

7 (More) Sins of Freelance Writing

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What I’m listening to: Coastin’ by Zion I Yesterday was just one of those days where nothing significant was accomplished. I was waiting for calls, emails, and responses so I could get a project moving. I’m still waiting. I did get to talk with a new client prospect, and I hope I was able to…

The Best Freelance Mistakes I’ve Ever Made

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What I’m listening to: Hello by Adele Wednesday already? It feels like it’s Monday and I just sat down at the computer. Not overly busy, but lots of busy work. After a few weeks of absolute madness, I was glad for the chance to exhale. I spent time reflecting too on the way things have been…

Monday Muse: Knowing Your Boundaries

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What I’m listening to: Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s After a week that, for the most part, was internet-free, I’m back to a mountain of emails. I was thinking about an encounter I’d had a while back, and it was one that tested my ability to draw clear boundaries. And if you know…

This Job, Not That Job

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What I’m listening to: Nature (I’m offline all week) I’m still out of the office, but you know me — I’m leaving bread crumbs. And because it’s such a popular topic, I’m leaving a rather interesting offer behind for the This Job Not That Job series. This one comes to us via Sharon Hurley Hall, who…

Monday Muse: 6 Warning Signs of a Bad Client/Freelance Writer Match

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What I’m listening to: Misery by Green Day In my entire freelance career, I’ve never been so glad to see the backside of a week. I was working through what I thought was a relatively slow week when a writing emergency — an actual one — was dropped in my lap midweek. It was an…

5 Ways to Avoid Late Payment Woes

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Right now, I’m owed just over $9,000 from one client. That’s just over two-thirds the amount I have in outstanding invoices at the moment. Am I worried? Sure. Who wouldn’t be? Yet I’m contracted with this company and they have, of last week, shown their ability and willingness to pay (they cleared up two forgotten invoices within…

Job Proposals 101

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What I’m listening to: When We Were Young by Adele A late post today. It’s raining here — exactly what we needed. But rain makes me want to curl up somewhere comfy and read. That’s actually on my agenda today. First, though, I have to outline a project and get my own project off the ground….

Tuesday Take: How to Blow it with Ineffective Marketing

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What I’m listening to: Iceberg by We Invented Paris Another week, another project list to work through. I have an ongoing project that I’ve been chipping away at. This week’s workload, so far, is light, so I may have a chance to really catch up. I have one article assignment due this week, and I’m…

Why Freelance Writers Should Separate Networking from Selling

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What I’m listening to: Heathens by twenty one pilots It’s been a relatively slow week. I’m dealing with three projects at the moment, but there’s time between interviews and calls to get some much-needed admin work out of the way. There was also time on my agenda to schedule a meetup with a contact who wanted…

4 Freelance Writing Safeguards to Protect Your Earnings

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What I’m listening to: I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love by Santana with Los Lonely Boys I was reading Jake Poinier’s posts on both the Mode Media bankruptcy and his own experience with a client declaring bankruptcy. It’s a lousy position to find yourself in, and it’s then that you scramble to learn all you…

Paula Hendrickson

It happened to me once, nine years ago. It was a local upstart that lasted about a year. I found out they were folding when I received a letter from the publisher’s attorney’s office. They owed me $250. I know because I left my copy of the unpaid invoice hanging where I put copies of each invoice I send. The invoice was sent April 11, 2007 and remains there as a reminder not to count on income being mine until the check or deposit has cleared. That’s also when I learned that businesses operating on a cash basis (as declared on your income tax forms) can’t declare an unpaid invoice to be a bad debt. Argh.

That experience probably made it easy for me to tell my former client, Late Payer, “no” to new assignments if there were any outstanding payments. If the articles were for back-to-back issues and I wasn’t too busy, I might bend the rule—knowing full well the second story would not be turned in until I’d been paid. I am not above holding my work hostage with exploitative companies like that. Sometimes freelancers need to use whatever leverage we have.

Ever notice how some editors are so thrilled with your work they try to lump on more assignments right away? That’s why I have another rule: with first-time clients, I don’t take a new assignment/project until the first one has been paid. That also gives me time to decide if I even want to work for that client again.

1. lwidmer
  
  I want to ask an accountant about that very thing, Paula. I get why we can’t claim an unpaid invoice — any Joe Shmoe could create an invoice and claim it as bad debt. But I wonder if the rules change should there be a bankruptcy notice? That seems like legitimate proof, though I suspect it doesn’t matter a lick.
  
  Great rules you live by!
2. Jake Poinier
  
  I’ve seen people opining on blogs that you can deduct it, but my CPA agrees with Paula–that is *not* the case if you’re a cash business.
3. lwidmer
  
  Thanks, Jake. I won’t pester my own CPA then. 🙂
Jake Poinier

Couple of thoughts: 1) You’re on fire this week, and it’s only Tuesday! 2) I’m honored that you’ve taken my posts as a jumping-off point for analysis on the topic–thank you.

You’ve really hit the heart of the matter that this can happen without warning. When I was at the magazine that brought me out to AZ, we knew we were having a little bit of financial trouble, but the true status was only known to the owner and CFO, both of whom were scoundrels. By the time the you-know-what hit the fan, it was too late to warn my freelancers, and everyone in that final issue got burned. For perspective, though, there were some vendors (prepress, stuff like that) in town who were on the hook for tens of thousands. Oh, and the owner fled to Mexico, one step ahead of the feds, because he hadn’t kept current on our payroll taxes, to the tune of a quarter-million bucks. I started writing a screenplay many years ago, but can’t find the file, alas.

As far as how much money I’ll allow to be outstanding, I prefer being under $1,000 with a new client, and that’s ONLY if I’ve gotten a deposit. Clients with a track record can go higher than that, but not much.

1. lwidmer
  
  ~sizzle~ Ha!
  
  When you have something as good as your post, Jake, you want that conversation to continue. Thanks for the getting the topic going and for such a great couple of posts yourself.
  
  Mexico? He really ran across the border? Wow, he must have been in it up to here (hand in the air). It’s a shame you all were burned like that. It sucks that there’s no recourse for people like us other than prevention. And who can prevent that sort of meltdown?
  
  I’m nervous at the moment as a long-time client was just billed more-than-$1,000 (much more). I won’t exhale until that deposit comes through. They should be good for it as it’s sponsored content (already paid for), but you never know anymore.
2. Jake Poinier
  
  The actual situation was even more surreal. Dude weighed in the neighborhood of 400 pounds, and he and his wife were apparently jammed into a Ford Fiesta or something as they headed south, which I always thought was kind of an epic image. He fancied himself a Citizen Kane, bought up a bunch of magazines and wanted to create a publishing empire. Oh, and we had two corporate jets and two full-time pilots on staff, for a company of about 100 people. It was a frickin’ blast while it lasted–really, the only corporate job I ever loved. Till it imploded, anyway.
3. lwidmer
  
  So you’re saying he wasn’t good at budgeting, eh? 😉
  
  That is surreal — two corporate jets? Why? clearly not to take it to Mexico when it all went sour. If it weren’t for people losing money and jobs, that would be hilarious!
  
  But the image of a big dude in a Fiesta is funny. 🙂
Cathy Miller

It only happened to me once, Lori, and fortunately it was only $150. In the sense of making lemonade out of lemons, in the good news department, it happened my first year of freelancing. So, great lesson learned.

I read Jake’s post and was astounded that anyone would allow a client to be in arrears that much money. BTW, hysterical story, Jake (except for the writers losing out) about the dude’s exit to Mexico. 🙂

I require a deposit every time, and for smaller projects ($500 or less), I require payment in full before starting. Another potential problem to look out for (especially in our niche, Lori) are mergers & acquisitions. You can have a great contract today that is gone tomorrow when the client is acquired or merged with another organization. Great stuff, Lori and Jake!

1. lwidmer
  
  Oh, you are so right about the M&A stuff, Cathy! That’s another area of concern. Have you had that impact you? I’ve had it happen before a project gets off the ground, but it never affected any money owed.
2. Cathy Miller
  
  Yes – twice. The first time, it knocked off the last quarter’s retainer fee. The second time, it cost me an 8-year contract with the company that got acquired.