"Show me the money!...Please? Could you? When you have a moment?"
"Show me the money!...Please? Could you? When you have a moment?"
Welcome to our weekend conversation!
Last week a reader contacted me with a question. (Fun fact: I love when readers contact me with questions, and especially when they allow me to share their questions with everyone else!)
The question was this: What should I do about a lit mag who said they would pay me for a piece, went ahead and published the piece, did not pay me, and now is not responding to my emails?
I thought about this for a long time and, as I always do, eventually provided a nuanced and extremely helpful response: Gosh! I really have no freaking idea.
In all seriousness, this is the truth. I really don’t know what one does in that sort of situation. This happened to me once with a magazine article I wrote. The editor promised me $75. He did not deliver it. He kept saying he would. Yet weeks then months passed, and there was nothing.
He did not, however, ghost me. Eventually he apologized, gave me a reason (his health hadn’t been great), but did ultimately promise to send me payment. And he sent it.
Part of what makes all of this awkward is that the amount of money we might find ourselves chasing is not that great. $75? It’s not nothing. On the other hand, it’s not something most people hire a lawyer for. I don’t even know if it would be suitable for small claims court. That is a very small claim indeed.
What about even less? $50? $25? Many lit mags offer these as honoraria. It’s not life-changing. But the promise of payment ought to be, well, honored.
Come to think of it, who’s to say what’s a life-changing amount and what isn’t? Yes, the editor I was dealing with had health problems, which is awful. But so do writers. So do family members of writers. Sometimes $75 or $25 or $15 actually really matters.
Even if it’s not spent on some dire emergency, it could be an investment in one’s writing self. That money could go toward more submissions, toward a contest fee or residency application. It could go to the coffees the writer will buy in the cafe they work in. It could go to bus fare to get to said cafe. It could go to the coffee to provide the energy to get to said bus to go to said cafe and buy more said coffee.
Heck, who cares? It could go to admission fee at the zoo or a splurge on organic bananas.
How the money will be used doesn’t matter at all. Payment was in the contract. A contract is meant to bind.
Even if there was no contract that was officially signed, if the site says they offer payment upon publication, then the publisher must stand by that.
And yet, what if they don’t?
Worse, what if they don’t even respond to all your friendly Hi, hope you’re well, just checking on my money emails and subsequent follow-up emails? What if they disappear?
There’s no doubt that pursuing such a squishy little sum might make writers feel awkward. Therein lies the conundrum.
Is there recourse for these instances?
What is a writer to do?
Let’s talk all about it.
Has this ever happened to you? Were you promised payment that was not delivered? Did the publisher disappear? How did you handle this situation?
What would you recommend a writer do?
What options are available to writers in this situation?
What should more writers know about contracts and pursuing payment?
I've had about two dozen essays and stories anthologized here and abroad and the editors have with just one exception been great to work with and my payments were on time (and welcome!). The exception was for a wonderful anthology to be used as a textbook and the $250 (maybe more--it's been a while) just never arrived despite my emails. I finally wrote an actual letter stating that I would have to work with my attorney to resolve this issue. I cc'd the attorney though I really wasn't planning to seek legal action. The check arrived quickly. I was pissed off that I had to resort to a threat, but relieved that I was finally paid.
This happened to me. I worked for about 2 years at a religious magazine and left to start a graduate program--and because I had some issues with the work environment. I had a book review due that I couldn't get in before my last day, with everything else I had to do. The managing editor (my boss) assured me by email that I could submit it later and would be paid the freelancer rate ($75). Good thing I had this in writing. I emailed the review to my former boss a couple weeks later, along with an invoice. No response to either one. Keep in mind, this was someone I'd worked under, not a complete stranger I had pitched once. In good faith, I waited a month and a half for the check. When nothing came, I emailed her again and asked if she could follow up. Still no response. After another month, I emailed the accounting manager, forwarded her the ghosted emails, and included a screenshot of the original email telling me I'd be paid the freelance rate. The accounting manager replied right away and said she hadn't received my invoice (which it would have been my former boss' part to do) and asked me to send it to her. I was finally paid, thanks to her. As for my former boss, I never received an apology or explanation. Because the review I'd sent her was published, I have no reason she simply missed my emails or that it was an oversight.
For a long time, I worried if it was too petty for me to be upset about or to even pursue. Yeah, it's "just" $75. But since I wasn't working at the time (I ended up picking up a retail job for $12 until I could get something better), $75 actually meant a lot to me. It could cover a utility bill for a month, or a week's groceries for me, or food for my pets. It also bothered me that someone heading a religious mag, writing and running articles about social justice and fair pay and the like (and posting such pronouncements on her own Twitter account), was attempting to ghost and stiff a former employee behind the scenes.
My advice to anyone feeling embarrassed about pursuing payment of any amount is don't be. But for any editor who's put someone in the position of having to beg for $75 (or any X number of dollars), if you aren't embarrassed about that, you should be.
Thanks, Becky, for asking this question and inviting discussion.