Q & A - Don’t Be Shy To Ask For Pay
I did some work for a client who seems to have forgotten to pay me. It’s been a little over a week and I haven’t gotten the promised Paypaled cash, or a response to my last email. The money in question is small, so I won’t be starving over it, but it’s still lame. I don’t want to ruin a possible repeat job by hounding them but I don’t want to work for free, either.
What do you think? Ask again or keep waiting?
Meg
Hi Meg,
Don’t ever be shy about asking for your pay!
That said, a couple of questions come to mind:
Did you have some sort of contract or written agreement? An email is sufficient.
Did it spell out how long after you performed acceptable work it would take you to be paid? If not, make sure this is included in the future.
My own experience tells me that most employers intend to pay and usually do. Sure there are some scam artists out there who will rip writers off, but there aren’t that many. But sometimes clients that need a reminder or even two before they pay.
Don’t be shy! Email, or if you’ve got a phone number call. Be polite, but firm… chances are you’ll find out they intended to pay, or do all their payments 30 days letter, or some other formula they just didn’t spell out. And sometimes they just forget and are happy you reminded them.
Write well and often,
Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Q and A about Freelance Writing
1 opinion for Q & A - Don’t Be Shy To Ask For Pay
Roberta Rosenberg
Jul 3, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Never be shy about asking for your $$. If your calls or emails aren’t being returned, call and ask to speak with the company bookkeeper or Accounts Payable Dept. (If your bill isn’t in bookkeeping, trust me. You’re not getting paid until it is.)
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: