Breached Contracts – How Hard to Push
A writing friend of mine had a contract to write an article a month for a year – 12 articles in all. The pay was spelled out and for the first few months, everything went well. Last month my friend submitted an article as planned, but this time the editor responded with something like “thanks, but we’ve decided to use a different writer.”
The question is how hard should the writer push for payment for the remaining articles, one written and several yet unwritten but contracted for.
This is one of those situations that’s madding. And it can be a huge distraction from other work, both present and in the future. Sure, the editor has breached the contract and sure writers need to stand up for themselves.
Here’s what I would do:
- Submit an invoice for the total unpaid work specified in the contract. I’d list the submitted article first, with the amount due, then list the rest of the months, each with the amount, then total the whole. I’d add something at the bottom about adding late fees if the amount isn’t received in 30 days. And I’d mark that date on my calendar.
- If, on the 31st day I hadn’t received a check, I’d call the accounting department and check on my invoice without getting into the details about the breached contract. I’d simply call and say “I haven’t received payment of $xxx on the invoice I sent on (date).” Then I’d shut up and see what they had to say.
- If, as happens on smaller publications, there isn’t an accounting department, and the editor is actually the one who writes the checks, I’d take exactly the same approach. In other words, I’d assume they intended to pay even though they weren’t going to use my work.
Often this approach works. When it doesn’t, I have another decision to make. I can re-invoice with the late fee, on the squeaky wheel theory. After, two or three additional unpaid invoices, I can try a letter or try a conversation. And, of course, I always have the option of court, usually small-claims court.
But the truth is, if they are determined not to pay me, it often makes sense to let it go, because the energy to try to collect begins to interfere with my work. It’s a judgment call.
What would you do?
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2 opinions for Breached Contracts – How Hard to Push
Kirsten
Nov 20, 2007 at 11:50 am
About a year ago, I completed around $2800 worth of assigned, contracted content for a launching print magazine. Then the funding fell through, and the magazine didn’t launch (though no one explicitly told me this). Both editor and publisher avoided my emails. After things being drawn out for months, I took the publisher to small claims. He signed the summons, then didn’t show up. I still had to argue my case, and though I didn’t have a signed contract, I had every email we’d ever exchanged and all the articles I’d written. I won.
Great, right? But I haven’t seen a penny of it. I’m still trying to track him down. And the whole thing was hugely stressful. It’s not the first time this kind of thing has happened, and it won’t be the last. The problem is, it’s impossible to avoid entirely. My personal rule? Anything over $1000 is worth going after. But beyond that, the dozens of hours you’ll spend on your case makes the missing money hurt even more.
Anne Wayman
Nov 21, 2007 at 10:35 am
Hi Kristen, darn, sorry… new mags are tough, so often people start them w/o adequate funding… having a personal rule about how much is worth going after makes sense.
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