Your 15-minute assignment for today

It just might get you paid!

via Dall-E

This assignment is simple: All you have to do is send an email. That’s it! It probably won’t even take you 15 minutes!

For years, one of my main hobbyhorses around freelancing has been getting paid what you’re owed no matter what — in particular, chasing down payments you’re owed. Especially when the publication is dragging its feet, or an editor has ghosted you, or it’s just been too damn long since the story was published.

The fact is this: You did the work and you need to be paid for it, even if it feels like the time has passed or you’ve already written off payment for that assignment. Because truly, it’s never too late to follow up on a payment you never received, even if you’ve followed up multiple times and heard nothing in response.

Case in point: In 2018 I wrote an article for Harvard’s NiemanLab about best practices for writing pitches. (If you’ve ever been to one of my pitching workshops — like the one I have coming up this Sunday — you’ve surely seen it before.) I signed the contract, I was in their system, and I had an agreed-upon rate with the editor. I filed, we edited, and the story was published, but a month passed and I realized I hadn’t been paid for it. So I followed up asking about payment, but I didn’t hear anything back. Knowing how busy editors are, I let it slide for the time being and followed up a month or so later. Nothing back. Another follow-up a few months later, still nothing.

By now I was ready to write it off; I was just happy to publish an article I was passionate about in an exemplary publication and work with a fantastic editor. I knew that was the wrong path to take, but I was ready to move on.

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Cut to two-and-a-half years later and I was on yet another Twitter crusade encouraging freelancers to follow up on late payments no matter how old they are, and I tweeted this: 

LMAO y'all okay i just can't not tweet: i never got my payment for this story, OF ALL STORIES https://niemanlab.org/2018/10/how-to-successfully-pitch-the-new-york-times-or-well-anyone-else

so 2.5 years later i figured i should practice what i preach and i emailed them and, lol, they're processing payment 

chase down your money, y'all!!!!!!!

Now, to be clear: I absolutely did not, and still don’t, hold any ill will toward that editor or the publication. They were utterly wonderful and helpful once they realized the oversight, as are most outlets in this situation. And, as someone who has been on the editor side of this, I understand that sometimes things just fall through the cracks regardless of how hard you try not to let them. (I even still feel bad about a few super late payments that I screwed up as an editor at The Times; in fact, an old freelancer of mine at the time saw that tweet and reminded me I was over a year delinquent on paying them for a story. Profuse apologies and immediate payment followed.)

SO. Your assignment: Please do yourself a favor and spend 15 minutes today writing a follow-up email to an editor who is overdue on paying you. Need a little more motivation? Think of it this way: By not (tactfully and kindly, but assertively) requesting an overdue payment, you’re essentially giving that publication — or, more accurately, that publication’s corporate overlords — an interest-free loan for the amount you’re owed. Nope, no thank you, hard pass.

Now fire up those emails and go get fking paid!!!!

Bye ily!
Tim❤️

Oh, a few other things …

• Join me this Sunday, Oct. 27, for a Zoom workshop covering one my favorite topics: Pitch perfect: Everything to know about pitching stories. Join me for this deep dive on strengthening your pitches, structuring them effectively, finding the right places to pitch your stories, how to follow up with editors, and much more. Register to join here.

• If you like what you’re reading, please consider subscribing to the free or paid version of this newsletter. Paid subs get access to all past and future paid-only posts, the freshly updated archive of recorded Zoom panels, an expert panel on launching and growing a newsletter, a post about the 10 best things I did for my freelance career, the exact text of a pitch I sold to The Atlantic, practical tips for diversifying your freelance income, 50% off all Zoom workshops, and much more.

• I offer one-on-one coaching! Need help developing an idea or sharpening one you already have? Or want to talk about careers and building your freelance business? I gotchu! Book a one-on-one coaching session to talk about pitch reviews, story development, editing, and anything else you might need help with.

• I’m now doing Q&A posts in the newsletter to answer all of your questions, comments, and thoughts about freelancing and journalism in general. Drop any and all questions in the comments section below this post or email me at tim@freelancingwithtim.com, and I may feature it in a future newsletter. Let’s hear it!

Bye ily!
Tim❤️