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, 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 on March 12 — 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, nothing.

At this point 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 on it. I knew that was the wrong path to take, but I was ready to move on.

---

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 archive of recorded Zoom panels, a guide on how and when to follow up with editors, an exclusive workshop on selling and writing a book, tips for diversifying your freelance income, 50% off all Zoom workshops, and more.

---

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 do 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. This is all to say: 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 forcefully) 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 go get fking paid!!!!

Bye ily!
Tim❤️