Web writing is writing for money, so get the money

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Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

This week I was chatting with a couple of fellow Web writers, and we were talking (surprise!) about money. There’s a lot of money around for Web writers at the moment, so we were comparing notes. We ended up talking about getting paid, because getting paid is the reason you write for the Web.

Unfortunately as writers, sometimes we can be less than businesslike.

Get clear in your own mind first. When you write for the Web professionally, you write for money. You give your clients contracts, and you get paid a retainer. Your contract states when the rest of your fee will be paid.

When the due date for payment passes, you take action. Please don’t wait, as some writers do, for a month or two to go by before you send a reminder. We’re all busy, and your payment may be low on a company’s priorities, but it needs to be high on yours. Schedule time each week to go over your invoices, and enter due dates for payments in your calendar.

Pursue outstanding payments immediately. It’s rare for clients to evade paying what they owe, but it does happen. In those cases, take the matter further - contact a collection agency if all else fails.

[tags]Web writing, writer, freelance writer, content, articles, payment, retainer, contract[/tags]