One of the most difficult parts of a freelance writing career is intermittent payments. At times, you may wait 60-90 days from project completion to receive payment. This does indeed make your financial life a little difficult. Here are some ways to both prevent and deal with this issue.
Know For Sure
The hardest part of not knowing when the check will come is … not knowing when the check will come. I’m sometimes guilty of not ascertaining the approximate date that I can expect payment. I used to ask this only when I was making up the contract myself, but now I will ask magazines and large publishers, too, as they don’t generally give those details in their standard contract.
Don’t Discount Small Jobs
A small project with a $150 payout that comes quickly can certainly float you from big paycheck to big paycheck. Take on a couple of those, and you won’t even be counting the days until the big one hits your mailbox. I used to avoid these smaller contracts, but I’ve found that they actually seem to pay quicker.
Schedule Well
What this seems to come down to is never stop working! Ok, that’s impossible, but scheduling your projects several months out will help you to develop an ongoing cash flow. How nice will it be when you’re working on a new project, and get paid for that project three months past? Achieving this comes down to a combination of taking on small jobs, saving, and pitching magazines, who often have those later pay dates.
Invoice Immediately
I’m guilty of this one. Sometimes when you finish a project, you just want to step away from the desk. However, if you’re working for companies, magazines or publishers, you have to be conscious of their pay periods. Often they’ll pay in cycles: collect all invoices for 30 days and then pay everyone on the 32nd day. What happens if you submit on the 33rd day? You’ll be waiting all that much longer through the next cycle!
Keep In Touch
Squeaky wheel and all that. Be polite, but be persistent. If you’re waiting on a check, and it’s due now (i.e. you’re not in the middle of their payment cycle), then keep on it!
Save Your Pennies.
Save a couple hundred dollars in your business account to support you in a pinch. Don’t read past this step—it’s easier than you might think. One trick I use is to actually write the amount out of my checkbook so that it’s out of sight, out of mind.
Become the Payroll Manager.
Ok, try to answer No to this question: “Do you really need the entire payment from that last project right now?" Really? You might not, especially if it’s a large job. Instead of taking the entire payment from each job, set up a business/writing bank account, and then schedule a transfer of a smaller amount every week or month into your personal account. Of course, setting up this system will take some saving and planning on your part, but it will feel great to get back to the days of knowing when you’ll have money to spend.
