I’m committed to completing freelance assignments by their due dates. On rare occasions this involves staying up late, working weekends, and perhaps putting off other work. If I’m willing to make the necessary sacrifice to keep a client happy, why can’t the client return the favor.

In the past year, I’ve dealt with more slow paying clients than I have in the five years since I began freelancing. Perhaps it’s due to a weak economy, or maybe clients overestimate their budget and needs. One company “supposedly” lost an invoice, and it took nearly 30 days to receive payment. Another company mailed payment - but I never received it. Then there’s always the client who simply ignores all correspondences until they’re good and ready to send payment -even though the writer’s agreement states a specific payment schedule.

Anyway, it’s a part of the business. And unfortunately, this is a problem that all freelancers will deal with from time-to-time. Getting mad doesn’t solve the problem. On a positive note, most slow-paying clients eventually pay - the question is “when?”

If this happens to you, send a kind email reminder. Maybe he or she forgot to submit payment. In my experience, kind reminders usually result in a payment within 12 hours. If the client ignores the inquiry, wait it out for a couple of days. Assume that they’re on vacation or out of the office. Often, they need time to come up with the cash. If the client still doesn’t respond - the content is fair game.

Keep this in mind -you still retain full rights to the content. You can market the content to another buyer and still get paid.

slow paying clients, work at home, telecommute, self-employed

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