This Week:

January 24, 2007

Learn to Lie

Angela -

I "related" to this week's feature article, Relatively Speaking, It's Not You, It's Me, by Carol L. Skolnick, and I think this is important stuff for writers to remember. Adding the human element to articles is a handy technique, but also delicate territory. I recently had an article published in which I retold a conversation I had with a friend; however, I inflated his actual words for entertainment value and to emphasize the point of my piece. He didn't like it.

I apologized, our friendship remains, and I learned something valuable: learn to lie. Like Skolnick says, I should have changed his name or told the story in a hypothetical fashion. One point she missed was simply pick another person who doesn't mind being a part of the story. Another friend loves it when I portray him to be funnier than he really is.

Anyway, I enjoyed Skolnick's piece and I'm sure other writers have had to deal with this before.

Cheers, Mark D. Stephens http://www.markdstephens.com

Should Haute Living Magazine Pay This Writer?

Readers weigh in on this controversy:
http://forums.writersweekly.com/viewtopic.php?t=7072

Hi Angela,

Absolutely... if the publication used the article, it must pay. If the material were substandard, the website should have reassigned the piece in-house or to another writer. But the publisher used the article, and assigned the writer more work. Sounds like the publisher thinks it has found a good patsy who will write for free. The writer should refuse to do any more work for Haute Living, and should take steps to demand payment.

My 2 cents, such as they are...

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I just got done reading the entire Haute Living Magazine saga, and I definitely think the publisher should pay the writer - in full, no settlement. I agree with her that by accepting the articles, continuing to assign her more, and (most importantly) publishing what she turned in, he was demonstrating approval and an intent to continue doing business with her. It seems he does not have the money now, and is trying to convince her, you, himself, and everyone else that the reason he's not paying her is because she flubbed up, and not because he's incapable of honoring a business contract.

I was in a similar situation myself about six months ago. The project had been pushed past deadline several times, and when time came to pay me, the publisher tried to use that as an excuse. I pointed out that 1) not all of the extensions were because of me (he had needed several himself, as he was providing me with the research on the project), and 2) by continuing to request and accept my work, he was inherently saying that the delays were not a problem - at least, not enough of a problem to justify canceling the project. I ended by informing him that I was going to contact you if he didn't pay me what he owed me. Thankfully for me, it worked and I got paid.

If a publisher publishes a writer's work, he owes her for it - end of story. If he feels she cost him money, then he needs to pay her what he owes her and THEN take her to court over the lost business, rather than trying to settle the matter himself. However, I think the truth is that he doesn't have the money - and in any case, I highly doubt a court would award him anything on such petty complaints.

Sincerely,
KS

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Yes! Am new to the business of writing but I wonder why there isn't some type of 'late' clause in the agreement? Publisher could reduce writer's fee by a certain percentage based on how late and when/if ever published. But if he wants to use the work and keeps on assigning, he should pay. (And writer should take care of this and not keep on -- get a late clause before accepting next assignment -- publisher should have an absolute cut-off date, too, after which no fee is due, and work is returned to writer.)

As for the error: isn't that why publisher has an editor? Unless it's some type of content/research error the editor can't possibly be familiar with...then writer is responsible...and publisher should make that known/clear up front.

That's my two cents!

Tina
San Bernardino, CA

This Collection Technique Worked

Dear Angela:

I have only had to use your collection letter (variant of it) twice in my writing career. The first time, I got payment immediately after using it.

Well, the second time I used it, I still kept getting runarounds and excuses, so I began to implement what I said I would do in the collection letter; that is, I started to have my writer friends email the deadbeat asking the editor to fulfill the obligation! Guess what? after just two of these emails, the deadbeat editor basically said I will get my remuneration via the mail.

So if I get my remuneration, I guess having my writer friends email this editor (very respectable emails, not threatening, but asking the editor to live up to the agreement)...that isn't harassment at all, is it, even if the deadbeat says it is? You call it "email bombs" in your May 15, 2002, collection letter article.

Why do the deadbeats act like the victims? What a joke!

Name not published on request

Former Bank Employee Offers More Advice About Bad Checks

Hi Ang,

Here's something you might wish to add. Hopefully you won't need to...but just in case:

Send a copy of your collection letter to your customer's bank fraud or risk management department. You can just address the envelope to "Attn: Fraud Dept". Trust me it will get to the right people. Note: be sure to include a cc to the customer's bank at the bottom of your letter. This scares them more than the police because bank personnel have a direct connection to the cops assigned to the fraud division, which bypasses the bureaucracy of getting the report to the right person.

Once the bank receives the letter they will review the customer's banking account. If they find several instances of NSF transactions they will launch an investigation. In many cases they will report the matter to the local police, as banks are already connected with police through emergency partnerships.

Before I became a full-time writer, I worked under risk management for two mega banks. We had personnel trained to respond to cases like these.

All the best,
SmilesSonya