Dear Angela,

I would be remiss if I didn’t write and thank you for your article on January 12 with the sample letter “encouraging” deadbeat editors to pay up. When the e-zine with that letter arrived, I sat down and composed an email to a publisher along the same lines as your letter, but adding to the list of those I was notifying was the local chamber of commerce since the magazine I wrote the article (advertorial) for is interested in having area businesses contract for their services. Although the publisher did not respond directly (he never responded to any correspondence I sent him), the woman who initially contracted for my services on his behalf “replied” to a previous email I had sent her and apologized for the delay in paying me. The end result? I was paid within days of sending them a copy of your letter (after waiting months to be paid).

There is just one more thing that I added to the email I sent which may have had a greater impact than mentioning the chamber of commerce. It was this sentence at the end of the first paragraph:

“Your lack of response puzzles me, especially given the Christian content of your magazine.”

If they are real Christians, this alone would have been enough to compel them to pay me. Following is a copy of my letter (based, of course, on yours) with identifying information removed.

Cheers,
Sarah

Dear __________,

I have waited more than two months for payment for work which I did for _______________ magazine (see attached invoice). I have written you concerning this matter, and have also corresponded with _____________ and ___________. Ms. ______ told me that invoices could not be paid without your approval (at which point I wrote you directly). Ms.________ asked me what month the article was published (this despite the fact that my invoice had the date that the article was written for you). I have yet to receive a response or a check from you. Your lack of response puzzles me, especially given the Christian content of your magazine.

At this point I have composed a letter to send to WritersWeekly.com, the world’s largest freelance writing ezine, the National Writer’s Union, the Better Business Bureau of __________, the __________Attorney General’s office, the ______________ Chamber of Commerce, (here I inserted the name of the business which the article was about), and to the major freelance writing watchdog groups and websites. I will mail the letters in 10 business days if I have not received a check from you by that time.