Boy, Does It Ever Suck Not Getting Paid!

[John Cooper]

I've been doing freelance work for several different RPG companies over the last several years, and most of them have been a real pleasure to work for. However, I've done work for one particular company this year, and they haven't paid me for the last three projects of theirs that I've worked on. (And no, at this point I don't wish to name the company in question.) I was originally to have been paid in May. Then right after GenCon. Then in November. I repeatedly send out emails to the company, and they seldon get answered. When I do get a response, it's with a promise of immediate payment, which at this point has yet to occur. In fact, this particular company has never paid me for any of the work that I've done for them. (If you're a company that I've done freelancing work for before and you've ever paid me - even once - then this should reassure you that no, I'm not talking about you. The owners of the company in question should know immediately that I'm talking about them when they read this.)

Right now, I'm owed $180.00. Not a huge sum, granted, but I earned it, I'm entitled to it, and I could certainly use it, especially around this time of year. I know the people running the company in question check these boards, so hopefully this will be a wake-up call to them.

A continued lack of payment will probably send me looking for legal recourse, and will certainly prevent me from ever working for them again in the future. (I'm perilously close to that latter point now.) I'm not looking for another promise of immediate payment of the money they owe me; I'm looking for the actual money. I'm not interested in stories about what's taken so long to pay me; I'm looking for them to pay me. I don't want excuses; I want my money.

I think I've been more than patient in this matter, as I've waited over half a year from the time I was originally to have been paid. Hopefully this public rant will light a fire under their feet. If not, I may have to do what I can to protect anybody else thinking of working for them and warn them off. Hopefully it won't come to that.

So, does anybody have any advice as to my options should the company in question continue to ignore their financial obligations?

 

[Varianor Abroad]

What does your contract (if any) say about disputes? If no contract, you can file a small claim. That's tricky if the company is in a different state.

By the way, it sucks that you aren't getting paid. I hope you can work it out and get it!

 

[Vigilance]

In general, there's not a lot you can do, which is unfortunate, but something of a reality.

In the one case I had where I didn't get paid, I elected to do nothing, because the company in question was in dire financial straits (and in fact, is no longer still a going concern).

In that case, as it sounds with yours, I let my enthusiasm get the best of me, and did a second book before receiving payment for the first.

That's suggestion #1 I'd make to any aspiring freelancers out there, and it's been sort of a watchword for me ever since.

Never do work for a company that owes you money. Recognize that your time is money and if you work on book #2 when you haven't seen any cash from book #1 that you're effectively throwing good time after bad.

Something else I do, if I'm getting paid a set rate for something (as opposed to commission) is ask for partial payment up front.

This has cost me a couple of freelance gigs in the past, but since I have a company willing to publish anything I hand in, and who has a 100% payment rate for past work (RPGObjects), it's a matter of guaranteeing that a given freelance project will be MORE worth my time than similar work I could do for RPGO.

I realize this isn't necessarily advice that will help you, or someone in your situation, but I guess my point is, that what I've tried to learn from being in this situation and seeing little reasonable discourse, is that I've taken steps to never again BE in that situation.

Although, I think what you are currently doing also has a chance to get you paid, since I'm sure the company in question doesn't want this to be a topic of discussion in the forums (especially since it's not hard to figure out who exactly you're discussing).

Chuck

 

[RangerWickett]

I wrote a web enhancement for Mongoose back in 2001. They sent me a check for $15. It was a foreign check, so my bank charged me $20 to deposit it.

Not quite the same, but it's the story I think of whenever I get bitchy about all the money I'm -not- making in the game industry. I had a pretty clear sign right from the start, but I went ahead anyway.

It's bad form to complain about your employer in public. It's also bad form not to pay your employees. Sometimes a company has no choice, because they have no money. Which is not surprising lately, considering what the 4e announcement has done to sales. I've had to wait to get paid for some recent projects in order to make sure we've paid our contributors.

I'm not a lawyer so I have no idea what officially should happen, but I was raised to believe that if you agree to pay someone, you pay them, even if it means you have to take a hit to the pocketbook. This is why people should only run game companies if they have the money to lose. It's a lot harder to get pissed at your employer when he has to decide between paying you for "The Complete Book of Tacos" or feeding his five kids.

If you're willing to wait in case their financial position improves, then just wait, but keep in touch with them. I don't recommend going public and naming names, though I can see why it could be a good idea. You warn other freelancers that these folks are unreliable, and you get the cathartic satisfaction of being a d*** to someone you don't like.

However, if you do decide to do it, don't expect to get paid.

 

[John Cooper]

It's bad form to complain about your employer in public.

Understood - and I'm going out of my way not to identify the company in question.

It's also bad form not to pay your employees. Sometimes a company has no choice, because they have no money. Which is not surprising lately, considering what the 4e announcement has done to sales. I've had to wait to get paid for some recent projects in order to make sure we've paid our contributors.

Unfortunately, the lack of payment predates the 4E announcement.

I don't recommend going public and naming names, though I can see why it could be a good idea. You warn other freelancers that these folks are unreliable, and you get the cathartic satisfaction of being a d*** to someone you don't like.

However, if you do decide to do it, don't expect to get paid.

I'm not trying to be a d*** about it, and while I certainly dislike not getting paid, I don't dislike the individuals involved. However, they hired me for specific work, which I provided, and we signed a contract that I was to be paid for such work. I don't think I'm being unreasonable in expecting to be paid for my work.

 

[TheLe]

Understood - and I'm going out of my way not to identify the company in question.

Unfortunately, the lack of payment predates the 4E announcement.

I'm not trying to be a d*** about it, and while I certainly dislike not getting paid, I don't dislike the individuals involved. However, they hired me for specific work, which I provided, and we signed a contract that I was to be paid for such work. I don't think I'm being unreasonable in expecting to be paid for my work.

Go ahead and report it to the BBB -- legally they can't do anything, but it is a start. http://welcome.bbb.org/

`Le

 

[kensanata]

Well, you can always warn your friends via private Email. That's reasonable. But since legal action will problably not get you any money, there's always the hope that you will get paid eventually. All you have to do is not get angry in public.

"In defense of ICE, during the collectible card game boom of the mid-1990s, they finally sent me all the back pay they owed me, and I believe they did the same for all their other freelancers. These were not bad people. They were good people in a bad situation." -- Monte Cook in a footnote

 

[TheLe]

"In defense of ICE, during the collectible card game boom of the mid-1990s, they finally sent me all the back pay they owed me, and I believe they did the same for all their other freelancers. These were not bad people. They were good people in a bad situation." -- Monte Cook in a footnote

This might be true for ICE, but I know a dozen freelancers that never got their money after several years.

In fairness, it goes both ways. I have half a dozen freelancers that has not given me the promised writings/images. Hence I no longer give advances (to unproven freelancers).

`Le

 

[Bardsandsages]

This crap drives me nuts. It is contrary to everything I know about business. As a publisher, you should already have a budget set aside for upcoming projects, and not be depending on future money to pay your people. That's piss poor planning and bad accounting. Particularly when with PDFs you aren't even talking about that much money to begin with.

And if you don't have the money in your business, you take it out of your pocket. And if you don't have the money in your pocket YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS PRETENDING TO BE A PUBLISHER. For a $180 the people should use a personal credit card to send you the money via paypal if they have to. And if they don't have $180 on a credit card, they should release all rights on the work and return it to you to possibly resell to someone else.

The single most valuable piece of advice I ever got about business: pay your people first, your bills second, and yourself last.

 

[John Cooper]

Status update: I was recently contacted by a member of the company in question (not the same person I'd been dealing with before, who'd been blowing me off repeatedly), with assurances that I'd be paid in full in January. As this is a new individual being brought into this little saga, I'm more than willing to wait and see if it pans out as I'm being assured it will be.

And if it doesn't, I'll report back in February.

Thanks to everyone for their support.