Your first Experience with a Non-paying Client
Earlier this week, I spoke with three new writers who are dealing with the same situation: they completed a job for a client, but have yet to receive payment. And unfortunately, it has been more than a couple of days. Two of them have been trying to get paid for more than a month, while the other is going on six weeks.
If you are going to work as a freelance writer, there will probably come a point when you are stood up and not paid for your services. While this is part of the business, it does not make dealing with the experience any more enjoyable.
There are two types of non-paying clients: those who are in communication but won’t pay, and those who simply disappear. Obviously, it is better to be in communication with a client than to never hear from them. But in either case, you have your work cut out for you.
While you want to put some time into attempting to collect, going overboard is a mistake. You only have so much time to work, so you want to make sure you are focusing on all the right areas of your career. In my experience, if a client does not pay after a month, and is continually hiding, you are never going to see the money. At this point, you should make a determination on whether or not to move on and forget about what has happened.
Any time you get stiffed by a client you are going to be angry. This holds true for new freelancers, as well as those who have been around for a long time. It may not make you feel any better, but remember that all of us go through this. It is one of the bad parts of the business.
