WJI мне подсунула свинью - aka a rotten New Years present
I was planning to write a post about how my family and I celebrated Christmas, and my feelings toward American-style Christmas in general - but then, I got my paycheck from Austin Weekly News.
As you may remember, my November paycheck was considerably less than I expected - and mostly covered articles that were actually published, and I wasn't paid quite as much as I was supposed to for the ones that were. At the time, I had a theory that there were budget limitations at work here, since the money I was paid in October and the money I was paid in November fell within the same general ballpark sum. So I've adjusted my strategy accordingly. I made sure that all of my assignments were cleared with the editor, and I started taking on less assignment, figuring that if I can keep it more within the aforementioned ballpark sum, I'm more likely to get paid in full for those articles. At the same time, I searched, furiously, for other freelance opportunities. The search had actually borne fruit - I got another regular gig (but that's a whole other story, which I promise you I'll address in another, separate post), there is another freelance opportunity that, hopefully, will pay off (I say "hopefully because I had things that seemed pretty sure fall through before *cough*Belt Magazine*cough*), and a promising lead that, hopefully, will turn into something more solid. I was thinking that, while this wasn't quite a permanent solution, it would mean more money coming in, which would make paying bills much easier. But I still had to make it through the end of December - and have enough money to pay rent by the beginning of January. Based on the amount of work that I submitted.... there was, in theory, enough to fall under the ballpark sum.
Except the money I got was less. Way less.
Not only did I not get paid the full amount for all of the articles, but I didn't get paid for some of the articles that didn't get published.
At first, I sent an e-mail to my editor. Then, figuring that it would be days before he'd actually open it, I called him. And he confirmed that, yes, there was a budget limitation at play. No, he could not tell me how much he could realistically pay me per month, since he didn't know how much he would pay other freelancers. Yes, he realized that it put me and other freelancers in a bad position, and he was thinking of having a serious conversation with the Wednesday Journal Inc owner/publisher and assistant publisher about how they pay freelancers. And, to his credit, once he realized how much of a hole this blew in my budget, he was going to try to at least get me paid something for the two articles that weren't published (and the one article that was published online, but not in print, which I discovered after our conversation). Which, if it's paid my usual rate, would make up for the shortfall in rent money. If not... well, it would still be better then nothing.
My mom sent me enough money to plug the hole, so I won't have to worry about rent. And the money from that second regular gig is coming in next week, plus the two assignments I did for 22nd Century Media earlier this month, should be enough to cover student loan payment and food for the near future (this second place pays once every two weeks - this is just for the work I've done for them in December. There's going to be more money coming in later in January).
But the problem remains. As of this writing, I still have no clarity as to how much Austin Weekly News is going to pay me for whatever work I do in January. Which is not a good place to be in. Because, if I was paid my usual rate for, let's say, two articles a week at the Weekly and two articles a week at that other place... It wouldn't be quite enough to be completely comfortable, but it would be some kind of certainty. And with big question mark hanging over what i get from the Weekly, I don't have that certainty.
Which, i suppose, is all the more reasons to keep looking for other opportunities, be it a job or at least some more freelance work. Some more stable freelance work.
As you may remember, my November paycheck was considerably less than I expected - and mostly covered articles that were actually published, and I wasn't paid quite as much as I was supposed to for the ones that were. At the time, I had a theory that there were budget limitations at work here, since the money I was paid in October and the money I was paid in November fell within the same general ballpark sum. So I've adjusted my strategy accordingly. I made sure that all of my assignments were cleared with the editor, and I started taking on less assignment, figuring that if I can keep it more within the aforementioned ballpark sum, I'm more likely to get paid in full for those articles. At the same time, I searched, furiously, for other freelance opportunities. The search had actually borne fruit - I got another regular gig (but that's a whole other story, which I promise you I'll address in another, separate post), there is another freelance opportunity that, hopefully, will pay off (I say "hopefully because I had things that seemed pretty sure fall through before *cough*Belt Magazine*cough*), and a promising lead that, hopefully, will turn into something more solid. I was thinking that, while this wasn't quite a permanent solution, it would mean more money coming in, which would make paying bills much easier. But I still had to make it through the end of December - and have enough money to pay rent by the beginning of January. Based on the amount of work that I submitted.... there was, in theory, enough to fall under the ballpark sum.
Except the money I got was less. Way less.
Not only did I not get paid the full amount for all of the articles, but I didn't get paid for some of the articles that didn't get published.
At first, I sent an e-mail to my editor. Then, figuring that it would be days before he'd actually open it, I called him. And he confirmed that, yes, there was a budget limitation at play. No, he could not tell me how much he could realistically pay me per month, since he didn't know how much he would pay other freelancers. Yes, he realized that it put me and other freelancers in a bad position, and he was thinking of having a serious conversation with the Wednesday Journal Inc owner/publisher and assistant publisher about how they pay freelancers. And, to his credit, once he realized how much of a hole this blew in my budget, he was going to try to at least get me paid something for the two articles that weren't published (and the one article that was published online, but not in print, which I discovered after our conversation). Which, if it's paid my usual rate, would make up for the shortfall in rent money. If not... well, it would still be better then nothing.
My mom sent me enough money to plug the hole, so I won't have to worry about rent. And the money from that second regular gig is coming in next week, plus the two assignments I did for 22nd Century Media earlier this month, should be enough to cover student loan payment and food for the near future (this second place pays once every two weeks - this is just for the work I've done for them in December. There's going to be more money coming in later in January).
But the problem remains. As of this writing, I still have no clarity as to how much Austin Weekly News is going to pay me for whatever work I do in January. Which is not a good place to be in. Because, if I was paid my usual rate for, let's say, two articles a week at the Weekly and two articles a week at that other place... It wouldn't be quite enough to be completely comfortable, but it would be some kind of certainty. And with big question mark hanging over what i get from the Weekly, I don't have that certainty.
Which, i suppose, is all the more reasons to keep looking for other opportunities, be it a job or at least some more freelance work. Some more stable freelance work.