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| filiano |
Posted - 3/27/2013 3:04:32 PM | show profile | flag this post
I recently sold a piece to a regional publication. I agreed to the rights & amount for pay proposed by the editor and immediately sent an invoice. The piece was accepted to be published in a specific issue and has a timely theme. I had one other contact with the editor after this point and from our discussion per e-mail, they were most definitely intending to use the piece.
I picked up a copy of the issue it was to appear in and the article isn't there. I've not encountered this before and was wondering how exactly to proceed at this point. I've not received pay for the piece yet and don't know if they still intend to pay. If I'd known they never intended to use it, I could've sent it out to other pubs.
I've emailed the editor to see if perhaps it appeared in another edition for a different market and have heard nothing, as of yet.
Any insight on what I can do at this point would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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| Dwight Mannsburden |
Posted - 3/27/2013 3:46:16 PM | show profile | flag this post
At this point, perhaps you should get on the phone and talk to them.
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| &Tyler2 |
Posted - 3/28/2013 8:07:45 AM | show profile | flag this post
Did the contract mention anything about a kill fee?
If it's timely and you've gotten radio silence for a week I'd start pitching it elsewhere.
Good luck.
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| Grateful Deadline |
Posted - 3/28/2013 6:39:59 PM | show profile | flag this post
Was your contract for payment on acceptance or payment on publication?
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| filiano |
Posted - 3/28/2013 7:31:24 PM | show profile | flag this post
It was for payment on publication. No kill fee was mentioned. Still haven't heard back from the editor. I'm guessing with the holiday I'll just have to wait a bit to hear back. I really need clarification from them. Not sure if they intend to use it online instead, even though the agreement was for their print issue. But, since I agreed to the rights, I feel like I need to wait before sending it elsewhere. So, I'm just waiting...
Thanks. Appreciate the help.
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| Grateful Deadline |
Posted - 3/28/2013 10:55:50 PM | show profile | flag this post
>>> It was for payment on publication. No kill fee was mentioned. <<<
If the article couldn't be held for the next issue and there was no kill fee mentioned in the contract -- oops!
Next time, negotiate a kill fee into a contract that doesn't have one. Then at least you'll get paid something. Without a kill fee in the contract, the editor has no legal obligation to pay you one.
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| dribbledrive1 |
Posted - 3/29/2013 7:52:00 PM | show profile | flag this post
Payment on publication means just that -- you get paid when it appears. If it runs in a year. If it never runs, you never get paid. And there is nothing unethical about the magazine doing that because those are the terms you agreed to.
They do owe you a clarification of their plans. If they are ignoring your emails, call. Be pleasant and businesslike. You simply want to know if they intend to use the piece.
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| dribbledrive1 |
Posted - 3/31/2013 5:21:08 PM | show profile | flag this post
As far as kill fees, also realize they are a moot point with a pay-on-pub contract. If the terms are pay on pub, the editor never has to officially decline the piece or pay a kill fee if he decided to not use he. He might to nice, but it wouldn't be a legal obligation like a pay-on-acceptance contract.
Also be realistically about what a kill fee means. If your fee is $250, and the kill fee is 20 percent, that means you are only guaranteed $50 for doing the work.
One of the problems is pay-on-pub and no-kill-fee arrangements is the editor is making minimal commitment to the writer, so it's close to doing stuff on spec. When you're starting out, you might have to do that though.
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| Grateful Deadline |
Posted - 3/31/2013 10:02:36 PM | show profile | flag this post
*** If the terms are pay on pub, the editor never has to officially decline the piece or pay a kill fee if he decided to not use he. He might to nice, but it wouldn't be a legal obligation like a pay-on-acceptance contract. ***
Actually, this is not true. If a kill fee is in the pay-on-pub contract , signed by the writer and editor, and the piece is killed, the publisher *is* obligated to pay the kill fee. A POP contract is no less legally enforceable than any other contract.
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| dribbledrive1 |
Posted - 4/3/2013 3:36:15 PM | show profile | flag this post
*** If the terms are pay on pub, the editor never has to officially decline the piece or pay a kill fee if he decided to not use he. He might to nice, but it wouldn't be a legal obligation like a pay-on-acceptance contract. ***
Actually, this is not true. If a kill fee is in the pay-on-pub contract , signed by the writer and editor, and the piece is killed, the publisher *is* obligated to pay the kill fee. A POP contract is no less legally enforceable than any other contract.
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Sure, he's obligated to pay a kill fee if he kills it. However, an editor doesn't have to officially kill a POP piece. That's the danger. If the editor won't admit the piece has been killed and doesn't respond to your inquiries, you have no recourse. Unless the contract specifies when the piece must run by, the editor can in effect kill it without paying a kill fee by simply saying no pub date has been set and/or ignoring your inquiries.
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| Grateful Deadline |
Posted - 4/3/2013 7:13:31 PM | show profile | flag this post
I haven't had that experience with POP holding stories forever. I've only had one story killed in all these years, and the POP publication paid the kill fee that was stated in the contract.
Obviously, your own mileage varied!
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| filiano |
Posted - 4/9/2013 12:27:50 PM | show profile | flag this post
I wanted to say thank you, Dribbledrive & Gratefuldeadline for your advice and insights. I still hadn't heard back from the editor & wanted to give her a week before calling to see if they'd send payment. I finally did speak with her and she let me know that they'd run out of room in the issue she'd intended to use the piece and was holding it to use it in their May issue.
So, I'll wait for the May issue. Would have been easier to just hear back by e-mail, but I'm glad that she let me know.
Thanks again. Appreciate your help.
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| dribbledrive1 |
Posted - 4/11/2013 12:17:11 PM | show profile | flag this post
Glad you got some good news.
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| Grateful Deadline |
Posted - 4/11/2013 1:01:55 PM | show profile | flag this post
Excellent, filiano. I hoped that was the case.
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June 4, 2013 | San Francisco
