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Topic: magazine notified me they won't be paying me
| Author | Message |
| ItsAMystery | Posted – 11/20/2008 12:11:46 PM | show profile Last Spring, I wrote a piece for a magazine. Invoiced them. I still had not been paid as of November when my piece came out (without a byline!) and just got notified I won't be paid because the parent company filed for Chapter 11. But they get to keep publishing and, presumably, not paying their writers. I'm not sure if I can fight for my money- which wasn't much to begin with. What kind of ruling deems the writers have to suffer? |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/20/2008 12:51:41 PM | show profile It really isn't writers who are suffering -- you are in the same boat as their other creditors. Writers who continue to write for them without getting cash up front are idiots, but that's a different matter. Chapter 11 is complex, but bottom line if it's just a tiny bit of money I would walk away. |
| amodgirl | Posted – 11/20/2008 2:37:44 PM | show profile What is the magazine? Share the name of the pub and parent company so other writers know not to pitch them. |
| RockinRonD | Posted – 11/20/2008 5:58:26 PM | show profile | email poster By all means, creepy publications like this deserve to be outed on here and every other bulletin board watched by freelancers. The last thing guys like this deserve is being able to take advantage of yet another trusting writer. The problem with so many of us is that we're pus@ies when it comes to blowing the whistle on magazines that do this to other freelancers. |
| TheSecondShift | Posted – 11/20/2008 7:38:15 PM | show profile Dribble, how does one go about getting "cash up front"? None of the magazines I write for pay me until after I've done the work and submitted an invoice. If there's a way to work around this, I am interested! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/20/2008 8:32:13 PM | show profile Generally, magazines won't give you cash up front. Corporate clients will. (Standard practice is to get a third to a half before you start.) However, if a company declared bankrupty or screwed me in some way, I would ask for cash upfront if they wanted me to write for them again. However, just because I asked doesn't mean I would expect to get it. |
| ItsAMystery | Posted – 11/21/2008 1:41:49 PM | show profile Magazine is Natural Solutions. I just got a letter from the lawyer in bankruptcy court regarding filing a claim. I'll consult a lawyer friend of mine. It wasn't a whole lot of money but... |
| JDC | Posted – 11/21/2008 1:56:13 PM | show profile This happened to me several years ago I received all the legal documents concerning the publisher's bankruptcy and was informed I'd be paid. Never was. The other people he owed money too were paid before the freelance writers were. I'm sorry this has happened to you and wish you better success than I had. I do't know what your recourse is. It seems like everyone gets their share of the pie before the writers. |
| Chrslafond | Posted – 11/21/2008 2:57:42 PM | show profile options the rights to the artical should revert to you, you could always re-tool it and send it elsewhere. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/21/2008 5:19:56 PM | show profile Be careful about giving legal advice when you really don't know. I know it seems unfair, but just because a magazine goes bankrupt and doesn't pay you doesn't mean the rights for the article revert to you, anymore than someone who sold them a copier machine and wasn't paid can simply walk in and take it. As far as retooling the article, you can generally always do that, even if you sell all rights, as long as you change enough of it. --options the rights to the artical should revert to you, you could always re-tool it and send it elsewhere.-- |
| ConfidentDesigner | Posted – 11/21/2008 6:44:55 PM | show profile Is it TrailBlazer magazine (the horsie mag)? |
| Chrslafond | Posted – 11/21/2008 6:52:07 PM | show profile correction I wish to correct my previous post, in that I didn't intend for my post to be construed as legal advice, i missed the fact that the piece had already been published. my thinking was based on the notion that the magazine folded before pubishing the artical. So, kindly disregard the first line of my post. Thanks everyone. |
| jmm | Posted – 11/22/2008 1:42:09 AM | show profile You can't repo a copier? new one on me. Getting your rights back might be feasible - writers negotiate those back all the time, bankruptcy or not. I am not a lawyer, but what if they filed before they published your story? Would that make a difference? Can they keep doing that? I suppose they can, but seems so cruel. I suppose they aren't required to disclose it, right? |
| jmm | Posted – 11/22/2008 1:49:16 AM | show profile Hey, here's precisely the advice you are looking for: http://www.eriksherman.com/WriterBiz/2008/11/eleven-tips-for-dealing-with-bankrupt.html Maybe email him (blogger at that link) about getting rights back. Otherwise, read his notes on dealing with bankrupt publishers. |
| eriksherman | Posted – 11/22/2008 12:29:29 PM | show profile | email poster Or you can just post something here that I might read. I wasn't offering legal advice, just passing on some experiences I've gaind. One thing is that when a company goes bankrupt, it cannot choose to send you a check. You're most likely a nonsecured creditor and you need to file the appropriate paperwork with the bankruptcy courts by the given deadlines. If they're claiming that they've filed, then you should be on the court list. If you're not getting anything from the courts, find out which one is handling the case and ask them directly. The court would be pretty displeased to hear that not all creditors were being listed. ------ Free writer resources: http://www.eriksherman.com/WriterBiz |
