Via the Bulletin Boards, I asked some writers: "how long do you wait to get paid before you start pestering your editors? A few weeks? A month? A few months?"

The results!

One writer says, "If the contract was pay on acceptance, I wait about 30 days. If pay on publication, I wait only about two weeks, because waiting for publication is a long time in itself."

Another is less patient but has an attack plan: "Within two weeks or a month, I'd check with the editor to make sure they have everything they need:
* Signed contract

* Your SS#, address

* Editor sign off

In my experience, slow payment is often caused as much by disorganization as it is intentional slowness. The editor thinks they have passed everything on to accounts, accounts is missing something and thinks it's up to the editor to pass it on. Giving them a polite ''do you have everything you need to process payment'' will encourage them to communicate between each other.

I've done this and gotten editors to sign off on things a bit earlier than they might have if I just left it."