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[Poll]
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Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not?
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| Call her back and take your lumps like a woman! |
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| Wait to see if the check shows up. |
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| Don't hold your breath, and get on with your life. |
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| If you don't get paid, call Jacoby & Myers! |
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Total Votes : 9
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(last vote on : 8/11/2008 1:34:44 PM)
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Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/7/2008 5:16:55 PM
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savedbylove112
Posts: 128
Joined: 4/23/2005
From: Deep In The Heart of Jersey
Status: offline
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My former job was at a pharmaceutical journal, where I was an assistant editor. Part of that job was handling author payments. In the 2.5 years I was there, I was never instructed to not pay an author for any reason, and we've had authors who have submitted late, whose material needed major re-writes--we had one article that I learned was mostly plagiarized, and that person was still paid. And there's been an insane amount of times where we paid authors for articles that never made it to print.
When I was let go, my Editorial Director (former boss) offered to "help me out" by offering me writing assignments for a supplement to the magazine. I had written articles for supplements before, so this was nothing new. She offered me a certain amount per word and assigned me 3 articles that were supposed to be submitted by May 30. Due to a number of "extenuating circumstances" on my end, the articles were not submitted until June 30. I also submitted an invoice for what I was due, based upon the agreement.
I've gotten a few terse emails and phone messages from my Editorial Director, basically just saying, "You need to call me." Past experience with her tells me that this does not bode well for me. But I have enough going on in my life right now that I really don't care to hear her chew me out for being late and get into a possible disagreement over whether or not I'm getting paid, or if so, how much. And since she's not "my boss" anymore, I don't feel I need to go out of my way to respond to her, having a pretty good idea what she's gonna say. There was no contract signed by either one of us, so I don't fear any legal action--if they decide not to pay me, I really don't think I'll be dragging anyone to court.
The question is--even though the articles were late (and the supplement in question has yet to be published), should I still expect to be paid? As I said, every single author who has ever submitted to our publication has been paid for it. Should I call her back, take the heat, and find out either way about the payment, or should I just assume I'm not getting paid and just get on with my life, without contacting my former job anymore?
_____________________________
Jesus is Lord. Deal with it.
If religion is a crutch, then JESUS is my wheelchair.
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/7/2008 5:34:01 PM
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rgod
Posts: 1543
Joined: 4/25/2005
Status: online
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I'd say, go ahead and call her. If she says something to you about it being late, explain about the extenuating circumstances. If there is an issue with that, then just thank her for sharing the information with you and for giving you a chance - apologize for the lateness and then just chalk it up to experience.
1. You don't know for a fact that she is going to chew you out for being late. Maybe she has something else to tell you - but if you don't call her you'll never know.
2. You are building a professional record for yourself - no need to burn bridges over such a small matter - just conduct yourself as a professional and don't let anything personal get in the way of that.
3. Although they've paid everyone in the past, that is no guarantee that they'll pay you. They might be turning over a new leaf in this regard. In any event you didn't fulfill the requirements of the verbal contract (time issue). I wouldn't make a huge fuss about it - instead, try to do better in this area the next time you have this opportunity. However, if they use your article in the supplement - that is another matter entirely - if they try to do that, then you should work out a way for payment to be made.
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/7/2008 7:15:33 PM
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IonMoon
Posts: 918
Joined: 4/21/2005
From: The Unted State of Confusion
Status: offline
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I agree. Call her and see what she wanted--it could be something completely different. You have nothing to lose...
Expect to get paid only if they publish it, regardless of what they have done in the apst with other authors.
Tara P
_____________________________
http://www.geocities.com/hallscola67/KyliesHomemadeShopIndex.htm
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/9/2008 9:22:03 PM
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mommyto1
Posts: 28
Status: offline
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My 2 famous questions:
1. What's it going to cost you to ask?
2. What will you get if you don't ask?
Add these 3 questions to the mix before you call:
1. What's the worst that can happen?
2. What's the best that can happen?
3. What do I expect to happen?
If you answer all of these, you'll be prepared for whatever she throws at you. You know, it could be that she's asking you to write more articles! You never know til you call!
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/30/2008 9:08:13 PM
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savedbylove112
Posts: 128
Joined: 4/23/2005
From: Deep In The Heart of Jersey
Status: offline
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Well, I finally got around to getting back to the Editorial Director, and it was all I feared it would be.  Not only was she steamed that I didn't get the articles in on time, she said she got another author to write them, she has no intention of using my material, and no intention of paying me for my work, either, especially because, according to her, they had to pay the other author "emergency pay" to get the articles in on time. I apologized profusely, and suggested that it's probably not a good idea to rely on me for further assignments.
I kind of had a feeling this was going to happen. This is why I don't like volunteering for anything--my road to hell is going to be OVERladen with "good intentions"--it seems like just about EVERY time I offer to do something, and I plan on doing it on time, etc, etc, SOMETHING happens in my life and I can't come through, and I wind up disappointing/aggravating/alienating just about everyone involved. This does nothing for my already-shot-to-heck self-esteem. I'm going to go wallow in some self-pity for a while. 
_____________________________
Jesus is Lord. Deal with it.
If religion is a crutch, then JESUS is my wheelchair.
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/31/2008 9:48:30 AM
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savedbylove112
Posts: 128
Joined: 4/23/2005
From: Deep In The Heart of Jersey
Status: offline
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quote:
Did you get your articles (and your rights) back?
No, I sent everything over as Word documents, and I never signed a Copyright agreement (as other authors have done). Guess I'm outta luck?
_____________________________
Jesus is Lord. Deal with it.
If religion is a crutch, then JESUS is my wheelchair.
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/31/2008 10:01:14 AM
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artemis
Posts: 950
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: savedbylove112
quote:
Did you get your articles (and your rights) back?
No, I sent everything over as Word documents, and I never signed a Copyright agreement (as other authors have done). Guess I'm outta luck?
I would call or write them and make sure you get your copyright back from the publisher. They didn't pay you... they have no right to keep your creative work. It is your work and you should keep the rights to it. Make sure the publisher knows that you did not "give" them your articles and they do not hold the copyright to them. Who knows... you might still be able to sell it to another publisher later on down the road.
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Digital Worship
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/31/2008 10:48:46 AM
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IonMoon
Posts: 918
Joined: 4/21/2005
From: The Unted State of Confusion
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: savedbylove112
quote:
Did you get your articles (and your rights) back?
No, I sent everything over as Word documents, and I never signed a Copyright agreement (as other authors have done). Guess I'm outta luck?
She rejected your submission... You were not an employee at the time of submission, right? I would say you are free to submit the articles elsewhere, if you chose to do so.
Tara P
_____________________________
http://www.geocities.com/hallscola67/KyliesHomemadeShopIndex.htm
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RE: Do you think I'm gonna get paid or not? - 7/31/2008 11:56:22 AM
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IonMoon
Posts: 918
Joined: 4/21/2005
From: The Unted State of Confusion
Status: offline
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Honestly, if I were given an assignment and sent it in a month past the deadline, I would NEVER expect payment for it!
Did you let her know along the way that you were working on them, but they would be late? really, you had an ethical obligation to let her know in enough time to reassing them that you weren't going to make the deadline. At that point she could have either said- go ahead and do them for next month or forget it I'll have to get someone else.
If I were the person who assigned the articles and someone came to me a month late and submitted them and an invoice, I would be upset. It sounds like her reaction was understandable.
Don't beat yourself up over it, though... acknolwedge your mistake, move on, and don't let it happen again.
If you know that you have trouble following through with things like this, don't agree to them.
My dh had a problem with this for a long time. He would offer to fix someone's computer or make something or do this or that...but he wouldn't do it; then they'd get mad and he'd feel guilty.
Finally one day I said, "Just stop saying you'll do things!" Now, sometimes he feels guilty for not offering to help people, but it is nowhere near as bad as offering and not following through!
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, not following through on stuff like that is one of your weaknesses. Acknowledge that, but focus on your strengths.
Tara P
_____________________________
http://www.geocities.com/hallscola67/KyliesHomemadeShopIndex.htm
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