beachdeath:

beachdeath:

#1 rule of freelancing is that you have to be dead fuckin serious about getting paid. do not assume everything is going fine and they will pay you eventually. follow up as many times as you have to until the money is in your bank account. if you catch yourself thinking, “oh, i don’t want to bother them…” kill that thought and b o t h e r them. send uber-polite, grandma-is-watching e-mails along the lines of, “Hi! Hope this note finds you well. Just wanted to check in re: the status of my payment. Do you know when the funds will be available?” every few days until you get your money. 

also if you’re freelancing for a client based in new york city they’re legally required to pay you within thirty days of receiving your invoice so put a note on your invoice that says, “Per the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, payment is due within thirty days of completion.” if they go over that deadline or they just don’t pay you at all, you can file a complaint with the city’s department of consumer affairs and have your lost wages recovered. go w/ christ brah. 

i want to add that i wrote this post from the perspective of a freelance journalist, where it’s standard to receive pay upon completion. if you’re doing other types of freelance work – i.e., art – feel very free to charge in full or in part up front, before you even begin the work.