Payment on Publication
Or: How is this even legal?
Freelancing is easy. After all, there’s just 3 steps to the whole thing:
- Find a client (aka: hustling)
- Do the job
- Get the money
Most of the time, 2. is the easy part, 1. gets easier over time, and 3. can be hit-and-miss depending on the client: For some, a single invoice will suffice, others only respond to threats of legal action, if at all.
In any case, when it comes to getting the money, freelance writing seems to be the odd one out, even if you’re not writing for individual clients, but for large, well-known print magazines or online publications.
Because there, it says “payment on publication”.
And that may not happen for weeks or even months after the final version of your article has been submitted and accepted. And here I am, wondering: how is that even legal?
Of course, this is one of the terms you agree to when signing the contract (make sure you do!) It’s not something your client springs on you in mwahaha-evil-laugh kinda style after you’ve handed in the work. And many publications who allow unsolicited pitches or submissions state that very clearly on their websites, too.
Personally, if I see completely inane terms like “payment on publication, which is usually 6–12 months out, and oh, we don’t pay kill fees either”, I don’t even bother. Yes, it may be industry standard, and yet: how can they get away with this — in modern times of unions, workers rights, and writers strikes?
Can you imagine this in any other (freelance) job?
“Great job on the wiring in this old vehicle — but we’ll only pay you once it’s sold.”
“We really love the look of the new bathroom — but since the other renovations aren’t finished yet, you’ll get the money whenever we can move in.”
Let’s take it further and imagine that whomever works in the fashion industry would only be paid for clothes that were actually worn. The whole industry, from Shein’s fast fashion all the way up to LVMH luxury goods, would collapse within a month or so. Okay, that may not be the worst thing to happen, globally speaking…
This is a Monday Rant (on a Saturday). I vent about things that annoy me just before work starts, a cleaning the slate kinda thing.
Iris Reinbacher is a published author of non-fiction. She enjoys writing about science and all things Japan and is responsible for whatsupinkyoto.com, an English website dedicated to events in Japan’s most Japanese city, where she’s been living since 2013.
