Invoicing INSTRUCTIONS
If you write for money, you need to make arrangements for payment. Simon Whaley dots the Is and crosses the Ts when it comes to issuing an invoice.
Simon Whaley
THE BUSINESS OF WRITING
In last September’s issue I chatted to Carolyn Henderson about the experience she had when taking a publisher to court for money she was owed. Such drastic action for most writers is rare, but it’s useful to know there’s a system in place for when things don’t go to plan.
However, many writers experience problems with payments purely because they’re unsure how to issue an invoice for their work in the first place. When it comes to the business of writing, being paid should be a simple transaction. A few basic invoicing steps can go a long way to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Confusion often arises because magazines and publishers all operate slightly different systems. For example, I’ve never invoiced DC Thomson for any of my features or fiction pieces that have appeared in The People’s Friend or The Weekly News, and I’ve always been paid promptly. Yet I know other writers who also write for these publications and have always invoiced, because that’s what they’ve been told to do.
Things tend to go wrong in these situations when you do something differently to the way you have in the past. If you’ve always been paid promptly by a publication without the need to invoice, then don’t suddenly start invoicing without querying this with the accounts department first.
Ask the editor
The best time to ask how the publication prefers paying its suppliers is when the editor gets in touch commissioning your idea, or accepting your submission. Many novice writers shy away from talking money, but there’s no need. Magazines and publishers are legitimate businesses trying to make a profit, so they expect the conversation. You, as a writer, are a business supplier. Suppliers need paying for their services.