Naming Names…
…and taking no prisoners!
I have to hand it to Kathy Kehrli the Pennsylvania writer behind the Screw You! blog. On the surface, the name of the blog could put you off, but if you take the time to read it much of what Kathy writes strikes a responsive chord especially with those of us who write for a living.
Kathy has detailed in her blog the troubles she has had with getting one or more clients to pay up. While some people may be hesitant to not mention names, Kathy actually does the rest of us a big favor by naming those names. Clearly, if you are more than 90 days late on your payments and you are giving no indication of ever making good on your deal, then you can and should expect that members of the writing community will want to know about your unprofessionalism.
I hope Kathy does get these people to pay up. I won’t repeat the name she has mentioned but I encourage you to read her post for all of the sordid details surrounding her unpaid project.
Technorati Tags: freelance, freelance writer, invoices, deadbeat clients
Thanks for the plug. The company and I have reached a tentative agreement. Once the check is actually in my hand and clears my bank. I’ll post an update. I feel that if I’m going to name names it’s important that I also give them credit when they make (partial) good.
Well, good for her. Honestly, the only way to stop anybody from doing wrong and correcting their wrong is to let the world be known of their wrong. Scam artists won’t stop their scamming actions until they are caught, and harassed. I don’t like the idea of harassing somebody, but I don’t think you can ever reach any legal consequences for harassing somebody who never had any intent on paying you for your service (and it brings up a good time for you to counter sue). Once soembody is a known scammer and considered fraudulant, they will lose all of their reputation, and the best thing they can do is pay up, let it drop, and move on.
I agree with what Matt said, that if these people/companies are not named and shamed to the rest of us then they will just carry on scamming people which is out of order. I personally think Kathy has made a stand and been brave also to name these people/companies.