Avoid Getting Paid for “Accepted Work Onlyâ€
As I search open freelance writing positions on a regular basis, the following statement (or something similar) is popping up more and more: you will get paid X dollars for accepted work only. When I see this I never apply for the job. It simply isn’t worth the hassle for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, when I begin working with a new client I like to know for sure that I will be paid. Asking for upfront payment is one way of making sure that this happens. With the type of job detailed above, not only are you not getting paid upfront but you may never receive a dime from the “client.†Instead, you are only receiving payment for accepted work.
The question is: how is the client going to decide what to accept and what to reject? This is subjective, and can end up burning you big time in the end. I have spoke with many freelancers who have put many hours into similar projects just to find that the client hates the work and will give them no chance to edit it. The end result is a lot of lost time and no money.
It is my practice to avoid jobs that have this type of clause. Since I always ask for upfront payment of some sort, these positions would not work out for me anyway. Not to mention the fact that I find them to be too big a risk.
Do any of you have experience with these types of jobs? If so, I would love to hear how things worked out for you. Feel free to share in the comments section so we can all learn from your experience.
