Payment policy

You can read about the actual terms in detail at the link to the right, Accounting, but here is some more general direction:

Latin Trade pays 75 days after publication. That is, if your story is published on August 1, then your check should be mailed by October 15.

Example

Publication Payment

July 1 Sept. 15
Jan. 1 March 15
May 1 July 15

etc.

U.S. mail can take up to two weeks to arrive. Courier packages sent abroad take at least two days. Wires usually happen within a 24 hour time frame, but your bank could easily hold your money for several business days without telling us. So, generally, if you don't see money by a week or so after that date, please advise me.

If no money, advise me, and only me -- not the receptionist, the accountant or whoever answers the phone. Your editor, even, will only end up asking me your question, so on money issues, best to start here.

We've done two important things to simply tracking money through our various accounting systems:

1) Automated invoicing. Go here to find that.

2) Story slugs and invoice numbers.

The slug ("ra mcd0605," etc.) is key because it tells you and us several things immediately.

Example

ra = radar, so the story ran in the Radar section of the magazine

mcd = mcdonald's, so the story had to do with the fast-food chain

0605 = the story was published in June, 2005

By doing this, accounting knows instantly when each check should be paid. Also, the slug should begin to appear on your actual check stub, so if you have two or three stories combined in a check -- for you, a good thing, since it reduces transfer costs -- there will be a list on the stub to figure out what is being paid.

Example

ra mcd0605 $300
cu yur0605 $400
sp bog0605 $150

Check total would be $850.

If you are taking bank wires or having other people cash your checks, you won't see these. In my experience, leaving your accounting to other people -- whether a bank or your mom -- is the fastest road to tears and frustration. I learned early on in freelancing to sign all my own checks, and that's about the only way. But, I understand that people have other problems to solve.

How to invoice:

Wait for an editor to send you a final version of the story, a readback. Once you have that final readback, you know the story is on its way to publication, and that the slug is final, ie, not going to change. Many times, stories are slugged one month but are moved. Sometimes, it's because the writer is not finished with the story, a source bails out or other problems. Sometimes, although less often, we simply lose pages in the magazine and have to delay.

For that reason, wait until you get a readback to invoice via the automated online system.

Once you are ready to invoice -- and I will be paying only invoices in that system, so it's important that you file there consistently -- you will need to create an invoice number. Why? Because the fastest way for accounting to find a missing payment is to associate your name with a number in their system.

Example

ra mcd0605 Greg Brown Invoice No. 34

In this case, accounting knows that you asked to paid for something, and their best way to search is to look for the number 34. Your choice of numbers is not important, but it should be something you can track consistently on your own (1,2,3, etc). Crazy numbers like "9i76ghj" or non-numbers like "beer story" might seem funny for a moment, but it won't get you paid quickly, and getting you paid is my goal.

If you really don't want to get involved in your own money and accounting, that's fine, but don't expect us to jump when you have problems digging up your payments eight months down the road. We'll figure it out, but it's going to take longer.