Freelance Tips: What Do I Do when Payments and Earnings Don't Go Through?

The electric company is calling and the payment you expected from a freelance writing gig simply did not post to your bank account. Maybe Paypal is involved or some other payment processor or maybe the payment was supposed to hit your personal or business bank account directly. Waiting on a payment for necessities can be heart wrenching, but until the problem associated with the delay is fixed, there is nothing to do but wait - and earn more. Here are five productive things to do while waiting for payments and earnings to go through.

#1 Write More - Instead of spending time commenting on Facebook, Twitter and forums about the delay in payment, write more articles and blogs during the time you are waiting for payment to process. If you are lucky enough to write for a company that offers residual earnings, the extra articles will only increase the next payment and your total earnings.

#2 Promote More - Do you have a stash of articles already published online? Use the time spent on Facebook, Twitter and forums to promote those articles and content for added page views. Again if you are lucky enough to earn residual payments, this promotion will increase total earnings for the next month and subsequent months to come.

#3 Contact Other Clients for Short Term Writing Gigs - Keeping in contact with previous clients is crucial to making ends meet as a freelance writer. While waiting for that payment to process, contact old clients to see if they need an article or two for a quick payment right now. There are some clients who work with so many writers; they may not keep a list of those who are available right now. Chances are you will find one or more clients that need content and are willing to pay upfront for the work. This can take some of the pressure off while waiting for the payment to process.

#4 Be Honest with the Bill Collector - If bill collectors are calling and that processing payment is the source of funds to pay the bill, be honest. Tell the collector that a payment is on the way and that you are waiting just as they are. It may not stop late charges, but it could stop the calls for 24 hours while the payment has time to process.

Instead of sitting around and discussing what will happen in the coming minutes in regards to the freelance payment being processed with other writers, take that time to be more productive. There is nothing better than using time in a way that helps you to earn more in the future instead of wasting the time worrying about a payment process you cannot control.

**This article was written while waiting for a payment from AC / Yahoo! to process**