Show me the money

Why do authors so often have such difficulty extracting the fees they are owed?

HOW TO BE A WRITER (Little, Brown £16.99), Marcus Berkmann’s invaluable guide to the perils of the freelance life, has an ominous little sub-chapter entitled “Getting Paid”. Its highlight, or nadir, is the story of the occasion, five years ago, when Berkmann (right) was rung up by “a languid posh bloke from The Times” and asked if he would like to write a humorous column for Saturday’s paper at a fee of £500 (good money, by the way.) Feigning nonchalance, yet secretly delighted at the prospect of such largesse, Berkmann said that, yes, he supposed he could do this. The piece duly appeared, unaltered, and seemed to go down well. Ten days later, Berkmann telephoned his contact to see about payment. It was too late. Languid posh bloke had been sacked.…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2023

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