Why buyers should pay freelancers even if they dont’ like the work

I’ve rarely faced this problem, thank God, but it’s something that every freelance writer has had to think about – “What if my buyer doesn’t pay me if he doesn’t like what I wrote for him?”

Some buyers feel that they have an obligation to pay a writer only if they like the output. At first glance, this kind of makes sense. After all, I didn’t get what I asked for, so why should I pay? Let’s leave aside for the moment, unscrupulous buyers who use this as an excuse not to pay.

Image Credit: Esther_G

First of all, when a buyer hires a freelancer, they’re hiring his effort and his time. The fact that they hired him in the first place means that they are willing to put their money on their judgmental capability. Not paying a freelancer after they have written a piece of work is like refusing to pay a restaurant because they didn’t like their beef steak. The restaurant wouldn’t let them go would they? But it happens to freelancers all the time because there is almost no one to enforce payment.

Second, all writing has an opportunity cost. If freelancers spend time writing for a buyer, it means that they can’t do anything else for that period of time. They could spend that time writing for job that will give them a sure shot payment. By spending that time working on an assignment, they’re trusting the buyer to pay up. Otherwise, it’s a very real loss for the freelancer, as time is money.

Fortunately, most buyers understand this and do the decent thing by paying up even if they don’t like the work. After all, it is frequently due to miscommunication about the requirements that this happens.