Writers and payments
:Sir: From my point of view as an author, I naturally regret that Bookbuyer should have heard somehow and reported the Granada hardback division's dilatoriness in paying me for Kiss Me Goodnight, Sergeant Major. Irrespective of the accuracy of such gossip, its publication has inevitably — I can only hope temporarily — strained my relations with innocent people on the firm's editorial and publicity side, which is not good for business.
However, now the deed has been done. may I comment? First, while no publisher I have dealt with in this country in the past has been so slow in paying, I am told by other writers that Granada — in my case — is very far indeed from being the slowest. Also, it is only fair‘to say that some large and rich European publishers with whom I have dealt are very much worse in this respect than any British firm I have heard of — one foreign company was eight months late in settling up with me this year.
Second, the issue is one which concerns a large number of selfemployed people as well as writers. In terms of receiving payments, I suggest we fall into two main categories. There are those, like medical practitioners, solicitors and accountants, who collect small sums of money from large numbers of people: and even if some of their clients are slow payers, at least they can count on a reasonably regular flow of money into their accounts.
The other category is of those who supply services to large companies, and often may have only three clients or less at any one time, who agree to pay substantial amlunts for services rendered and on whom the self-employed person is financially reliant.
In recent years, to minimise their own borrowing from banks, an increasing number of large and apparently reputable firms have been delaying and eelaying paying their debts to individual outsiders. I am told that one newspaper company has built a ' trip' into its computer, so that when payments to freelance contributors exceed a certain sum in any one month, the rest simply disappear into the works for a further thirty hys. This is explained to contributors who complain as a computer error.
At the same time, the newspaper — in common with others — charges advertising agencies Interest on overdue payments!
A city bank manager with whom I discussed this recently said that some of the Square Mile's most illustrious institutions have taken to the practice of not paying individual outsiders at all.They count on the fact that such a person is highly unlikely to take legal proceedings — for fear of getting a bad reputation.
Even when one is paid eventually, it is often after such delays that inflation and interest rates on overdrafts combine to reduce the value of the money by perhaps one sixth, betweAn the time payment was due and It, actual receipt.
That this is scandalous and immoral conduct, we all know. But I fear that the grip of accountants in business is such that it is most unlikely to be discontinued unless legislation is passed to protect the rights of the self-employed when dealing with corporate clients. I was, as Bookbuyer implies, somewhat angry with Granada's accounts department. But neither Granada nor publishers are alone in this — and may be, indeed, far better than other industries and large firms.
Martin Page 40/43 King Street, London WC2
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