I've sent in my letter of resignation to the IFS (International Fight Showdown) and shall not be working for them again.
Below, my letter of resignation:
Dear members of the IFS:
I've been putting a lot of thought into this and I've decided that I cannot work with you.
I realize that this puts you at an inconvenience. To help, I've attached the two articles I'd written (for you to have your new writer re-work) as well as the interviews I conducted and the contact info for the amateur fighters. The latter document also includes some short notes/thoughts of mine for potential story angles that, again, might be useful to your new writer/publicist.
As for the tickets I was to sell "on commission," I shall be sending those back to you by mail. And I will be sending them with delivery confirmation so I know for sure that you received them and there are no mix-ups.
As people, I like you all just fine and have no hard feelings. As businessmen, I'm dissatisfied, but will chalk it up as a learning experience. I now know not to stray from my usual payment policies, no matter how good an offer seems at the time.
Again, I wish you all the best. Thank you.
--Lauren*
And the series of events that led up to this?
- After going to the IFS press conference, I was told to write 5 articles; and to have the first one done by the end of the week. Being the over-achiever that I am, I turned in not one, but two by the end of that week. All was right with the world.
- As per my contract, I was to be paid 30 cents per published word. I was then told that it was up to me to get the articles published.
- That same night, I was told:"I would like for you to submit the articles to Muay Thaimes, Muay Thai Authority, Science of 8 limbs, My Muay Thai, there are many, please google search and see." Again, always aiming to please (and really, really wanting to get paid), I contacted all of the publications mentioned (and 15 others!!) that very same night.
- US Combat Sports published the first article right away. Paul Fladten, the editor, loved the story, saying, "I just wanted to tell you that the two articles you published were excellent. I posted the one today and will post the other tomorrow. Great job and couldn't be happier!"
- Shortly after US Combat Sports published the article, five other publishers wrote back, interested in publishing the stories as well.
- The next morning, I get a letter from the IFS telling me to "wait." Overnight they changed their minds and decided that there were some re-writes that needed to be done to the articles. I explained that I could tell the other publishers they needed to "wait" (even though it put me in a very awkward position) but that USCS had already published the article and it was already getting some attention.
- The IFS thought that was great. Yay for published article! Getting published by USCS was perfectly fine. And, since that was the case, as per my contract--since I did get the article published--I was to be paid 30 cents per published word. I mentioned this to the IFS. And then...nothing.
- Hours later, I'm told this by an IFS member (the same one that told me to publish the articles right away): "Yes I think its fair that you get paid for US combat sports but since we jumped the gun consider the rewrite for the other publications at the republishing rate which is 50%. If US combat sports publishes your rewrite later please consider it as it has been paid for from this payment. I think this is fair." Fine. So long as I get paid. Fine.
- The next morning I get another e-mail saying that, no, I will not be paid. And to get the article un-published right away. Suspecting that they were only having me un-publish the article in order to get out of paying me (as there would no longer be "proof" posted online that I had ever gotten it published in the first place), I took a screencap of the article before writing my embarrassing letter to the editor asking him to take it down:
- From there, I was told that they would be sending me a pre-written "intro" to add to my articles as well as additional pictures. Which I never got (even after reminding them several times).
- After that, things slowly got worse and worse until I decided that it just wasn't worth it.
As a freelance writer, I felt I owed it to my fellow freelance writers to tell them my story. If I had gotten that warning beforehand, I wouldn't have worked for the IFS in the first place. And seeing as, since I just submitted my resignation, the IFS will be looking for a new writer, I thought that whoever they choose should at least be well-informed of what could happen; rather than go in blindly as I did.
As I mentioned in my resignation letter, all this has taught me to NEVER again stray from my usual payment policy:
Payment due 10 days after project completion.
50% deposit due at beginning of project.
Turn around times will be specified clearly in the proposal, All agreed times will be adhered to.
No other Business Terms Necessary. I only accept projects that I know I can complete with excellence.
I would also like to take this time to thank one of my best clients (who always pays the FULL amount in advance!), Adam W. Warner. I've been writing 2 articles a week for him, which can be seen here: http://wpprobusiness.com/author/littlezotz Adam is a man of high integrity and is really onto something with his easy-to-understand WordPress courses.
I would also like to thank Rick Zotz for adding links to my webpage on his official website at http://zotz.com Thanks, Rick! (We "Zotz!" folk gotta stick together, right?)
That's all I have to say for now. Thanks for tuning in!
--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.webs.com
Edit (3/3/11): After making this entry last night, I was given a LOT of support (even from the IFS themselves!--as I said, they're not bad guys), but I did get ONE angry comment from someone I'm guessing would like to remain anonymous:
As a journalist I would think that you would appreciate the privacy of your potential employer. Posting a letter of resignation for the public to see bashing the IFS is in very poor taste and you should be ashamed! Think about the message you send to all future employers, now they have to fear public attacks by hiring you. Trust... don't forget how important it is for people to trust you in your line of work.
He then decided to block all messages from me. Which means he missed out on this, what I WOULD have told him:
Interesting opinion. As a former champion and as someone who currently has a fighter entered in the match, I can see why this struck a nerve with you. You have a lot invested in this company. And maybe you're right: maybe I just "didn't deserve to be paid." Could be. I respect that opinion. However, I'd like to address a few things:
a.) I decided to post my actual letter of resignation because I DON'T TRUST THEM [in business]. I wanted to make sure that they couldn't say "We never saw your letter." I also wanted the public to see how I was going to be sending back the tickets. I was covering my ass. Which is exactly what I was doing when I took the screencap of my published article before they asked me to have it taken down. Proof. I wasn't just holding the IFS accountable for their actions by posting that letter, but myself as well. As in, the IFS now has proof that I told them I'd be sending back their tickets. It protects THEM as well as myself.
b.) Think of me less as a literary journalist and more of a literary mercenary: I write whatever people PAY me to write. That's what freelancing is all about. It's just a coincidence that quite often I'm paid to do journalistic endeavors.
c.) If I WERE strictly a journalist, in my opinion, the BEST journalists are the ones who report the TRUTH--even if it's not something everyone wants to hear. Which is what I did.
d.) I could have easily kept my stories, notes, interviews, and contact information; but instead I returned everything to the IFS. I could have given all of that information to someone who WOULD pay me. But I didn't. Not only did it lack integrity, but I respected the people in the IFS enough to consider the information "theirs." And they can use it however they see fit.
e.) People who actually KNOW me will tell you that there are few things that mean more to me than money. But one of those things (on a VERY short list that includes "Ramiro," "friends," and "family" and not much else...) is self-respect. I'm prone toward Depression and one of the main things that triggers an episode is when I don't respect myself. In my opinion, the IFS didn't respect me/my job as a freelance writer. And therefore I couldn't respect myself while working for them. The IFS was not only bad for my wallet, but bad for my health.
So, no, I will not "be ashamed" of myself. And if any employer is threatened by my Blog entry, then they are probably shifty and not worth working for anyway.
