You see it all the time. Before the goods ship, you have to pay. Why isn’t it the same for a freelance writer? You are going to commit your time to a task. Why shouldn’t you get something in advance?

Perhaps it’s a quality issue. But when you order online, you don’t get to inspect the quality before you pay. You have to wait for it to arrive. And issues about receiving the deliverables apply just as much to tangible goods as it does to services. But the freelance writer still, usually, has to wait until after all the hard work to get paid.

And what happens if you don’t get paid? All that time and effort is wasted.

The good news is that in some instances, you can get paid in advance. Two of my clients have large, regular monthly orders for work. I have them pay in advance, since we have an agreement for a regular gig. If I weren’t to accomplish the quota that month, our agreement stipulates that I give a refund.

For large, one time projects, I usually ask for a deposit of 25% to 30% upfront. Then set up a payment schedule based on the project timeline. That way, if the client flakes out halfway through, I’m not out. But it all has to be agreed upon on writing.

For small projects, I don’t mind being paid after. The loss is minimal in such cases. But I still prefer to work with people I can trust.