Read the real life stories and experiences of freelance writer Mike Gagnon.

Disaster Averted! For now…

 

I hate to use a cliché’ like saying it’s a Christmas miracle, but that’s what my friends, colleagues, fellow fans, and even strangers have helped pull off.

 

Just over a week ago I was left missing a large part of my income when Finlay Publishing, the publishing company I had been doing most of my writing for, issued a statement that it decided that it wasn’t likely going to pay its writer the outstanding money owed for work that had been published.

 

I was left with a pile of bills stacking up and an eviction notice dated December 25^th. Merry Christmas to me.

 

I took on all the quick paying last minute writing assignments that I could get in order to prevent me and my loved one’s form being homeless this Christmas. I took on another part-time job as well, but was still falling short.

 

I appealed to my friends, colleagues and editors in the publishing industry, not for a hand-out, but to help out by buying items from my 20+ years of hobby collecting being sold on eBay, if they saw something they needed or wanted.

 

The eviction notice I received is a story of its own. My landlords math is somehow magic and claims I owe double of what is actually outstanding. Meanwhile I have previous statements from his own representatives stating that my numbers are right and his numbers on the notice are wrong.

 

Anywho, as of today, thanks to the generosity of my friends and associates both known to me and online, and in fact the generosity of a number of strangers, enough money was raised to cover the amount that is actually owing on my rent, which should save me, my fiance’, our dog and cat from being evicted on the 25^th. I even have a small amount left over so I may be able to pull off a modest Christmas for my loved ones.

 

If the landlord decides to push for more than what should actually go to him he’ll have to take it to a hearing with the housing tribunal and explain the numbers in his own statements.

 

I can’t thank everyone enough for all the help and support. It’s situations like these that you find out who your friends really are. I have to thank Tim at Condor Books, John Almas, the best friend a guy could have, all those eBayers out there, a chap by the name of C. Tamminen, you know who you are, Bill Nichols at Sketch Magazine, and last but certainly not least, the members of the Afterburn Media Message Board.

 

The messages of support and encouragement from total strangers using the Afterburn boards have been overwhelming. Many of those who don’t know me and themselves are financially unable to help have still sent me dozens of messages to let me know not to give up and that their thoughts have been with me.

 

Many of the editors I work for regularly for other publications have sent encouragement if they were not able to offer extra work.

 

I’m still left with piles of overdue bills and future rent to worry about, my steady work and extra job will help with that a little, I’ll still be selling off my collectibles to try to get my head above water, but for now the most dangerous situation has been averted.

 

Thank you all so very much.

 

Happy Holidays,

Mike Gagnon

Posted by: lightning at 21:11 | link | comments (2)
random stuff, life updates, emergency

Many thanks and a long road ahead.

I can't say enough about the outpouring of support I've received from people all over the place. From people buying my stuff online, to making donations, to the strangers who are just taking time to e-mail and offer words of encouragement.

I've come to terms, or faced the reality of something though. I am not going to raise this money solely on eBay sales. Which I never planned to do. Money for other freelance jobs I've done is trickling in. I'm starting my other new job earlier than planned, I have to be there at 9am today.

The big thing is not support, that's been great. It's getting stuff up and getting stuff up for sale that people want to buy.

I'm just sitting here, looking at all this stuff that still needs to go up and realizing that I underestimated the time needed to post this stuff on eBay. I always think my collection of stuff is smaller than it really is. The amount of stuff alone and the boxes that have to be gone through are daunting. Realistically it would take me a week straight of posting this stuff to be able to list it all. With my other freelance work, life, other obligations, I just haven't been able to sit down for 12 hours straight at a time and list eBay auctions.

I will remain positive. I will believe that with everything coming together and adding up each avenue of sales will play an important part in raising the complete total I need to raise.

Either way, the looming eviction is just one of many financial problems I am now in thanks to my publisher deciding it didn't need to pay its writers anymore.

I won't be able to raise all the money on eBay and I won't be able to have time to even list all of the stuff in my collection by Christmas, but I will continue to list what I can.

Hopefully I can raise the money needed not to be evicted, but even so there are a numebr of other bills and payments that are behind thanks to my being ripped off, so I wil continue to sell off my collectibles etc. throughout the holidays and beyond so that I can have a chance to catch up on my other obligations and bills that have fallen behind.

It already hurts. I'm very attached to my collection. I don't really want to get rid of it, but at this point I have to choose between my stuff and having a place to live and food to eat, so it's not much of a choice.

In the meantime that all hinges on not being evicted, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can gather enough money to pay the back rent.

Thanks again to everyone. Hope to be on here again soon!

Posted by: lightning at 04:14 | link | comments
comics, ranting, rambles, random stuff, life updates, day dreams, emergency

WRITER IN DIRE NEED!

Dear Friends in the comics, arts and writing industries, 

It is with a heavy heart and more than an ounce of desperation that I write these words.

As some of you may know, the world of writing and publishing is fragile, and things beyond your control can tumble down around you in unfortunate ways.

Such an incident is why I write this.

I and some of my fellow Finlay Publishing writers are experiencing one of the worst possible surprises for Christmas.

As some of you may know I work and make my living as a freelance writer for various forms of media.

In this past year I landed what appeared to be a dream job, a gig as a regular contributor at Finlay Publishing.

Finlay Publishing is the publisher of several popular regional magazines in south, southwestern and central Ontario.

With the high demand for content for all of its publications and fair market pay rates Finlay Publishing soon became my prime source of income as a freelance writer.

While I have continued to write for other clients, the need for content on the part of Finlay’s meant that they accounted for well over 60% of my personal income. All seemed great, with nothing but blue skies ahead.

In recent months the management of Finlay’s had started to become slower with payments, having longer and longer stretches between paychecks.

Eventually the payments stopped all together.

I and other writers were reassured not to worry, that the accounting was simply behind because of a staffing problem and that the accounts would soon be up to date.

Finlay dismissed any query about financial trouble, falling back on the fact that they’ve been in business for over a decade, so the talent from the writer pool believed them.

Writer’s were asked to continue working and generating content with the promise of a future lump payment in mind.

During this time I and other writers continued to produce work for Finlay’s due to the company’s assurance of payment.

While waiting for payment for my work with Finlay’s I was able to keep things barely afloat from the freelance work I was doing for other clients, but the sudden shortfall was financially crippling due to such a large portion of my income being tied up in limbo.

The promises of payment dragged on to close to two months before publisher Dan Finlay informed the writers not to worry, that the payment would soon come. The delay was partially explained as a problem with the collapse of the advertising department, but that steps had been taken to correct that. The publisher also stated that they were expecting a large lump sum of money from a legal ruling any day which would be used to pay off all outstanding writer’s invoices and have everyone’s accounts caught up by year end. Writer’s were strictly informed that they should continue to meet deadlines and turn in assignments.

I and other writer’s scrambled to find last minute alternative work while still writing for Finlay and awaiting our payment.

Because of the massive shortfall in my expected income, debts began to back-up and overflow, but the anticipation of promised payment still held hope that all would be resolved soon.

In the first week of December myself and other writer’s individually requested reassurances from Finlay that accounts would be paid up in full by the year end. Response was not quick in coming.

After nearly three months of delays in payment for my work that had been requested and indeed published by Finlay’s many of my bills and my rent had fallen behind.

I worked with my creditors and superintendent as best I could, and got many of them to agree to have a little more patience as I scrambled to gather funds.

Although aware of the situation, on December 11^th my landlord had my superintendent serve me with a notice that I and my fiancé would be evicted from our home if the back rent was not paid by December 25^th. I know it seems strange for the due date to be Christmas, but I assure that this is no joke.

I quickly began rushing to find any last minute rush deadline work I could for quick cash, still holding out hope that Finlay Publishing would honour it’s word and pay off the outstanding invoices by the end of the year.

On December 11^th, the same day as receiving my eviction notice, I received a response from Finlay’s.

Via e-mail the publisher stated that the company had been experiencing financial difficulties due to negligent staff for some time and that it was an unfortunate victim. The e-mail went on to state that Finlay’s would not be issuing payment for work it had already published…at least not any time soon…and not in the full amount. The letter went on to explain that the writer’s would unfortunately have to suffer because of the negligent actions the former staff of Finlay Publishing, and also explained that the company would now run with a skeleton crew of two staff members. The letter seemed to suggest that the company would be focusing its finances towards lawyers and future publications, not payment for work.

A portion of the Publisher’s e-mail reads:

“The mentioned legal matters are a result of others who have been found negligent in their responsibilities and the legal process takes a long time. I am the victim and unfortunately as a result damage has been spread to yourself and others. Working with my lawyer and accountant to prepare new operating methods for 2008  will bring D&D and other publications back to its old self.

The past four years have been very costly as I find that justice is expensive and the victim ends up paying.”

The funny thing about all of this is that during this entire time that the company knew it was having these financial problems it continued to request content from writer’s that it knew it could not pay the agreed upon fees for. Promises were consistently made for payment. There has been no type of bankruptcy to my knowledge. The company is still publishing magazines. Several freelancers were asked to help out with the ad sales and never paid promised commissions from sold ads. The company even launched several new websites recently for its publications where it has proceeded to publish the work of its freelancers without permission or any agreement for electronic publishing rights.

To top it all off the company’s magazines and websites are advertising that they are looking to hire new freelance reporters and photographers, while their e-mails have been stating to the current talent pool that the company has no ability to pay for such work.

I would strongly caution any new writer about taking on a position or freelance assignment. Carefully weight your options. The final decision is up to you, I just feel that future writers should be warned.

I’ve personally issued statements firmly demanding that Finlay uphold its agreements with me and other writers. So far these statements have not gotten a response, possibly even been ignored.

In the meantime I’m left with a pile of bills and an eviction notice that will see my small family (me, my fiancé’, our dog and cat) homeless by Christmas unless I can generate the bare minimum of another $1000 just to cover the back rent.

I’ve managed to obtain several last minute freelance jobs, which will help, but not enough to meet the deadline demanded by my landlord. I’ve also managed to line up some freelance pieces for 2008 and obtained a part-time job outside of the field in order to meet expenses in the near future, but the job does not start until after Christmas, and therefore will not provide the income needed to cover the outstanding balance.

I am hoping that some of you out there may be able to help me out in my hour of need.

Ideally any of you out there in editorial positions who have need of any rush deadline, quick paying writing assignments available or those who do know of such work could contact me at mike@mikegagnon.ca

I will also be selling of my entire collection of over 20+ years of hobbies and collectibles.

I’m not asking anyone for a hand-out, or even to “bid generously”, only to let me know if you know of any small writing assignments that are immediately available or to check out the auctions online and see if there might be anything there you or a loved one would want, maybe for under your Christmas tree this year.

On Friday night I began auctioning off pieces from a large collection of comic books, graphic novels, original artwork, collectibles, movies, trading cards, books, video games, personal belongings and anything else needed in order to keep a roof over our heads. I may even sell off some web domain names and intellectual properties if necessary.

Any hobby retailers out there should be able to find a number of deals on items in like new condition that would be good for their stores at low prices.

I will be asking no small fortune for any of these items as my prime interest is to see that every auction closes with a successful bidder. Most items will be priced for sale well below their value.

Many of these items hold a sentimental value to me which would far outweigh any dollar figure I could put on them. It will pain me to part with them, but at this point it is a matter of survival.

Details and items for sale will be posted at http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=smashcomics and at www.mikegagnon.ca, which began late into the night of Friday Dec. 14^th.

I assure you this isn’t some kind of joke or Christmas scam to get money, and I’m not looking to generate some kind of profit or income from this, just ensure that we continue to have a home for the holidays and the near future.

If even a few of you people out there could find the time to check this out and maybe find something that you really want it would be greatly appreciated. Anyone who chooses the expedited shipping options on successful bids within the next few days is guaranteed to get their order in time for Christmas.

If you have any immediate assignments available I would be happy to send you samples. I am a thorough, professional and fast writer and I will not consider a project complete until you are satisfied.

I’m not sure how all the other writer’s are coping, but if you encounter any of them and have an opportunity to help them out with extra work or something, I encourage you to do so.

It took me a very long time and no small amount of thinking to decide whether or not I would send this letter, and whether I had really come to terms with the situation. I’m not expecting any Christmas miracles from anyone, but if you can help out a little in your own small way, I will be grateful beyond words.

I thank you all deeply for your time and wish you all the happiest of holidays.

Best Regards,

Mike Gagnon

Content Provider

mike@mikegagnon.ca

519-396-6145

www.mikegagnon.ca

661 Palmateer Dr.

Kincardine, Ontario, Canada, N2Z 1R5

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE AUCTIONS

OR

Posted by: lightning at 13:38 | link | comments (2)
business, rambles, random stuff, writing industry, life updates, emergency

What is the matter with people?

Some genius has decided that my blogs are a great source for him to post his web ads for buying cialis and viagra online.

Who are these spam artists with nothing better to do?

It's the dumbest thing. I have the comments set to moderate, so I have to approve them before they go live.

There's no chance they're ads will ever be seen on my site and they still try to submit them in the hopes I'm too stupid to catch them.

It's a waste of time, having to delete dozens of moderated ads every day.

These people should collectively join forces to set the world record for mass suicide.

Posted by: lightning at 16:07 | link | comments
ranting, rambles

Huzzah for Quicken!

Yes, I say Huzzah for Quicken!

Just when I thought there was no hope for me to keep better track of my records and I would be doomed to the old way, I realized I've had Quicken already installed on my computer since I got it.

I never actually used it because I was too busy working and doing other stuff to sit down and try it out.

It's awesome. Now everything if finely tuned, recorded and organized. Amazing. What would have taken me a much longer time manually I now have completed and up to date and it only took a couple of hours!

Thank you to the makers of Quicken, although no, I am not interested in paying for the upgrade.

Posted by: lightning at 16:01 | link | comments
business, ranting, random stuff

Oh Crap!

So, I've never really had a problem keeping track of my finances.

When Tax time comes around I usually gather up all my stuff, sort it and figure it all out.

I keep everyting so I usually don't miss anything.

This year I thought I'd be different.

I thought hey, I'd be professional and organized and save myself time when tax time comes again. I'll organize everything and keep a record of it. Start a new set of books with all my accounts in it.

I took accounting in High School and several courses in college as well. NO prob.

I decided that today was the day to start that.

It turns out I can't remember shit. I know there's debits and credits, liabilities and assets, but other than that, I'm lost.

I thought "Hey, I'll just go get my old text books form college for a refresher!"

Searched the basement crawl space. Didn't find any of my old text books. I know they're in a box somewhere.

Awesome. I spent well over $80 bucks on the damn thing to barely use it while I was in school, now I have need of it and its nowehere to be found.

I'm so screwed.

Posted by: lightning at 11:12 | link | comments
business, rambles, random stuff