Northwest Publishing Center / nwpublishingcenter.com

[angelahoy]

Subject: COMPLAINT about Northwest Publishing Center
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:39:09 -0400
To: phurme@cargobusinessnews.com, donm@nwpublishingcenter.com

April 20, 2008

Don McManman, Editor - donm@nwpublishingcenter.com
Peter Hurme, Publisher - phurme@cargobusinessnews.com
Northwest Publishing Center
1710 South Norman Street
Seattle, WA 98144 USA
Phone: 206-709-1840
Fax: 206-324-8939

WritersWeekly.com has received a complaint about:

Northwest Publishing Center, publishers of: Cargo Business News –
cargobusinessnews.com, Pacific Fishing – pacificfishing.com, Wild Catch
Magazine – wildcatchmagazine.com and Port Handbooks - marinedigest.com;
Producers of conferences China, Intermodal Shipping, and Port Productivity.

WritersWeekly.com is a publication that publishes information for
and about freelance writers. The publication is the
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As part of that information, WritersWeekly.com publishes a Warnings
section on its website and in its newsletter. This warning section
contains reports about publications that are unprofessional in
dealing with writers, haven't paid writers money that is owed to
them, who have not abided by their contracts, or who have unfair
contract terms. These reports are used by WritersWeekly.com's
subscribers to decide which publications they should and should not work
with.

Your firm has been submitted to us for inclusion in the
WritersWeekly.com Whispers and Warnings section.

Step one of our investigation of this report is to gather all
relevant correspondence between your publication and the person
submitting the complaint so that we can piece together that person's
side of the story. Step one of our investigation has been completed.

-------------
THE COMPLAINT
-------------

[AB] (name not published here but was, of course, provided to the publisher) alleges you owe her $1130.20, that you are attempting to
pay her a lower rate than she was contracted for. See complete
allegation and copies of correspondence under my signature.

-----------------
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
-----------------

The second step in our investigation is to send this communication
to your firm to get its side of the story. If you have evidence
disputing these allegations, or would like to make your own
statement about these allegations for publication in our report, please
email angela@writersweekly.com within two business days.

***All correspondence for our investigations must be in writing and
is subject to publication.***

If you do owe this person money, we strongly suggest you read
this article before responding:
http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/003628_09132006.html


Our report on your firm is scheduled for inclusion in our
publication next Wednesday, though it may appear in our Whispers and
Warnings forum before that time.

If there is no response to these allegations, WritersWeekly.com will
still publish this complaint, but our readers will not be able to
read your side of the story.

We appreciate your prompt response in this matter.

Angela Hoy
Publisher
WritersWeekly.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALLEGATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Angela,

Sorry for the delay. I have been trying to sort this out with the
company, with no success. So, sorry if this is long and convoluted, but
here's the gist of what's happened:

I started writing for Northwest Publishing Center in the spring of 2006.
I negotiated a rate of 50cents/word, as opposed to their usual of 40 (I
know both are low!). They paid me 40 cents for my first "test" story, so
I started off on a higher rate than their other writers.

I had no problem with them until August of this year, by which stage
$1,651.60 was due. I have hounded them and finally got them to listen
when I contacted their accounting department directly. Then they told me
that they had dropped my rate to 40 cents a word. My editor gave several
reasons for this:

- I had left NYC to move to the Northwest so I no longer warranted the
50 cents (even though the 50 cents I'd negotiated never had any strings
attached; it was simply the rate I wanted).

- The editor said he gave me 50 cents because of some stories I did
which required extra work. That is not true; I received the 50 cents
before this work and for those two jobs that required more work, I
negotiated an additional $100 flat fee on top of my word rate.

- The editor says that he sent out the Style Guide in which it stated
that writers are paid 30 cents for their first story, and 40 thereafter.
Since this didn't correspond to any rate I'd ever been paid, and since
he never asked me to drop my rate, this did not affect me.
Below is the original email in which the editor (Don McManman) said he
would pay me 40 cents for the first story and 50 cents for stories
thereafter. I then received 50 cents/word for all stories going forward
until August.

I would like to get this resolved and may take this to small
claims court if I must.

[AB]

[AB] wrote:
Hi Angela,

I have been trying to get money from Northwest Publishing Center that
they have owed me since August, 2007.

I sent a certified letter to the publisher last week demanding payment
by April 15. Today I heard from the accountant and she told me that they
decided to change the rate they would pay me when I moved from NYC to
the Northwest. Today was the first I heard of this.

This means that instead of owing me $1,600 (approx.) they owe me closer
to $1,100. I have worked for this magazine for two years, know the
editor and the publisher and have done many stories for them, that until
August were paid on time.

[AB]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Story Word count Due Invoice Amount due
Conch 1,523 24-Apr 507 $1,221
Chef's Shopping List 400 24-Apr 507 x
Herring Roe 520 24-Apr 507 x
Sustainable Seafood-Restaurants 800-1,200 07-Jul 707 $922
Halibut Tasting 707 x
Cornwall Fish School 400 7-Jul 0707_2 $219
Food reviews 132 21-Jul 0707_1 $64
Purchase of meals for food reviews (receipt sent to Don) $10

Due: $2,436
minus $784.40
minus $521.40
Total Due: $1,130.20

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOLD BELOW INSERTED BY WRITERSWEEKLY.COM.

From: Don McManman <donm@nwpublishingcenter.com>
Date: June 2, 2006 7:05:37 PM PDT (CA)
To: [AB]
Subject: RE: Assignment

[AB],
From the top:
By holidays, I mean Yom Kippur through Armenian Christmas (which is
celebrated on Jan. 18 this year). Wholesalers start selling for the
Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year holiday in September. We want
advertising available in August. That's why we're a half-year early.
The main story AND bullets will be 600 words.
OK: 40 cents, with a raise to 50 next time. (We'll make Peter take us
out to a very expensive place for lunch when you visit.)
If you can chase up any photos taken by professional food photographers,
that would be great! I can get some very nice ones showing ikura (salmon
roe, Japanese style). As for the other varieties, I need whatever you
can find. (Don't forget that the Russians eat a lot of red caviar --
ikura -- as well.
I'd like the story by the 30th.
Also, if you have a nice mug shot of yourself, I'd like to get it. I'm
toying with the idea of printing the writer's pic with each article.
Don

From: [AB]
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 3:45 PM
To: Don McManman
Subject: RE: Assignment

Hi Don,

This is great; I will look into whether sturgeon caviar is legal. Let's
hope I have to taste some to find out for sure.

Just to clarify: The holidays: do you mean Labor Day?

And: the main story plus bullets - that's 600 words, or just the neat
ideas from chefs part?

Also, you mentioned possibly increasing the rate if we continue to work
together. I generally get 50 cents/word. What are your thoughts?

We do indeed leave NY on June 30th so that is the very latest you will
have it. Do you want photos?

[AB]

-----Original Message-----
From: Don McManman [mailto:donm@nwpublishingcenter.com]
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 3:36 PM
To: [AB]
Subject: Assignment

[AB],

Again, I thought your flowers-fish story was great -- especially on such
short notice. For the August-September issue, will you do something
about the holidays and fish eggs?

I believe it's now illegal to have sturgeon caviar in this nation
(although you'll have to find out for sure). However, there are several
other species that will add zest to holiday celebrations:

Salmon -- sujiko (the skein)
Salmon -- ikura (individual eggs, loose)
Lumpfish
Herring -- (skein, loose and on kelp)
Pollock
Whitefish
And there is probably more.

I bet there's a fish egg dealer in NYC who offers all of these. He/she
might be your best source. Regardless, when you're done with the story,
I'm going to run it past the National Marine Fisheries Service to check
on the legality of each species.

Here's how I see the package:

The mainbar will be some general chit-chat about the possibilities chefs
have discovered in roe. Then, give us a list -- almost bullet points --
of neat ideas from the individual chefs (don't forget food services).
This should be no longer than 600 words.

The sidebar will be a list of species and their products, much like the
flower sidebar you did. You needn't make this fancy, because I'll have
the art guy make a nice table out of it.

The deadline will be June 30, or when you leave home for Seattle.

Let me know if you're interested.

Don

PS: The on-line version of the magazine will be on the site sometime
next week. It's being printed on Monday. I find out that this
organization pays writer/photographer invoices on the 25th of the month
following publication.

~~~~~

PUBLISHER RESPONDS

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: FW: COMPLAINT about Northwest Publishing Center
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:06:29 -0700
From: editor <editor@pacificfishing.com>

Hello,

I edit Pacific Fishing magazine and edited Wild Catch magazine.

Freelancer rates for Pacific Fishing and Wild Catch magazines are specified
in our writers' guide. I have attached our guides for 2006 and 2007.

At the bottom of each guide, you will find our rates. They were, and are,
thus: New writers: 30 cents a word. Returning writers: 40 cents a word.
Special circumstances: 50 cents a word. Both guides specifically state the
highest rate will be offered only in rare circumstances.

These guides were sent to every writer and would-be writer for both
magazines. They are the contracts under which writers work for the
magazines. [AB] received both guides. [AB] had no complaints concerning
the terms they described - until now.

Initially, I offered [AB] higher-than-normal rates because I asked her to
put together two seafood tastings in New York City. Because the time,
logistics and petty expenses involved were beyond what a regular freelance
writer should be expected to adsorb, I offered [AB] $100 for expenses and
50 cents a word for the stories she produced. She was paid this rate not
because she lived in New York at the time, but because she performed extra
duties.

There is only one writer for the magazines who regularly receives 50 cents a
word. He is a former editor of Pacific Fishing, and he has spent two decades
writing and thinking about commercial and conservation issues reflected in
fisheries of the North Pacific.

Not [AB] , nor any other writers who work for me, offers such expertise and
such reliability. Therefore, no other writer, including [AB], receives
that rate on a regular basis.

In fact, we paid previous invoices from [AB] at the 40 cent rate, and she
didn't complain then. Now she is.

[AB] has demanded increased remuneration only recently, and yet she has
not been able to settle on an amount we supposedly owe her. Three weeks ago,
she submitted an invoice demanding $622.20. Yet, in her note to you, she
maintains we now owe her $1,130, or perhaps it is $1,651 - I'm not sure.

I do agree with [AB] that she had to hound me for payment. Here's why: A
decision was made last autumn to suspend publication of Wild Catch. I wrote
to the writers telling them and asked them to submit final invoices so we
could close out the books. The writers complied. I gathered all the
information in January and stupidly set it aside and forgot about it. I
honestly thought I had handed the invoices to our business department. I
discovered my error only in early March. It was stupid mistake that I
sincerely regret.

However, the fact remains that we have paid all Wild Catch writers in
accordance with rates stipulated in our writers' guides. All writers
(including [AB]) received the guides. Not one (including [AB]) objected
at the time. When the nature of [AB]'s assignments warranted the 50 cent
rate, she received it. When assignments didn't require "rare" contributions,
she didn't - and she didn't object, at least until now.

[AB] has warned of legal action several times over recent weeks, yet she
has not followed through on her threats.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond.

Don McManman

~~~~~

WRITERSWEEKLY RESPONDS

Hi Don,

This is a quote from your June 2nd email to [AB] :
"OK: 40 cents, with a raise to 50 next time."

You never lowered her rate after giving her the raise.

It is our opinion, and will most certainly be the opinion of our readers, that you owe her the 50 cents/word rate for all articles after the first one.

A style guide is not a contract. Your email offering a raise to 50 cents/word would be considered a binding contract. What you offered [AB] has nothing at all to do with other writers who work for you. You offered her 50 cents/word so that's what you owe her. When can she expect payment of the balance owed?

Angela Hoy
WritersWeekly.com

~~~~~

PUBLISHER RESPONDS

Subject: RE: FW: COMPLAINT about Northwest Publishing Center
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:20:58 -0700
From: editor <editor@pacificfishing.com>

I do not intend to get into a transcontinental argument. We paid [AB] what
we promised to pay her. For some assignments, she received 50 cents a word.
For others, she received 40 cents a word -- and she didn't object to the pay
rate at the time. Don McManman