Should I ask my boss for more money?

[Felicia]

I work from home for a woman who does appraisals of fine arts, jewelry, antiques, etc. She faxes to me, I type, she corrects, then I email to her. She pays me by the hour. This is a wonderful arrangement since I do it at night when the kiddies are sleeping.

ANYWAY...now she is writing a book and had asked me to type it, which I did. She is constantly making corrections and adding new chapters. She plans on finding a publisher soon.

My arrangement with her was to type appraisals. That was it. Every now and then she would ask me to type a personal letter and I did with no problem. My question: Regarding the book, should I ask for more money to continue typing/correcting? Not trying to be too greedy, but what if this book should become a best seller? I will not even be mentioned as the "typing committee"! I'm I being petty? What would you do? (THis is a woman who, at this very moment, is "holding back" my last month's check because rolodex cards I mailed to her - have not arrived and must have been lost in the mail. I am now being penalized for something that the US Postal Service has done!)

 

[Serena]

My thoughts are to find a lawyer. You need to be paid for your work and I'm sure you would like a percentage of the proceeds of her book should it make her millions of dollars. And if she is that petty that she isn't paying you what she owes you because the postal service is slow, then I'd be very careful how you deal with her.

good luck

 

[lisajl]

I agree! There is something wrong with the..."holding my paycheck" thing. You did the work...you get paid for the work.

Lisajl

 

[janette]

What input did you have in the book? If your only input has been the typing than I don't know that I'd ask for more based on the sale of the book.

If you are basically a contractor than you can raise your price, just tell her that your hourly fee has gone up. Are your prepared if she decides to go elsewhere?

Withholding the check is wrong, you can complain to the labor board and possibly get restitution. If this is a problem charge her more for postage and send it with a shipper that will provide tracking and receipt. That way you have proof of where it went.