I've been conned by my manager!?

Question

I've been working for almost one year at a publishing company in charge of a new book. I was talked into writing AND editing the entire book without any help whatsoever, even doing thousands of small things for free. The manager promised me at the very beginning to make my title "Managing Editor" and to pay me a certain amount of money. After finishing all my work perfectly (according to everyone in the company) he created a personal problem with me and claimed I insulted him (which is NOT true) and now I've found out that after writing the entire book he won't mention my name at all (will put the name of one of his friends instead, someone who doesn't even work in the company) and refuses to give me my money! Unfirtutanely, I'm a freelancer so I don't have a contract; I only have all the files and some emails from him as proof of my work.

I feel so cheated and wronged I've been crying for a week. I've done my best and more for this company so why is this guy treating me like this?

Answer 1

I see two possible solutions for your problem, although I cannot say whether any of them would really work in this particular case. But you can still consider them.
One is already mentioned legal action. I would just emphasize that you have not only the proof of your work, but obviously witnesses as well (as you said that you did your job perfectly according to everyone in the company), which means that you should win the case with no problem. The only problem would be if those people wouldn't be willing to testify against the manager, although I believe they wouldn't have a choice when you already have some proofs. And if you even have some mails from some of them, even better! Also, only a treat by a lawyer (as said above) might work.
The other way is to write a letter to some newspaper and tell your story. You could tell the manager that you are going to do that if he doesn't fulfill his part of the deal. But you have to be careful here, if he is really mean, he could accuse you for blackmailing him. But you might try something else... If you still have any contact with any of the people working in the company, you could tell them that you intend to do such a thing. Of course, you should choose somebody who you suppose will tell the manager about your intentions. Or you could even try to reach some journalist, if possible a famous and an influential one, and tell him or her your story. The journalist could go to the manager and ask him about the case. Now, it is up to you to think if anything of this could harm you in any way.
As far as I know people, a man like that must be actually a big coward, which means that if you manifest determination and strength, he will eventually stand back. But, again, it is up to you to consider all the aspects and decide.
If nothing works and the story has a bad ending, try to keep in mind that all your work still had some effect. I suppose it was a great experience for you, you learnt something by working on it, you were practicing your skills... I know it is much less than you expected and than you deserve, but at least it is still something, isn't it? But don't give up before you consider all the options.
Good luck
P.S. If you choose to contact a journalist... If you know somebody, perfect! If you don't, don't hesitate to get somebody on the phone. Just call the office, introduce yourself as a writer (not a reader, introduce yourself by your title) and ask for a specific journalist by his or her name. People don't do such things so often and when somebody does something like that, it usually works (at least according to my experience). When you get the journalist, tell him/her that you have a great story for him/her...
WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have another idea, I don't know if it can work or not but here it is... You said that you did all the writing and editing without anyone's help. You also said that you have all your files. So, you have all your work. Why don't you offer your work to some other company? Of course, you should tell them the whole story, but you could offer them to publish your work for free, but to write your name. I suppose you would find some company that would accept it. And I believe that you have all rights to do that (I don't mean ethic, it is out of the question, but legal). It is your work and not his (or of the company), so you (should) have the rights for publishing and they don't have any rights as long as they don't pay you! I think it is even the case if they told you what to do, although I am not sure about that, but if that is the case, you can check. But if you intend to try something about this, then hurry up, before they publish the book.
I really hope you will manage to win this battle. I write stuff myself, so I can understand how you feel.

Answer 2

I know it hurts to feel betrayed and taken advantage of after working so hard.
You'll either have to let it go and chalk it up to a learning experience or you can call a lawyer and sue him. I would only do the latter if you really have the evidence to back your case, such as emails, letters, witnesses to his promises to you. You could also consider just having a lawyer write him a nasty letter threatening to sue and that may be enough to turn him around. If you do decide to get litigious, you could hurt your career more than it's worth.
My advice would be to meet with the manager, try to clear the air and be the better person. Try to at least get a good reference out of him. The experience you gained from this project is valuable and will look great on your resume.
The last thing you want to do is be emotional over the situation as it will just cause everyone to think that you are irrational and not a professional.

Answer 3

I am soo sorry about what you are being put thru. Why ARE people like that? He did worse than not only insult you but also abused you. Wow! I don't know if you can financially take such a blow... if you can & can find someone else to work for, let it go. If not, I hope you can find an unbiased attorney in the area who will bring justice. Again, if you can financially turn your cheek, do so. Crying is cleansing, you'll recoup. Sadly, many people get jaded. Just don't let it change you. Keep being a good, caring, giving person, continue to do your best & you'll have something to feel good about in the midst of others making you feel bad.
Take Care & Best Wishes. {hugs}

Edit add:
I can sympathize with you and Lady Heart. I'm really not in your shoes & don't know all the details so it's hard to judge what you really need to do. I don't know if you should go ahead & publish what you wrote. Especially, if you won't be getting money for it & can soak it up as lessons learned. If you can't afford to do charity work, then try to get things in writing. Although, there is something to verbal contracts, too. (If you will financially by broke by this, seek legal advice.) I guess it would be easier to look past his jilting you if he hadn't slandered you to do so. You could look past it & just be happy with the satisfaction of the good work & help you did. And keeping a good attitude may win him over eventually... but if he now has it out for you... that's a hard one. Maybe you can have a heart to heart with him and say you disagree with him saying you insulted him. How could you tactifully bring it to his attention & say that feeling insulted can go both ways. It doesn't always have to be verbal in order to insult someone, etc. Then leave it at that. But if you really can't let it go & want some sort of recognition for your work, ask him if you can come to some sort of agreement on letting you have some credit for the work he knows you have done. You could tactifully point out to him that regardless of him saying you insulted him, how does that null & void all the work you did? For conscience's sake, he should know the "he did this & you did that stuff." Sounds like you like doing your job or else you wouldn't have put your all in it. So, I hope you can work it out. I hope you are doing okay financially & will be okay. I hope for a happy, peaceful smoothing over for you. ~which sounds like would take a change of heart by your manager. {hug!} Hope we get a good update from you later, on the "add details" to this question!

Answer 4

I've been through that with so many companies they see your driven full of energy because you think I got a great job I'll bust my butt and then they dump you. I just started a job an, got injured and can't work for another two months I made the mistake of not calling for an ambulance, he took me to the hospital complaining how slow I was and it was my fault for the accident then never bothered with me after the hospital visit i saved him thousands in fines from the ministry of labour.Like a friend said it's commerce not personal you were making money for him for free.

Answer 5

professionals - slightly extra funds. delegate ugly projects to others. extra accountability. purely taking orders from company place of work/ extra efficient. Cons - dealing with young ones/ young ones who do no longer opt for to paintings or do no longer understand the thanks to do something. lengthy/ loopy hours. consistently on call. if an emergency comes up, your stuck with it (even on your day off). dealing with a possibility robbery. dealing with unhappy workers/ clients and coverage differences. defective kit/ application. stuck with each of the cleansing if no one exhibits as a lot as help. for sure this can all be a round of undesirable luck.

Answer 6

Print out your emails and gather any evidence you can and take it to a lawyer. Preferbly one who deals with job claims. The lawyer should be able to tell you if you have a case.