I’ve never been too concerned with business dealings in California, until now.

Thanks, Lenny.

On Tuesday, July 7, 2009, former Mets and Phillies outfielder-cum-stock tout Lenny Dykstra went Chapter 11 with a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Central District of California. I freelanced for Dykstra’s Player’s Club magazine, which was being published by my former employer, recently defunct Doubledown Media.

Dykstra leapfrogged the publication from publisher to publisher, leaving tremendous unsettled debt in his wake. Ironically, the goal of the magazine was to provide investing and spending advice to well-off athletes, teaching them about finance so they didn’t end up like, well, Lenny Dykstra.

As I know it, many freelancers were never compensated for their contributions to Player’s Club magazine. And after reading the coverage on Dykstra’s amassing failures, (ESPN’s “Dykstra’s business: a bed of ‘Nails’”, and ESPN’s “Dykstra files for Chapter 11”), I’m quite positive the list of creditors owed outnumbers Mets fans. Now I’m just another guy in line who may never see nary a penny on the dollar from “Nails.”

It sucks to realize that you will never be compensated for completed work. As a freelance writer, in both good economic times and bad, this is one of the pitfalls of the game. You constantly need to take precautions, establishing a written contract for every piece you produce in the event you need to prove a claim for debts owed. You hope it never comes to that, but anything can happen -- and with everyone tightening their belts in an uncertain economy, it’s more cutthroat than usual.

And you never know when Donnie “No Dimes” is signing on the dotted line. If your client displays the following traits you may want to reconsider agreeing to the contract:

• Insatiable appetite for business deals and debt
• Offers to pay you in trade or merchandise as oppose to straight money
• Unexpectedly moves the deadline on you
• Seems far too disorganized to possibly maintain sound financial practices

Every industry is different and I’m sure the tell-tale signs of a deadbeat client vary as well. But, be sure to ask around so you don’t end up like me.

Have you ever been in a similar position?