Legal coverage for freelance

copywriter

AGONY ANT :

Q: “What legal forms (e.g. retainers, contracts)

do freelance copywriters need?” – Brittany, USA

I think it’s fair to say that many of us don’t bother too much with

freelance contracts because they’re just so pleased to get the work

and don’t want to complicate things. But, as a freelancer, you are a

small business and should be entitled to the legal protection that

any other company enjoys. And, given the often precarious nature

of a freelancer’s finances, it makes very good sense to protect

yourself from unscrupulous

( non-paying) clients.

This is the first in a series of articles where we answer readers’ questions about freelancing. If you’ve got a question please send it to us and we’ll do our best to reply.

Perhaps for small, one off, ad-hoc jobs you’ll do the work on the

fly because it’s simply not worth the bother to draw up a contract.

But for those jobs where you are investing a lot of your valuable

time and effort on behalf of a client who you don’t know well it

would be crazy not to.

Similarly with a retainer: often there’s no need but sometimes it is actually beneficial to both you and the client to

formalise a working arrangement as a way of clarifying each other’s expectations while delivering financial benefits to

both parties at the same time.

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WHAT IS A CONTRACT?A contract is basically a way of putting in black and white what you are

going to do, when and for how much. But it’s more than that. It also

sets down your expectations of the client – what does s/he need to do

or provide for you to complete the work? And what happens if they

don’t fulfil their side of the bargain?

Generally there are seven parts to a contract:

Description of the job (the brief)

Here you detail all the basics of what the job is about. Most

importantly you need to define what ‘completion’ means so that the

client can’t drag a project out endlessly. Clearly outline how many

revision stages there will be before you start charging extra.

Timings

Put down not only the final deadline but also key milestones during a

project such as first, second and final drafts. Also highlight what the

client is obliged to provide at key stages – and what will happen if

they don’t deliver on time. Basically, if they don’t give you the

reference materials (or whatever) they promised on time then you

won’t be able to deliver the final draft on time.

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Money issues

Here you need to set out how much you’re being paid, when

you’ll be paid and how. It might be an hourly rate or, more

likely for a big project, a fixed fee. It’s standard practice to

have a deposit paid at the beginning of a job which commits

both parties to its completion. And then state exactly when

final payment should be made (e.g. on approval of final

draft). The ‘how’ means will it be paid direct to your bank

account (hopefully!) but also, in some cases, which currency

it will be paid in. As with timings, you should state clearly

what the consequences will be if the agreed payments are

not made.

Delivery details

This isn’t so much ‘where to deliver to’ (although that’s

important!) but what exactly should be delivered and how.

Specifically what file format should the job be provided in,

e.g. Word, pdf, XML, etc.

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Copyright protection

Make it clear that your work is yours until it’s been

paid for.

Signatures

Obvious but worth mentioning, both you and the

client need to sign and date the documents – one

for you and one for them. Ideally, each page should

be initialed as well to make it that little bit more

watertight.

Cancellation clause (‘kill clause’)

This is so important! What happens if the client pulls the plug

on the job half way through? You need to include a ‘kill

clause’ stating a fixed fee that will be payable in this

situation. The standard amount is 25% but you may want to

have a graded tariff depending on how near the project is to

completion at the time of cancellation.

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The pros are:

THE PROS AND CONS OF A CONTRACT: LEGAL COVERAGE FOR FREELANCE COPYWRITERS

• It brings clarity to a project and cuts out unnecessary

misunderstandings. It clarifies expectations on

both sides and will help avoid disputes at a later date.

• It provides legal protection to you both. In the event

of a dispute you have something in writing that

clearly sets out the terms of your relationship.

• It gives you control by preventing projects ballooning

out of control. In wars it’s called ‘mission creep’,

in advertising ‘project creep’ as the client tries to

add more and more things that weren’t there at

the outset.

• It makes you look good if you have a professional

looking contract and inspires confidence in the

client that you’re going to do a good job.

 

And the cons?

• Hassle. It can be a bit of a faff to put one together and

may not be suitable for very small jobs or for a job with

a client you know and trust.

• Occasionally a client might say No when asked to sign

a contract. They’re probably the type of client you

should avoid anyway!

• It may cause a slight delay to the beginning of a

project while you’re waiting for signatures. Then again,

it could save so much time and heartache in the long run.

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• It gives you some financial security. Being able to count on a fixed

amount of money coming in every month smooths out some of the ups

and downs of a freelancer’s finances.

• Under the terms of some retainer agreements you could even

  get paid for doing nothing. It might be worth it to the client

just knowing that you’re available at the drop of a hat even if they

don’t actually use you every month. Sweet.

• It helps you to plan better. Knowing that you have so many hours

each month for a particular client means you can allocate the rest

of your time more efficiently.

 

WHAT IS A RETAINER?

If you do the same kind of work repeatedly for the same client – such as writing for a newsletter or blog – a retainer might make sense for both you and your client. The client agrees to pay you a fixed fee each month for an defined amount of work (e.g. “write six articles” or something). Generally that fee is paid up front, at the beginning of the month. A retainer might also put you ‘on standby’ for a client so that s/he can always count on your availability for a certain number of hours each month. So, if and when they call you should be willing to drop everything to help them out.

THE PROS AND CONS OF RETAINERS

THE PROS

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THE CON

• It can also be a way of ‘up-selling’ yourself. Once you get a portion of guaranteed work think of ways that you could

add

further value for the client. If the original job was writing articles for a blog you could move up the value chain by offering

to put the newsletter on line for them each month, respond to reader comments or become an editor who commissions

articles from outside.

• It’s good for the client as well, by the way. In return for the guaranteed work you might offer them a reduced rate.

And they also get the benefit of a responsive service and the peace of mind that you are always there for them.

 

• The retainer ties you down because

you always have to be available for the

client. Even if you get a big project in or

you’re suddenly swamped with work you

still must find time to meet your

obligations each month. And if you’re

thinking of swanning off on holiday on a

whim remember that you will still have to

do what you promised to do.

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Have you got any questions you’d like Agony Ant to

take a look at? Please just write your question below.

Most importantly you need

to define exactly what you’re

offering. It should be

absolutely clear what you

are and what you’re not

offering for that fixed fee.

WHAT TO THINK ABOUT WHEN DRAWING UP A RETAINER

You could also draw up a price list of options for your

client. Above all, put everything down in writing. As with

the contract you need to cover things like: payments, key

dates, the nature of work required, what you expect from

the client and how to end the agreement. Best to make

the retainer valid for a year at a time and then you can

always review your prices annually.

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THANK YOU

www.beacopywriter.org