Once upon a time, there was a young writer who got her first freelancing gig. She was so excited because she realized that she was now her own boss. Verbally, Company X said that they would pay her this much, and that they would promptly pay after she wrote the proposal. Without a contract, the young writer got started. She worked hard to produce the best proposal for Company X. She turned it in and waited for feedback.

Company X said that the proposal had been rated “Exceptional” by the government agency, and that they were very thankful for her hard work. The young writer waited and waited for her compensation, and nothing. After a few weeks, she emailed asking when her fee would be paid. Company X responded that they didn’t owe her anything and that there was no written contract.

The young writer cried and vowed that she would never go hungry again.
Ok, the last part was a little dramatic (I love Gone with the Wind), but the rest is practically one of my first experiences as a freelance writer. After that, I read many books, articles, and blog posts from seasoned freelancers on the best terms and conditions to set in place before starting to work on any project.

Establish Your Fees and Payment Structure

I quickly established my fees, and created a contract that protected both the client and me. Some freelancers work hourly, and others have an hourly rate and figure out a flat fee. I usually take the latter approach. However, I’ve come to realize that sometimes for clients who are not 100% sure as to what their needs are and keep changing the scope, an hourly rate is probably best.

Talking to my freelancing friends, some of them ask for 25% – 50% up front. It is rare, unless the person is desperate that he/she will do the work without something up front. However, the norm is that freelancers need to protect themselves, and so they will not start work until you have paid some of your agreed fee. Kelly Cutrone, who I absolutely adored, even wrote about it in her book “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside.” She says that she practically asks for 50% up front.

Holding the Legal Rights to Your Work Til Paid in Full

Talking about Kelly again, she says that she holds the wardrobe until the designers pay her. Of course, in writing, you don’t have something like that to hold. However, you can hold the rights to the intellectual property of the documentation you have written. This means that you give the written pieces to the client, but you hold the legal rights to them. Many freelancers do it because if they didn’t, clients could just do what Company X did.

Revisions is Not a Catch-All

Another thing that I am very particular about is revisions. If you don’t specify what revisions mean to you, a client can return with “You wrote this proposal for me, and I need for you to “revise” it to respond to this RFP. It’s covered, right? Actually no. This would be considered a new project. RFPs will sometimes change the proposal structure completely. Freelancers will have to do the same amount of work, or even more, as they did for the first proposal.

All You Have to Do is Ask (In a Nice Way)

If a client had an issue with one of my terms and wanted to compromise, then more than likely, I will do it as long as I don’t get the short end of the stick. Just ask. It’s like one of my freelance buddies said, “People want free stuff, and get upset when you have to get paid as well.” Don’t assume I am being unreasonable. I doubt that you would be doing anything for free, so why expect it from someone else? This is one of the reasons that I stopped offering writing services because usually documentation is the last thing that people want to pay for.

Don’t Go Out of Your Comfort Zone

Even if you need the work, you have to think about your comfort level. There are all types of personalities out there, and there might b e a couple that you can’t work with. You shouldn’t have to. This is the beauty of working on your own. If a client makes you feel uncomfortable, you need to reevaluate the relationship.

Freelancing can be a rewarding experience. However, if it isn’t, then you need to really think about how you can turn it around. Don’t sell yourself short.

Written by: Shevonne on March 14, 2011.
Last revised by: Shevonne on April 5, 2011.

Tags: freelance contract, protecting yourself in freelancing, writer contract, writer intellectual property