Freelance Writers: How to Determine When to Send a Rate Quote 
Requested by Potential Clients
Part II of II
by Yuwanda Black
[Want to start a successful career as a freelance writer? Click here.]

In Friday’s post, I talked about how to handle the “How much do you charge?” question from clients. Novelist Misti Sandefur sent in two questions that post. I addressed the second question in yesterday’s post. Here’s the answer to the first one.

Question: If you could do another post about what you should say in your proposal, and even include an example of a proposal, that would be great (I learn best from seeing examples).
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Answer: I hate to sound repetitive Misti, but the answer once again is -- it depends.

Freelance writing encompasses so many different types of projects across so many different fields, that it’s impossible to give a “one size fits all” answer to this question.

So, I’ll give you some general rules to follow, and provide a link to a sample contract.

Guidelines for Preparing a Freelance Writing Contract

1. Cover the Biggies: What I mean by this is, the parameters of the project. Eg, the writing, editing, word processing, content development, etc.

This can go in a “catch all” paragraph entitled “Parameters of Project.” Eg:

Parameters of Project

Eg, XYZ Corporation contracts with Misti Sandefur Writing Services (MSWS) to provide 12 SEO articles for its website, XYZCorp.com. Articles are to be submitted according to XYZ’s company style guide, which is online at XYZCorp.com/styleguide.

Length: Articles are to be 300-500 words long with a keyword density of at least 3%.

Due Date: December 15^th, 2007 (provided all elements are received from XYZ Corp by November 15^th (eg, style guide, samples articles, and topics).

2. Changes: After parameters of project, this is perhaps the most important part of the contract for freelancers. Why? Because this is where you can lose any profit associated with the project.

Without clearly defined guidelines here, clients can literally work you to death – and still not be happy. Depending on the project, I usually allow clients two revisions. I rarely do more than this without additional compensation.

Usually, when you have to do more than two sets of revisions, it’s because you weren’t thorough enough in your questions before you took on the project. To avoid this, heed the following.

Tips for Making This Section Work in Your Favor

i) Pre-interview: As alluded to above, during the pre-interview/intake sessions with clients, ask a lot of question. Let clients know that you like to be very thorough up front so that you can avoid confusion and unhappiness later on.

Most will thank you for it. This leads me to my next tip …

ii) Study client responses: If you run across a client who doesn’t take to kindly to giving you what you need up front, watch out. This is a sign of someone who may be difficult to work with and hard to please.

It’s their project. So, if they’re not willing to help you get a clear vision of what they’re after, it may be because a) they don’t know themselves; and/or b) they want to see what you come up with and then revise, revise, revise until it fits a vision in their head (which they didn’t have until you presented them with some options).

With that in mind, you may want to …

iii) Turn down work: Why? As outlined in this article, some clients cost you money. This is not the type of client you want to work with. So, it’s better to pass on them now than deal with the headache later.

iv) Clearly define terms: So that there is no confusion, be very concise as to the circumstances under which you will make changes.

In my case, for example, I offer two sets. My reasoning is, as freelance writing is a creative field, it’s rare that you will nail a project exactly the first time. Even if it’s just a few words or sentences, most clients are going to want to make some changes the first time they see your copy.

The second set of changes I reserve for “just in case” changes, eg, I forgot to add this, the price changed, we no longer offer this feature, etc. While at first glance these may seem like things the client should have told you up front, no one is perfect and, perhaps, it’s your client’s client who changed the game plan.

I allow for this. This illustrates to clients that you’re easy to work with, but within reason.

3. Fee: Again, you want to clearly define how you are to be paid, eg, by the word, the article, the hour, the project, etc. No double entendres here – be very concise.

4. Legal Language: This section usually covers the legal mumbo jumbo, eg, confidentiality agreement, penalty for plagiarism, cancellation fee, etc. See the link below in the sample contract for wording (refer to the “Works” and “Confidentiality” sections).

As the sample freelance contract referenced here illustrates, some contracts have “Cancellation” and “Client Approval” sections.

I usually don’t have a need for these sections, as I don’t do magazine writing. My client base is small business owners, so when they contract me for a project, there is no “kill/cancellation fee.” I add a phrase in the legal language section of my contract that says, “Upon signature by both parties, contract is binding as outlined in the “Parameters of Project” section.

Some other sections you might want to add: “Usage”; “Copyright Ownership”.

Contract Writing Tip: Contracts are not as hard to write as most people think. All you have to do to write an effective one is cover what you say you’re going to do. Write all of this down on paper, then, to “pretty it up” so it looks all legal and binding, break it up into sections.

I always think of Judge Judy when I’m writing a contract. If I were to go in front of her, what would she look for my contract to say so that she could make a ruling in my favor?

If you keep these simple tips in mind, you should be able to craft two or three contracts that work for your business for years to come.

Sample contract referred to throughout this article.
Note: To read Part I of this article, click here.

Sincerely,
Yuwanda Black, Publisher
http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/
http://www.inkwelleditorial.blogspot.com/
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Copyright Notice: May be reprinted with the following, in full: Yuwanda Black is the publisher of InkwellEditorial.com: THE business portal for and about the editorial and creative industries. Freelance success stories, e-courses, advice on the business of freelancing, and more! Get the e-report, How to Make $100/Day as a Freelance Writer -- free! Log on to http://www.freelancewritingwebsite.com/ for details.
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Originally posted on 10/30/07

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