Writing guide
How to check a freelance writing contract
Rights, payment terms, revisions and kill fees - what to read before you sign.
Most freelance disputes are not caused by bad clients - they are caused by unsigned expectations.
The five clauses that matter. Scope (what exactly you deliver), rights (what they may do with it), payment (how much, when, and what happens when they are late), revisions (how many, and what counts as one), and kill fees (what you are paid if the project dies mid-flight).
Rights follow money. Full buyouts cost multiples of one-time usage. If a client wants exclusive, perpetual, worldwide rights, the fee should say so. First rights only is the norm for articles.
Payment and late terms. Net 30 is standard; anything past it earns a polite late fee. A contract that says nothing about late payment is a contract that quietly promises you will wait for free.
Revisions and kill fees. One or two revision rounds, defined as comments on the delivered draft - not rewrites after new stakeholders appear. A kill fee of 30-50 percent on cancelled work is normal and fair.
When there is no contract. The email thread where they agreed the fee, the length and the deadline IS your paper trail. Put it in one reply: “Confirming: 1,200 words, X dollars, delivery Friday, one revision round.”
BRYME’s agreement builder generates a clean starting contract in your browser - fill the fields, review the clauses above, and send.
This is the short version. The full guide: writing contracts - what to check goes further: rates, where to look, and what to do after the first yes.