Contract template for copywriters

Copy disputes are rarely about the writing itself. They are about the process: the client keeps sending edits, a new stakeholder rewrites the approved draft and wants it fixed, the project is shelved and nobody pays for the work done. A contract that defines rounds, approvals and a kill fee covers most of that.

There are also two practical risks for the writer. Usage: copy written for a website ends up in a national print campaign. And claims: you write what the client told you about their product, and the client is responsible for whether it is true. Both are one clause each.

Clauses specific to copywriters

• Edit rounds. The fee includes the number of edit rounds stated in the quote. An edit round is one consolidated set of comments from the client. Further rounds are billed at the stated rate.
• Approvals. The client names one person who gives consolidated feedback and approves the copy. Changes requested after approval are new work.
• Kill fee. If the client cancels after the brief is approved, it pays for the work completed, and no less than the kill fee in the quote.
• Usage rights. On full payment the client may use the copy for the channels listed in the quote. Wider use, or use by other companies, requires agreement and may carry an extra fee.
• Accuracy of claims. The client is responsible for checking that product claims, prices and legal statements in the copy are accurate and allowed before publishing.
• Credit and portfolio. The copywriter may show the work in a portfolio once it is published, unless the client asks for the work to remain uncredited.

The clauses every freelance contract needs

• Parties. Who the agreement is between: your legal name or business, the client's legal entity, and the addresses of both.
• Scope of work. What you will deliver, in what form, and what is explicitly not included. Refer to the quote or proposal by number if it lists the details.
• Fees and payment terms. The total fee or rate, the currency, any deposit, when invoices are issued and how many days the client has to pay.
• Late payment. What happens when an invoice is late: interest or a fixed fee if you want one, and your right to pause work until the account is settled.
• Changes and revisions. How many revision rounds are included, what counts as a change of scope, and how extra work is priced and approved.
• Timeline and client delays. Key dates, and that deadlines move when the client is late with feedback, content or approvals.
• Ownership and licence. Who owns the finished work and when (usually on full payment), what the client may use it for, and what you keep, such as your tools, templates and know-how.
• Confidentiality. Both sides keep the other's non-public information private, during the project and after it.
• Cancellation. How either side can end the agreement, the notice required, and payment for work done up to that point.
• Liability. A cap on what either side can claim, often the fees paid under the agreement, and no liability for indirect losses.
• Governing law. Which country's law applies and where disputes are heard. Usually where you are based.

A plain-language sample

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and cut what doesn't apply. Shorter is fine as long as the scope, the money and the rights are clear.

Questions copywriters ask

Also for copywriters: invoice template and quote template. Contract templates for related trades: content writers, marketing consultants, translators, graphic designers. Or browse all contract templates.