SAMPLE LETTER
OF AGREEMENT
The following memo constitutes a proposal to serve you
as a writing consultant—specifically to write
and edit a nine-page article. The project will include
some of the following activities:
• Develop an outline.
• Confer with authors by telephone.
• Confer with publication editor.
• Develop article draft.
• Process rewrites based on corrections of client
and editor.
FEE: My fee for this service is estimated to be ____________at
the rate of _________per hour or a guaranteed maximum
price of ________.
ESTIMATED COSTS OF FEES AND EXPENSES
Please note that this figure is not a quote. Rather,
it is an estimate of what I believe the job will take
given the information you’ve already provided.
If more work is involved, the actual price will be
higher. If less work is involved, the actual price
will be lower. I will, however, inform you of any change
that exceeds 10 percent.
Please note that these fees are unrelated to the acceptance
of an outline or article. In the event that an editor
has no interest in the outline as developed, I will bill
for the hours involved in creating the outline. However,
if you choose to move ahead with the development of the
complete article, I will bill for both the outline and
the article.
Terms: If any phase of this assignment is delayed for
longer than 60 days, I will bill for work completed.
If this proposal meets with your approval, please indicate
your changes and fax a copy to me. I will then provide
you with originals. All invoices will be payable with
three weeks of receipt. Interest of 1.5 percent per month
is charge to past-due accounts.
Approved:___________________________
Date:________________________________
SAMPLE CONTRACT
Agreement by and between CLIENT with offices in ______________, represented by
_____________________ and CONTRACTOR.
SCOPE OF AGREEMENT
CONTRACTOR shall provide research, interview, writing,
editing and copyediting services to CLIENT to facilitate
the development of an e-newsletter. This
includes interviewing and conferring with sources prior to writing, editing and
rewriting of copy, integrating sources’ feedback,
and making final corrections.
COMPENSATION
Invoices will submitted every two weeks or upon completion of newsletter copy.
CONTRACTOR also agrees to provide CLIENT with regular progress reports concerning
the number of hours worked. CONTRCTOR will request approval before completing
further editing or rewriting of copy
CLIENT will pay CONTRACTOR within ____of submission of
an invoice, assuming that completed copy has been received
by the mutually agreed upon deadlines. CLIENT shall pay
CONTRACTOR at the rate of _______per hour for research,
writing, editing, processing sources’ corrections
and feedback, and performing other assignments, including,
but not limited to, telephone research, development of
media lists and article development.
CLIENT shall reimburse CONTRACTOR for all appropriate expenses, including telephone,
publications or source material, and limited secretarial support. CONTRACTOR
agrees to request prior approval of any extraordinary expenses.
APPROVAL PROCESS
CLIENT shall review all work submitted under this agreement. CLIENT
has the final authority with respect to all work under
this agreement and may terminate the agreement prior
to the submission of author-approved copy if CLIENT deems
that progress on the project is unacceptable.
OWNERSHIP RIGHTS
All materials under this agreement shall become and remain
the sole and exclusive property of the CLIENT. Upon
termination of the agreement, CONTRACTOR shall return
all materials, including drafts and notes, to CLIENT.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Contractor acknowledges that all information concerning the work of CLIENT, including,
but not limited to, proposed, revised and final work is confidential information
and agrees to hold such information in strict confidence and agrees not to provide,
disclose or otherwise make available any such information to any third party
without written permission of the CLIENT.
INDEMNIFICATION
CLIENT assumes entire responsibility and hereby agrees
to protect, indemnify, defend and save the CONTRACTOR
harmless against all liabilities, claims, causes or action,
and losses and damages to persons or property, including
expenses and attorneys’ fees, arising out of or
caused by CONTRACTOR.
DURATION/CANCELLATION
This agreement will commence on _________________and
terminate ___________, or at such time when final copy
is submitted to CLIENT. CLIENT agrees to
compensate CONTRACTOR for all writing or editing services
completed prior to the signing of this agreement.
This agreement may be terminated by either party within 30 days with written
notice,
GOVERNING LAW
This agreement is governed by the laws of the state of
Illinois. In WITNESS
Whereof, the parties have executed this agreement.
HOW
TO ASSESS AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL
Following are only some of the questions you’ll
want to ask colleagues and contacts in evaluating the
past performance of an independent communications professional:
General Effectiveness: In what areas does this
person excel/? What are her greatest strengths? Of
the independent communications professionals you’ve
worked with in the past, how would you rate this person?
Professionalism: Did the person’s behavior
ad work reflect the personality and values of your organization? Was
the person willing to take risks and express difficult
or controversy opinions? Did the individual perform
well against a predetermined timetable or schedule? Did
she meet all deadlines?
Results: Did the person’s work live up to
expectations? What the copy effective? Were
others in your organization pleased with the results? Would
you hire this person to perform other assignments?
Communications: Did the communications professional
keep you informed throughout the development process? Did
she return phone calls and e-mails? Was she
clear on what she needed from you? Did she offer
constructive criticism on how to improve copy quality
or enhance the writing process? Overall, did you
find the relationship comfortable and productive?
Costs: Did the total costs of the assignment fall
within the estimated range, or were there extra costs? Were
out-of-pocket expenses in line with the scope of the
assignment? Were fees reasonable and justified
given the quality of final copy?
TIPS FOR WORKING
WITH AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL
Make meetings matter. Schedule regular phone, Web
or face-to-face meetings. Plan to consult with
your communications advisor at least once a week. Develop
an agenda for each work meeting, including time restrictions
and objectives.
Look for progress. Set up a mechanism for progress
reports. Such reports will help you ask pointed questions
about what was accomplished, as well as how it was accomplished.
Share the knowledge. Keep your independent communications
professional informed and up to date. Let her know about
booked speeches and presentations client success stories,
and new and emerging trends and challenges in your industry,
discipline or profession.
Pass it on. If your independent communication professional
works outside of your industry, be sure to provide her
with copies of articles written by industry experts or
competitors. Forward relevant e-mails and URLs of Web
sites.
Ask questions. Be candid if you have questions
about the quality of work being done, or if you don’t
understanding how a project is being executed.
Turn to the team. Develop a project team to review
all communications materials produced by your independent
communications professional. Include colleagues
as well as individuals who might ultimately read or access
the materials.
Start with a plan. Create a detailed, but flexible
media relations, promotion or communications plan. This
plan should include goals and objectives, as well as
deadlines for research, writing, editing, approvals,
production and dissemination.
Get it together. Work with your independent communications
professionals to develop consensus on topics such as
purpose, structure, format, language, tone and style. See
the Process of Developing Communications Materials under
the Resources section of this Web site.
THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING COMMUNICATIONS
MATERIALS
Joyce Flory develops articles, brochures, Web sites,
speeches, presentations and white papers by interviewing
her clients and focusing on these questions:
FOCUS: What is the central issue, theme, topic
or focus? What are the lessons learned from previously
developed materials in the same category? Are there
problems or pitfalls you want to avoid?
PURPOSE: What is the purpose or objective or the
material? What will readers know or be able to
do after reviewing the material?
AUDIENCE: Who is this material for? Who is
the typical or most probably reader or user? Do
you want this material to be shared with other parties? If
so, with whom? What content strategies can be used
to enhance visibility or pass-a-long value?
CONTRIBUTION: How does this material represent
a contribution to the profession and industry? How
does it compare with other materials in the same category? What
is its significance? What are its hoped-for benefits
and advantages?
PHILOSOPHY AND ATTITUDE: Does the material need
to meet specific criteria? How do you want readers
to describe the material after they’ve finished
reviewing it? Practical? Accessible? Strategic? Different?
Unique? Future oriented? Useful?
CAREER ORIENTATION: Will the material offer any
recommendations for career success—either in terms
of moving into hot areas or maximizing opportunities?
SCOPE: What is the scope of the material? What
will it cover? What is its proposed length in terms
of word count or number of double-spaced typed pages?
TIME ORIENTATION: Will this material provide short-term
direction or long-term strategic advice? How far
out do you want to go? When do you expect to do
a follow-up piece?
MULTIPLE USES: To what extent could this material
be used with other audiences or within other publications?
How could the content be converted into a speech or a
speech or convention presentation? Could it be
expanded into a more extensive white paper or special
report?
FEATURES AND SUCCESS FACTORS: What are the material’s
unique features? What will make it unique and different
from materials in the same category? Quotes or
case examples from people in the field? Biographical
profiles of executives who illustrate principles? Interviews
with experts. Research findings? Practical
assessment tools? Lists of resources and directories? Charts
and graphs?
STYLE AND LANGUAGE: What is the preferred tone and style
of the article?
EXPERTS AND SOURCES: Will there be a panel of experts
to provide input and serve as sources? How will
these sources be selected and approved?
BUSINESS FOCUS: To what extent will this article
use information from other industri4es? Is so,
what industries? What business leaders?
APPROVAL PROCESS/ TIMEFRAMES: What is the approval
process? What is the schedule and timeline for
this project?
PROMOTION: How and where will this material be
announced? For example, will a press release
be developed? Who will assume responsibility for
promotion?
APPEARANCE: What will the material look and feel
like? What’s the prototype?
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