Introduction

Reprinted with permission from INTERCOM, the magazine of the Society for Technical Communication. Arlington, VA USA.

Experienced independents always advise “newbies” to have an agreement in writing before starting any paying project. What kind of written agreement with your customers do you need before you begin a new project? Most of the time, two documents will do the trick:

A contract that defines standard conditions that don’t change very often, such as your general fees and expenses policy, your commitment to confidentiality, your project cancellation standard, and your requirement for one customer representative to oversee the project.
A letter of agreement (LOA) that defines the specifics for the individual project. By explicitly stating the terms of your agreement with the customer, the letter of agreement ensures that both of you know what to expect from each other, and when to expect it.

These two documents work in tandem to protect you and your customers; that’s why I’m including both in this chapter.

As you read, imagine that we are having a conversation. You ask the questions and I’ll provide the answers. If there’s a question you want to ask that isn’t included, please get in touch with me via e-mail. I’d love to keep this chapter updated with the hottest issues about contracts and letters of agreement.

Also, let me recommend that you download and use the sample documents as you develop your own versions of contracts and letters of agreement. My contract and letter of agreement were originally developed with my attorney, and have been successfully in use for the past 12 years.

Writing Contracts & Letters of Agreement

Introduction