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Contracts: Don't pick up your Pencil ...

by Ellen Zucker

Protect your bottom line. Don't pick up your pencil until your client has signed the dotted line.

I refer to the temptation for many artists, designers and other creatives to jump the gun and begin work on a project before there is a signed contract.

It is not unreasonable to make some quick sketches to outline initial ideas as part of a preliminary discussion. But since anything done at this stage is purely speculative, it is best to limit the time spent until there is some kind of commitment by the client.

If it is difficult to define the scope of a project until a greater amount of preliminary work is done, consider drafting a separate agreement covering the preliminary phase.

When you begin work before the contract is signed, you are expending your time and skills in the expectation that you will eventually be paid. But without a signed contract, the client has no obligation to go through with the project, make any payment, or assign the project to you if he does go forward.

If the client himself won't commit to you, or can't commit to going ahead with the project itself, be wary. You may be dealing with a difficult client.

The same is true if you are feeling squeezed by your client to push more and more out of you before he commits to you - if he commits to you.

It is not unknown for a less than scrupulous client to milk an artist for his concepts and ideas, then turn around and have the work done by someone else.

You may invest a lot of time without receiving a penny. Without a signed contract, you have little recourse.

In fact, in many ways, your experience negotiating the contract is an indicator of the overall experience you can look forward to with that client.

There is another benefit to having a signed contract.

The process of negotiating a contract requires that the parties come to an agreement to the terms of the transaction. If you do this properly you will address various contingencies that may arise. That process alone will nip many potential problems in the bud.

Hence, you are well advised to have a signed contract in hand before picking up your pencil.

About the Author
Ellen Zucker has been self-employed for over 10 years.

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