Introduction

I’m a freelance writer, content creator, and author. I’m proud of my job and always aim to provide my employers with flexibility, prompt delivery, and a friendly and helpful working relationship.

These terms and conditions form part of the binding agreement that you will enter into when working with TheBiteLine. It is intended to provide us with an understanding of what is expected from both parties in order to achieve the best possible outcome for your project. If anything documented here is unclear, please let me know, as I’m happy to clarify.

Terms and conditions

The general terms and conditions I work to are shown below. In the absence of any other written contract between us, these terms will apply. 

These terms and conditions are designed to be easy to read and to create a reliable, straightforward, and understandable business relationship between the Writer and the Client. 

This document sets out the terms and conditions for providing professional freelance writing services between: K. Kennedy the Writer at TheBiteLine and {client name} at {business name} the Client

About this piece of work, project or ongoing agreement

The Writer agrees to provide freelance writing services to the Client to the scope, quality, deadline, and prices as outlined between them in writing via email or in a formal contract and attached at the end of this agreement.

Work scope, services, turnaround times, services, and pricing

Please see the emails between us, or your project’s quote for details of the scope, turnaround time, services provided and the schedule of fees. If the scope or other aspects of the work has changed beyond what was originally agreed between the Writer and the Client, services and rates may be renegotiated to take into account changes to the work.

Writer will provide the following as per deliverable dates and content topics mutually agreed upon:

Invoicing, deposits, and payments

  • All estimates and invoices will be raised and sent to the client from the Writer.
  • In most cases, a deposit is required prior to starting any work. This deposit will be 50% of the expected final amount. Unpaid deposits will result in delayed completion of the project, or project cancellation by Writer.
  • Payment will be made via PayPal (preferred).
  • Payment of any remaining fees by the Client is due upon completion of the work.

Deposit:

Writer will provide Client with an estimate for the entire project, wherein Client will supply a 50% deposit in order for Writer to commence work. Client will make the deposit in full as stated on the estimate to Writer within 5 business days of the estimated date. Work will not proceed without this deposit. 

NOTE: Failure to pay promptly may affect deadlines and Writer will not be held responsible for this delay.

Out of scope – What is not included in the price

Anything not listed under the “Scope” section of the quote is not included. Any reasonable requests for additional work will be considered. Any requests or changes must be made by the Client in writing. Any change to the scope of the work after acceptance by the Writer may be subject to additional charges, which are outlined in Appendix B, these are subject to change without notice. Should such changes negate any part of the work already completed at the time of the changes, the Client accepts responsibility for payment for any work completed to date. 

The Writer agrees to:

  • Carry out work to the scope, quality, deadlines, and prices listed in Appendix A and as agreed via other written communications.
  • Provide original, high-quality writing as requested by the Client.
  • Follow any special instructions provided by the Client and agreed by the Writer.
  • Treat the Client with professionalism, courtesy, honesty, and integrity at all times.
  • Respond to any communications within a reasonable timescale, normally the same day.

The Client agrees to:

  • Provide supporting information, topics, guidance, article ideas, and other material as requested by the writer to allow for the creation of the work.
  • Provide a word count, deadlines, and other relevant information about the requested work.
  • Answer any questions asked by the Writer.
  • Provide prompt feedback on outlines, work, articles, and other content as requested by the Writer.
  • Nominate how/where the work will be used in agreement with the copyright-terms outlined in this contract.
  • Promptly pay the deposit as stated and invoiced by the Writer and should be paid within 2 business days. Remaining fees to be paid in full within 5 working days once completed and the final invoice is issued.

Point of Contact

The Writer can be reached by email or by phone between 9AM and 5PM GMT Monday – Friday for the duration of the contract. The Writer will reply within 2-3 business days where feasible.

Cancellation of the work

If the work is cancelled before completion, the Client will be liable to pay any fees in full for the creation and production of the work to date. Any cancellations must be made in writing, and provide as much notice as possible; billable work will continue until notice has been received. The Writer will provide confirmation of receipt of this notification; no assumption of receipt will be seen as a formal agreement to the cancellation.

Copyright

Ghost-writing/freelance content:

The copyright to any documents created by the Writer remains with the Writer until any outstanding balance for the writing is made in full. When the writing is paid for, full copyright and any related rights pass to the Client. At that point, the Client takes full ownership of the writing and may make any editorial changes and publish the document wherever they wish. The Writer will have no copyright claims to the work thereafter.

Ghostwritten content by this nature transfers all rights to the work from the Writer to the Client. As such, the Client will have all rights to publish, distribute, sell, and generally use the articles in perpetuity in any media, including digital, electronic, and print. Further, these works should be published under a pen name, copyrighted by the Client’s company and cannot be used or posted by the Writer in the future.

By-line/credited content: 

The copyright to any documents created by the Writer remains with the Writer even after payment has been received. The Client is required to state where/when/and how the document will be published, this contract covers a single publication of the work provided in whichever form the Client sees fit (website, printed or digital formats). The Writer retains full copyright and any related rights also remain with the Writer as per copyright laws. If the Client wishes to make any alterations, reprint in any format, or use this work in any other form they cannot do so without explicit written permission from the Writer with suitable remuneration, which will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

By-line/credited content retains all rights with the Writer. As such, the Client will not have any rights to publish, distribute, sell, and generally use the articles in perpetuity in any media, including digital, electronic, and print without prior agreement with the Writer and full payment of any fees or charges. Further, these works cannot be published under a pen name, they are copyrighted to the Writer and cannot be used or posted by the Client in the future. The Writer may also use this material as promotional material for their services at their discretion.

Confidentiality

Any documents that the Client provides to the writer that are not intended to be included in the final work will be kept confidential. Any work created by the Writer that is not intended to be published or distributed publicly via a website, social media, or some other means will be kept confidential, and not shared with anyone outside the contract between Writer and the Client. Any NDA (NonDisclosure Agreement) provided by the Client and signed by Writer supersedes this clause.

Writer may link to publicly distributed or published work from her website, portfolio, social media accounts or other areas, unless requested not to by the Client. Any such requests will be honoured.

Final acceptance of the work

Upon completion of the work to the Client’s satisfaction, and payment of any remaining fees, this contract will be considered fulfilled. After completion of this work, the Writer bears no more responsibility to the contract.

Indemnification

The Client agrees to hold the Writer harmless for any such damages that may arise from the Writer’s work. In no event shall the Writer be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental or special consequential damages whatsoever arising out of or connected with the use or misuse of their work product. The Writer assumes no responsibility for any special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever (including without limitation, those resulting from her work product or from: (1) user or Client reliance on the materials or documents produced (2) costs of replacement writings, training, or documents (3) loss of use, data, or profits (4) delays or business interruptions, (5) and any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of Writer’s work whether or not the Writer has been advised of the possibility of such damages.