Yesterday was one of those one step forward, two steps back days. I had the entire day to write, or so I thought. However, phone calls, emails, and various oddities kept cropping up. I did get some work done on an article, but I felt like I was being dragged through the day backwards and without a pen.
There’s an interesting debate going on over at the Five Buck Forum. A writer friend is using one of my contracts, and the discussion popped up around the “third party” clause. This is the clause in question:
Third Parties. This agreement is made between the Client and the Contractor and all decisions and discussions of the project described herein will be exclusive of any third party not expressly named herein. Any review or input of a third party directly or indirectly in the writing process by the Client without the written consent of both the Client and the Contractor prior to the start of the project will void this agreement and all fees contained in this agreement will be due the Contractor in full and immediately. The Contractor and Client can then opt to enter into a new agreement at an additional, agreed-upon fee, to include said third party(ies).
So basically, you can’t bring in a posse at the eleventh hour and expect me to rewrite the entire project (for the same fee) based on their ideas. Why it went into my contracts —
Some of the writers think this clause is limiting to the writer. It’s not. I don’t run entire projects past other writers. Why? Because I’m paid to do the job. Also, I wouldn’t ask a friend to review a whole project without paying them.
Also, the language is clear – these parameters apply only to the client, not to the writer. And there’s always the option of the writer agreeing in writing to a third party.
I’ve had this contract in place for about five projects. In three of those projects, the clients decided to show it to someone else.
The Design Stars. In one case, I’d finished the entire project and we were reviewing for accuracy. He sent back a document littered with corrections, huge sections removed, and these cryptic initials all through it. The initials turned out to be those of his friends, and he was keeping them all straight. They also had lots of advice for me — “There’s nothing eye-catching in the design.” No kidding, since I’m not a designer and we were still editing. The contract was void and he ended up publishing exactly the document he’d first provided (with the same errors in them) and his friends got “fancy” and gave him pull quotes.
The Pseudo-Expert. We’d made it to the final edits on the book manuscript. It was all sewn up. Until she said, “I ran it by this guy Joe because he’s written a book. He thinks we need to refocus the entire thing. Oh, and he wants us to write this book instead…” Joe’s claim to fame was a how-to book in an entirely different genre. This client’s project was a book on female empowerment. Not exactly something “Joe” is an expert in. I warned her about Joe’s involvement and the contract being void if he continues. She tried sneaking his changes by me. Buh-bye and pay up.
The Fee Avoider. Yet another late-stage posse entry, this client used his “in-house editors” as a reason why the project was now “full of mistakes.” His note to me was telling – he’d had his “editors” (which made me wonder….why hire me exactly?) go over the book and they think I didn’t know what I was doing. So I spent a long weekend ripping that manuscript apart. The result – he fired me because he said I killed the “sprit” of his story. That was the entire problem with the project – he didn’t accept any of my edits, then fussed up a storm when his “editors” found the problems that he’d allowed to stay because of his “sprit.” He paid with a huge argument, but the posse clause saved me from someone who wasn’t intending to pay at all.
Would you use this clause in your contracts? Why or why not?
I use it in non-fiction contracts. In fiction, I've started to modify it to read "during our editing process", because, once I've done my job on it, if it's GOING to get edited by whatever house picks it up (this is when I am hired by the writer, not the publishing house).
I would say it depends on the kind of project you are doing. If I'm ghostwriting an article, I don't see the need. My contract includes the number of revisions covered by the fee.
I certainly can see why something as large as a book manuscript might require different language.
So far, knock on wood, I haven't run into the posse problem. Thank goodness.
I was thinking about this last week after a project I'd completed was enthusiastically approved only to be shot down a week later by the "posse critique."
I'm going to include a variation of this in my contract because I cannot go through that nightmare again. Thanks for sharing this.
Devon, I get that, too. I've worked with any number of corporations and you just expect to have a committee editing the original content. In that case, you work that into your fee upfront. I like that you've specified "our" editing process. Very clearly doesn't apply to whatever the publisher does to it.
Cathy, I tend to agree. Ghostwriting, you don't need it. Corporate stuff, you can't use it because hey, it IS a posse situation. Individuals and small businesses? That's where I've seen the issue most often.
Kim, sorry you've been through it, too. Frustrating, isn't it? If you start writing and revising for the posse, then NO ONE is happy, including you.
It seems like a good idea to me.
I'm just glad that it's not an issue with feature writing. Now and then overly protective publicists and nervous interviewees ask to see the article before I turn it in. No way! If they want that much control they can hire me to ghostwrite puff pieces.
Paula, I've had that too, but thankfully the editors handle those requests. In one case (well, a few more than that, actually), I had a woman say to me, "I have to review the article or I can't let you publish it."
I did control the urge to laugh because of her self-important demand that had no bearing on my work day. She wasn't paying me. She was an interview source. If she didn't like it, it's really easy to cut her comments out of the story…..
At this stage some of the projects I work on go through the posse. This happens if:
1. I'm working with a comms department of a company, and the director of the unit I'm doing copy for needs to approve the copy too
2. I'm working on a mainstream publisher's project. The material go through so many people, but usually, they are all pre-approved by the company and I am aware that they will have their input. And everyone has to use their initials when putting comments in the document, so I can track their input.
However, my contracts do state who has final copy approval.
Damaria-oh, I like that final copy approval. I just might have to steal that. 🙂
Damaria, like Cathy said. That's brilliant! What a great way to avoid heartburn! LOL
I just limit edits- I don't care WHO does them, as long as they're limited and I know ahead of time how many we're looking at.
They know, too, so they're not likely (i THINK) to bring in 11th hour buddies to screw the whole thing up. But, if they do, not my problem. They can always hire me again/start a new contract.