Zub Tales

Always read contracts you’re sent to sign, even if you’re told it’s “boilerplate”.

Understand what you’re agreeing to and don’t be afraid to ask questions or request adjustments.

When you’re starting out you may not have much room to negotiate, but at least you can go into situations with your eyes open.

If an employer doesn’t want to answer questions or clarify aspects of their contract, you have to decide how much you want/need to sign on. I signed some crappy deals at the start of my career, but I knew it and accepted it because I needed the credit and meager money involved, and didn’t have any leverage.

I recently read a contract with a potential client that had two clauses I couldn’t abide:
• The client could choose not to credit me, even if work I contributed was approved and used.
• I could not say I worked on the project at all without permission.

A few emails back and forth and they’ve both been adjusted:
• I will be credited for work done.
• If the project is made public, I can discuss my involvement using publicly released material.

Fixed. There’s still secrecy kept where needed but I’m less likely to get screwed.

Notice I say “less likely”. Even with a contract in place sometimes people don’t do what they’re supposed to. Legal documents are helpful but enforcing them if things go wrong is its own challenge.

There are many reasons why I juggled full-time teaching for so long alongside my freelance writing career.

One of the biggest was the ability to choose which freelance projects I wanted to tackle instead of having to take whatever I could get because the roof over my head depended on it.

I’m determined to make it through the turbulent highs and lows of a creative career without letting it destroy me.

Hope for the best but plan for the worst.