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About this tool
Build a content writing agreement with per-word pricing, revision rounds, kill fee, byline terms and statutory late-payment maths.
A freelance writing contract fixes four things before work starts: what is delivered, what it costs, how many revision rounds are included, and who owns the copy once it is paid for. This generator prices the engagement from a per-word, per-piece or hourly rate, computes the deposit, kill fee, balance due date and the statutory late-payment charge under the UK Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and assembles a contract with an express copyright assignment on payment rather than relying on the narrow work-made-for-hire rule in 17 U.S.C. section 101.
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Deposit, balance, kill fee, effective rate per word and due date are computed from the rate you enter.
An assignment on payment, because ordinary web copy often falls outside the nine work-made-for-hire categories.
UK statutory interest at base rate plus 8 points, with the section 5A fixed compensation band applied to your balance.
Trade practice is 25% to 50% of the agreed fee when a client cancels after the writer has started but before delivery, and this tool defaults to 50%. The point is to cover work already done, so the percentage should rise with how much of the piece was drafted, and a kill fee normally leaves the rights in the unused draft with the writer.
No. In the United States a commissioned work is only a work made for hire if it fits one of the nine categories listed in 17 U.S.C. section 101 and both parties sign a written instrument, and an ordinary blog post or landing page often fits none of them. Without an express assignment the writer keeps copyright and the client has, at most, an implied licence to use the piece for the purpose it was commissioned for.
Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 statutory interest runs at the Bank of England base rate plus 8 percentage points a year on the unpaid amount. Section 5A adds fixed compensation of 40 pounds for a debt under 1,000 pounds, 70 pounds from 1,000 to 9,999.99 pounds, and 100 pounds at 10,000 pounds or more, plus reasonable recovery costs.
In New York City and, since 28 August 2024, across New York State, a written contract is required once the services are worth 800 US dollars or more, counting all contracts between the same parties in the previous 120 days, with payment due on the contract date or within 30 days of completion. The Illinois Freelance Worker Protection Act, in force from 1 July 2024, uses a 500 dollar threshold with the same 30-day default. Check the position with a lawyer where you work, since more cities and states are adopting similar rules.