It was like pulling teeth to get the service agreement from my most recent client.

I did the work, but refused to mail it back until I had the signed service agreement. This was the first project I did for them and I wanted to have quick turn-a-round but that didn't work out since they dragged their feet.

Anywho, it was finally signed, but they asked me about a guarantee if something was printed after my edit and there was a mistake.

This is for copyediting brochures and websites for client's of theirs. They are in bad need of a good editor, which I am happy to fulfill for them.

I stand behind my work and am proud of the work that I do. It depends on whether it was their mistake (failed to make a change I pointed out) or if I just overlooked a typo (not likely ).

How would I keep track of the changes I'm telling them to implement as my corrections are made on sticky notes on the brochures and I send it back.

Should I keep a log of all of my corrections for my own records (this could get lengthy after a while...)

Should I write up an addendum saying that if a mistake is found after printing then I would give them 50% my fees for that project (brochure only, not website)

or should I offer a refund?

Not sure how to word this. I don't want to do the work for nothing (because there would have been many mistakes that i DID find, and am screwed by one)

Your opinions?

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Bethany Lee

Hi,

Good for you for holding your ground and waiting to send your work until you had the signed agreement! You've got to protect yourself and ensure that you'll get paid for your time.

I agree, you should definitely point out that you will only reimburse for errors that were your mistake, and then keep very fastidious records of your suggested changes. What about making a copy of the brochure with the sticky notes attached? That might be easier to help you track your changes than trying to write everything out. Or, would you be able to get the brochure in electronic format, copy the text into a Word document, and use the Track Changes function to keep track of your edits? Maybe you could even email that document to the client in addition to sending the hard copy, and then you'd have proof that you requested certain changes. Or maybe you wouldn't even need to send the hard copy...the Word document might be enough to alert them of changes. Just my two cents...hopefully someone else here knows of a software program or other easy way to help you protect yourself.

Good luck!

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Tammi Metzler ~ The Write Associate
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