Negotiating A Freelance Contract
Getting the Best Deal as a Newspaper Correspondent
Convincing the local newspaper editor to let you become a correspondent for the paper is just the first step to enhancing your freelancing career. Once you have convinced the editor, to let you join the newspaper as a correspondent or freelance writer, the next thing you have to discuss are the terms of your contract.
Here are some important things freelance writers need to consider when discussing their contracts.
Determine Paydays
Like most publications, newspapers pay only after the work has been published. Start by checking your contract to see how quickly after your work is published you will be paid. Many companies will base freelancing paydays on their internal pay schedules or will offer payment only once a month. Discuss this with your editor at the time you are being hired and then get the answer in writing.
Many newspapers will ask freelances to submit an invoice for their work. Since they only pay after publication, this may mean you have to check the paper daily for your work and keep track of when it is published.
Determine Pay Rate
Most newspapers will have a standard contract rate that they offer to freelance writers. However, it is important to remember that you can attempt to negotiate for better rates if the rate they are paying is not enough for the work you do.
Being paid by the story is probably the worst case scenario for the writer. This means that you get paid the same whether the story is 300 words or a 1000 words. Newspapers almost never pay by the word, but many will pay by the column inch.
This is a much better option for most writers. A column inch is the amount of text that can go into the space of one inch of a newspaper column. Traditionally, a newspaper column is about 3 inches wide. A good editor should be willing to help you figure out the length of your story in column inches.
Another underpayment tactic newspapers use to pay writers less than they are worth is to include all research time in the base pay for the story. While this is typical for freelancing, it can be especially insidious when dealing with newspapers. Most will offer a base pay rate for items like meeting coverage and the coordinating story.
That means you get one payment for attending a school board story and writing a story about it. If you have negotiated well to start with, this can be okay, unless the school board does nothing that is worth writing about. Then, you are out the time for the meeting and have nothing to show for it.
Negotiate a Kill Fee
The previous scenario is why you need to talk to the editor about what happens when they don’t run a story. Covering a meeting or writing a story on specifications from the editor just to have them hold it indefinitely means that you lose money.
Much more so than in other forms of writing, it is hard to find topics that are evergreen. Newspaper reporting often comes with an expiration date and nothing is more frustrating than spending a day or more compiling an awesome story that never makes it into print.
Be reasonable and don’t expect a kill fee for every piece you write, but when you attend a meeting or do hours or days of research for a topic, you should have a right to be compensated for that time. Also, consider requesting a notification process that requires the newspaper to let you know within say 48 hours if they are intending to use your work. If they don’t plan to use, but let you know, you may have a chance to market it elsewhere.
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