A freelance writing contract is the written agreement that sets scope, word count, payment and ownership between a writer and a client before any commission starts. Download the ready-to-fill template below, or read the field-by-field checklist first — it covers what every writing contract should include and the mistakes that cause disputes once a draft lands.
A complete, ready-to-fill PDF — 17 clauses, blanks for every detail, and a signature block for both parties. Free, no email, no account. Read it and adapt it before you use it; the cover page explains what it can and cannot do for you.
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This document is a general-purpose template provided for information only. It is not legal advice, it does not create a lawyer–client relationship, and nobody has reviewed it against your situation.
Laws differ by country, state and province, and they change. A clause that is standard in one place can be unenforceable — or illegal — in another. Terms that are ordinary between two businesses can be void in a consumer or employment context.
Read every clause before you use it, fill in every blank, and delete anything that does not apply. For anything high-value, unusual, or that you could not afford to lose a dispute over, have a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction review it before it is signed.
These are the fields and clauses a freelance writing contract needs. Leaving one out doesn’t necessarily void the contract, but each gap is a spot where you and your client can end up disagreeing about what you actually agreed to.
Client & writer names. Full legal names (or registered business names) for both sides, plus the business entity if either party is incorporated. This is who the contract actually binds.
Scope, topic & target word count. What’s being written, on what topic or angle, for what publication, and roughly how long it should run. A vague brief (“write us a blog post”) is the single biggest source of freelance-writing disputes.
Timeline & deadlines. A start date, a first-draft deadline, and a final deadline. Tie each deadline to the client supplying its own materials — a brief, sources, a style guide — on time.
Word-count acceptance criteria. A piece is accepted only once it lands within an agreed tolerance of the target word count and follows the brief and style guide. Without this, “too short” or “too long” becomes a subjective argument instead of a defined pass/fail check.
Payment schedule & rate. The total fee, or a per-word or per-piece rate, and how it’s split — commonly a deposit up front and the balance on acceptance of each piece. State the currency, due dates, and what happens if a payment is late.
Revisions policy. How many rounds of revisions are included per piece, and the rate charged for revisions beyond that. Without this, “just tighten it up a bit more” can consume unpaid hours indefinitely.
Kill fee for a cancelled commission. What the client owes if it commissions a piece and then cancels before the piece is finished — scaled to how far the work got, from an outline to a full accepted draft. This protects the writer from research and drafting time that turns out to be unpaid.
Byline or ghostwriting rights. Whether the writer is publicly credited as the author (a byline) or the piece is published anonymously or under someone else’s name (ghostwriting) — and, if ghostwritten, that both sides keep the arrangement confidential and the writer waives any claim to public authorship.
IP/ownership transfer on payment. State clearly that ownership of a piece transfers to the client only once that piece is paid for — not on delivery. This protects the writer if a client stops paying after receiving a draft.
Signatures & date. Both the client and the writer sign and date the contract. An unsigned contract is just a proposal — it isn’t binding until both parties have signed it.
Fill in the template above and send it to your client for signature with a free Evenseal account — 3 documents a month, no card required. Only need your own copy signed? Self-sign for free with no account at /sign-pdf.
Not legal advice — for large commissions or unusual terms, have a local attorney review your contract.