Freelance Writing Blog

Doing Nothing Wrong

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What’s on the iPod: Mission by Dispatch I’m back. I promise you I’m not yet in front of the computer. I know myself enough to realize that after a long ride back from Ontario, I’m not getting to posting until two days later. I’ll avail you of my trip details, and of the fish almost caught,…

5 Ways to Look Like an Inept Writer

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What’s on the iPod: Plenty of stuff; I’m in the car driving to Ontario View from the cottage Vacation time. At long last, I get the heck out of Dodge. At first I felt guilt for wanting a few days off — didn’t I just have a surgery/convalescence? Isn’t that time off? Yes. And definitely…

4 Ways to Set Writerly Boundaries

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What’s on the iPod: The Last Time by Taylor Swift ft. Gary Lightbody Writers: Take part in a FREE chat with veteran writer Cathy Miller Thursday, 8/29 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT Register for free access here I thought I’d have a nicely paced week, have time to research for an article, take time…

Heeding Writing Client Warning Shots

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What’s on the iPod: Blue Skies Again by The David Mayfield Parade Last week was a nice transition from a light workload to a faster pace. I ended the week with another project and a few potential ones from the same client. Plus I saw my surgeon Friday morning and got the good news: I’ve…

Writerly Wednesday

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What’s on the iPod: Radioactive by Imagine Dragons It’s August. I can tell by the silence. Where last year I had a summer of confinement (tons of work at once from May until December, really), this summer I could probably take off entirely and never be missed. Well, except for one large project and a…

4 Simple Moves to Impress Your Writing Clients

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What’s on the iPod: Middle Brother by Middle Brother It’s amazing just how much you can change your perspective in a few short days. My husband switched out his desk from this massive, executive monstrosity to an original, mission-style hunk of gorgeousness. Not only is the desk much smaller, but the study is now arranged…

Avoiding the Dangling Carrot Effect

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What’s on the iPod: Lonesome by Dr. Dog It’s been a busy week despite not having a ton of work. One project is monopolizing my time, but there’s real headway on it. Another project is coming in tomorrow (I hope), and I’ll have to split time yet again. Meantime, I write. I was listening to…

Looking Like a Smart Writer

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What’s on the iPod: Drive by Dispatch Busy Monday it was — I sat down and wrote until after 2 pm, at which time I’d finished a project and killed any hope of thinking another coherent thought. But it was a productive, good session. I had some time to wind down, so I cruised a…

Making Time for Your Writing Client

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What I’m reading: Places by Colette What’s on the iPod: The Way We Move by Langhorne Slim & The Law It’s been a wild week. I thought I’d be spending time on two projects, but a third just came into view, and it’s one that has to happen sooner than the other two. So I…

Writers and the Non-Compete Clause

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What’s on the stereo: Jeannie’s in a Bottle by James LeVier One of the great things about class reunions is how much you learn about the talents that were right under your nose all that time. Take the song listed above — it’s by one of my classmates, and he was kind enough to share…

13 responses to “Writers and the Non-Compete Clause”

Cathy Miller

August 7, 2013

I came across the non-compete twice – once in my corporate career and once as a freelancer.

The corporate one was by a large insurance carrier and squelched by the courts in California. 🙂

The only time I encountered a non-compete in my freelancing career was when I first started. A brokerage firm wanted me to sign one. I declined. I understand where they're coming from, but there is a difference between non-disclosure and non-compete.

I can't come up with a situation where I would agree to sign a non-compete. I'll sign your non-disclosure (I have standard non-disclosure in every Statement of Work), but I will not let someone else dictate who I work for or for how long.
Laura Spencer

August 7, 2013

Non-compete clauses are more common in the corporate culture, but as Cathy pointed out they don't always hold up in court. In the corporate world, I know I signed several non-disclosure agreements, but not a non-compete.

As a newbie freelancer, I was asked to sign a non-compete for a site I really wanted to write for–but the terms were so broad I would never have been able to write for anyone else. I declined and lost the gig. At the time I was devastated, but it was actually a good thing.

I really think the non-compete is more suited to employees (like sales people and account managers) who could potentially take a company's clients with them when they left.
Lori

August 7, 2013

Cathy, I tend to agree. I'm happy to keep my trap shut about who it is I'm working with, but to impede my ability to earn by forbidding me to work for others? Isn't that like saying "You're my employee and I won't let you"? If so, then they owe me employee benefits.

I agree, Laura. Non-competes make sense in a corproate setting, but not in the freelance world. It would be akin to asking a plumber to not fix anyone else's toilet for the next 12 months….
Paula

August 7, 2013

I've never been asked to sign a non-compete agreement, but when I started writing for one of two top industry trades it was implied that the don't use freelancers who write for the competition, and vice versa.

It wasn't a deal breaker, since I didn't really care much for the quality of their competition.
Lori

August 7, 2013

Paula, that bugs me. I've worked for a magazine before that expected freelancers to be exclusive. The smart freelancers arranged deals that paid them extra and guaranteed them work.
Paula

August 7, 2013

Since rumor was the competing rag was circling the drain, so I thought: why would I want to write for it, anyway?
Irreverent Freelancer

August 7, 2013

I flat-out refuse to sign non-competes unless the wording is such that I can't work on the EXACT same thing at the same time. I'm talking educational writing here. For regular writing projects, I would never sign one … PERIOD.

I've actually had parts of a contract struck or reworded because I refused to sign it as is. I read every word of my contracts and I urge all other freelancers to do the same.
Gabriella F.

August 8, 2013

I'll be the contrarian here. I'm currently under a noncompete (and y'all may remember I'm a lawyer).

I signed it because I thought the pros outweighed the cons. I have a regular monthly gig that pays me nearly $2,000, and about once a quarter a little more than that. So it's a substantial benefit to me.

Also, I really trust this publisher, so I didn't think he was going to use the noncompete to unreasonably restrict me. And for four years, he hasn't.

The clause prohibits me from writing for direct competitors, and we've defined that fairly narrowly. There have been a few times that I've said, "Hey, you consider this guy to be a competitor?" and we discussed it openly. I can think of only one publication that I've not approached because of the noncompete clause.

When we renegotiated our contract after several years, I tried to negotiate the noncompete out, but it was important enough to the publisher to pay me a little more monthly to keep me exclusive. I thought that was a fair trade.

So the bottom line for me is that, first, we have a good working relationship and can talk through issues raised by the noncompete.

Second, the pay is enough that I'm willing to take a pass on other work.

And third, I'm not sure I could get that other work if I tried, and even if I tried, I'm not sure it pays enough that I'd even take it.

So I'm not sure I'm giving up too much.
Lori

August 8, 2013

Kathy, you've actually told me about some of those cases where the language wasn't what you've wanted. Good for you. I'll add that if you don't understand something, get legal counsel. When I first started freelancing, I lost out on $1,500 because of ONE word in a contract. That taught me to read every single word after that.

Gabriella, that sounds fair. It sounds like they've exchanged long-term work (and decent pay) for the restriction. Honestly? I think it can work sometimes. I just think too often some of these clients place tight parameters on freelancers as though we're employees.

I know a guy who writes exclusively for one magazine in a certain business space. He told me that he can't write for three other named magazines, but as a result, he locked that magazine in to a $20K annual contract. THAT is a non-compete I'd sign!
Paula

August 8, 2013

Now we're all curious, Lori. What was that one word?
Lori

August 9, 2013

The word was "minimum." It read" XXXX Magazine agrees to purchase a minimum 500 words." Guess what they did to my 2,000-word article? Yep. Pared the price down to 500 words and printed it verbatim.

It's a well-known magazine, too. And when I complained, they ignored me completely. Didn't even give me the byline.
Lori

August 9, 2013

And it was 1989, before email. I was ignored twice via snail mail and once by phone.
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