Morning guys! I know lately confidentiality agreements have been popping up like weeds on my front lawn (I'm in Florida, so I actually do have a lawn right now). I ran across this article and thought it might help those of you who encounter them often, or will in the future. http://freelanceswitch.com/freelanc...ndle-a-request-for-confidentiality/#more-1734 While I agree with the author on negotiating NDA's, I actually did not agree with her example. As a ghostwriter I can completely understand a client not wanting me to include their work in my portfolio.
I generally consider that understood - when you ghostwrite the whole purpose is that you can't claim authorship in any way (which is what using it in your portfolio does). That's one of the reasons I find it so difficult to get examples up for certain types of business writing I do - all ghostwritten. Anyway, thanks for the post heads-up. Just left a comment there to that effect.
Indeed, that's a given -- which is why it's called ghostwriting in the first place. Like a time when I got an offer to ghostwrite for a fairly well-known figure from where I'm from. Of course he wouldn't admit somebody else is writing his speeches now, would he?
That's why I didn't get that she'd include that as an example. There are many better examples she could have chosen- like negotiating when the NDA calls for the writer not to write for anyone else in that industry during the assignment period.
Yeah, the non-competes are usually much worse. Personally I don't ever sign the variety you're talking about (that's the essence of freelancing - multiple clients, and those agreements are generally designed for regular employees). The only type I sign is when I'm working with a middleman client / firm where I promise not to compete with them pitching my services directly to their own clients (directly pitching the work they're currently subcontracting to me).
Yes, and even then, the word, "knowingly" should always be negotiated in- as in, you would never knowingly work with or pitch to one of their clients. Crazy as it seems, you could accidentally approach one or be approached by one. It's not like they give you a complete client list and you actually know who to avoid .
That's very true. I have some firms that subcontract things like press releases for all of their clients, and others who hire me to do various writing for just one or two of their clients. It would be impossible to know every client they have (or for that matter, if that client were working with you or them first) without them telling you up front. It all really comes down to how much they're trying to limit what the freelancer can and can't do. In the U.S. at least, there are rules about that. If they try to exercise too much control over when you work, how you work, where you work, who else you work with, etc., the IRS can determine they're taking on an employer role rather than client (and they'll be responsible for various taxes, worker's comp insurance, and / or penalties depending on the situation). Most seem to understand that at least partially, and fortunately I've rarely had anyone try to say I shouldn't work with other firms / similar clients. In the end, it's a basic matter of respect. They respect our position as freelancers / independent contractors, and we respect their private information and the relationships they've built with their own clients.