Mark Simon.

You don't want to get into a "You said/Client said" skirmish. The client will always win.

You will also find that the same clients who didn't want to worry about a contract will be the most picky about what they expect when it is put in writing.

You need to protect yourself from unwarranted changes and unknown expectations. Detail how long you will work on a project, or how many revisions you will provide, for the given price. List every project detail in the contract and don't forget to negotiate kill fees. Without putting details like these in writing, you will likely fall into a seven-year war... and only get paid for six months of it.

A good contract is a great defense. As they say, the best offense is a good defense.

Now get out there and give them a hell of a great job. Don't shoot until you see the whites of their contracts!

Mark Simon is an award-winning animation producer/director and speaker. He also helps people to sell their shows with consultations, samples and training. He is the co-founder of www.SellYourTvConceptNow.com and will host a three-day conference working one-on-one with people on pitching their TV concepts at www.HitMakerTour.com, coming up in March, 2008. Mark may be reached at marksimonbooks@yahoo.com.