We believe in stating our billing policies as simply as possible and openly to avoid future misunderstandings.

We do not work for free for anyone. We do not work on "spec."

We charge by the job, not by the hour. It is very difficult to provide an hourly estimate for any job and time estimates usually are too restricting. Since you are paying for my 30 years of experience and expertise and not for just my time, I rarely charge by the hour. Instead, you will always get a firm written quote before any work commences.

We will provide a basic quote at no charge. Concepts and detailed proposals will incur a charge, (to weed out the time wasters, tire kickers and shoppers) approved by you in writing in advance.

There will never be any additional charges unless they are authorized in advance and supported by an estimate for additional work and charges signed by the client.

THE BUYER'S DILEMMA: Buyers usually want their work yesterday, with high quality and at low prices. It is an old truism that you cannot have all three elements; speed, quality and price. You can have any two of the three, so take your choice.

Compare our prices with others if you like. We provide value for your money and stand behind all our work. We recommend you read Ruskin's "No man ever regretted buying quality." on buying on price only.

DISCOUNTS: We often get asked for discounts because "there will be a lot of work in the future." Fine. We will discuss discounts in the future. In the meantime, we'll do the first 4 projects at the normal rate which other clients pay.

Meetings: Initial meetings are complimentary. After the project is underway, meetings are generally not necessary. We may charge a meeting fee if in our opinion the meeting could have accomplished the same outcome by phone, fax, email or other means. You will be advised in advance and the decisions to meet remains with you.

Terms printed on cheques tendered as payment of my writer's fees are null and void in every case without exception.

Exceptions and any variations must be negotiated and agreed to in writing, on paper, in advance and such new terms are dated and signed . All other rights in all media, including electronic, fully reserved world wide. These terms are posted because too many publishers are dictating unfair freelance contracts on a take it or leave it basis.

All jobs require a 50% deposit (no exceptions) on commencement and the balance is due upon delivery of the completed project.

We cannot and will not proceed without your deposit and authorization in writing. This could be either a signed back copy of our quote, a purchase order or a letter of authorization for all projects and includes a 50% deposit. The person authorizing a job is declaring that he or she is a signing officer of the firm and authorized to make such agreements and that the firm will honour the agreement.

Final art will only be released to the client upon receipt of and bank clearance of the final payment in full. This means final payment should be made by certified (cashier's) cheque or wire transfer direct to our account.

Credit cards may be accepted provided a written guarantee that the charge will not be cancelled is provided.

In any event, final payment is due 30 days after payment of the deposit. There can be no exceptions to this requirement. This is to prevent projects from dragging on and on. When this happens it actually increases our work substantially because we have to reconstruct our thinking and all the steps taken earlier. It is much more efficient to start and finish a project quickly.

Legitimate delays can be negotiated. We recognize that you have a boss or a committee to cope with in getting approvals and such.

Minimum Billing While a small change or item, may only consume a short time, the time also involves shutting down another project, opening the new one, changing a mind set, doing the actual work, and then shutting down that item. This means that we find it necessary to charge a minimum of $100.00 for any item.

Author's changes are extra, however you will always be advised of any changes involving additional costs in advance. All revisions must be requested within 30 days of receipt of copy. Corrections and revisions are free of charge unless the requested revision is based on a change in the project that is made after the copy is submitted. These are classified as author's changes and are billable.

COPYRIGHTS Nothing we do is ever to be considered "work for hire." All copyrights remain with the author unless other arrangements are made in advance. Title and any rights to any and all the commercial work I create does not pass to the client until all accounts are paid in full. No exceptions, unless in hard copy, written form, signed and agreed in advance.

Stock photography or other graphics purchased for your project are for your account. Stock photography of printable quaility will cost about $200.00 per photo, but varies widely. We will provide a list and a source for this material, but we do not finance the purchase of rights. Clients are required to purchase these rights on their own behalf. We will show you how to do this, it is usually a very simple matter.

Out of Pocket expenses: Long-distance telephone calls, couriers, cd copies of artwork and any other out-of-pocket expenses will be charged to the client and are payable when invoiced.