The goal of every collaboration is to end as friends and to grow both of your businesses.

But collaborations can come with challenges. 

Previously, I’ve shared how collaborations often break down because you are both making unstated assumptions.

How are you going to spell out those assumptions? Can you protect your work, your time, and your collaboration relationship with one short Google Doc? You can.

Today, I’ll share the exact five sections (along with copy + paste language) you need to include in your Google Doc, so your next collaboration goes off without a hitch.

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What to include in your collaboration contract

If putting together a collaboration agreement feels like overkill or like it’s squashing creativity, I get it.

But…

• collaboration contracts don’t have to be long (a page will often suffice)
• collaborations thrive on clarity, and spelling out unstated assumptions is a fast track to clarity
• you can frame this document as your first opportunity to collaborate, not a my-way-or-the-highway document

Below, I break down each of the five sections you’ll want to cover.

#1. Roles and responsibilities

You are collaborating so that each of your skills can shine. So while it’s probably safe to assume that the designer will take the lead on design. Some of those less desirable tasks, like being the point of contact for production, both of you might be assuming the other person will be in charge of. 

This is why you should include a bulleted list in your Google Doc explaining who will be responsible for each piece of the collaboration.

You can just say, 

[Name] is responsible for [Task One, Two, and Three.]

[Name] is responsible for [Task Four, Five, and Six.]

This adds clarity, prevents assumptions, and eliminates finger-pointing when life happens and balls get dropped. 

These two simple sentences are all you need in the first section.

#2. Timeline and feedback windows

Unclear timelines or vague feedback windows lead to stalled collaborations.

So list out each deliverable with dates and feedback windows. 

You can use, 

Deliverable one is due [DATE]. Deliverable two is due [DATE]. Feedback is due for all deliverables within five business days. If no feedback is received, it will be considered approved.

In a few sentences, we spell out the timeline and how approval and feedback will stay on track.

#3. Copyright ownership

Next, you’ll break down how copyright ownership and use of anything created during the collaboration can be used once the collaboration ends.

There are several ways you can handle this, but two are the most common.

The first is shared ownership, where you both own anything created during the collaboration. If that’s the case, the language you’ll use is,

Collaborators share copyright in the combined work and agree to get written permission from the other before any commercial use.

Sometimes you might be bringing work to the collaboration that you’ve already created. But the collaboration will be using it. However, your collaborator might need permission to use the portions of your previously created work that are incorporated into the collaboration for her portfolio.

If that’s the case, then the language you’ll use is,

Each creator retains copyright to their own contribution. The combined work is licensed to both creators for portfolio use and can only be used for other uses with written permission.

Once again, a few simple sentences are all that is required.

#4. Decision maker

In section number four, you’ll spell out who makes the final decision on specific topics.

In the last post, I talked about failing to name a decision maker being one of the common collaboration mistakes. This is even more important in collaborations that are just you and one other person, because if you put it to a vote, you’ll be deadlocked at 50-50.

For this section, here is your script.

[Name] will have final sign off for decisions related to [Topic One, Two, and Three.]

[Name] will have final sign off for decisions related to [Topic Four, Five, and Six.]

#5. Exiting the collaboration

In the final section, you’ll spell out how to gracefully exit the collaboration.

Collaborations end for many reasons. Sometimes they reach their natural end, sometimes they end because it’s not a good fit, because life changes, or because a collaborator needs to pivot.

Even when both of you know it’s the right decision to end this collaboration and part ways, it’s important to be clear about how things created during the collaboration can continue to be used.

When you’re not mutually parting ways, it’s easier to decide what that process should look like before you are in that situation. Because once emotions start to get high, it’s harder to come to an agreement. And rather than having to agree, all you’ll need to do is execute the plan you already had in place.

That’s something I talked a lot about in the client contract series: that as a professional, you are the expert.

And it’s your job to foresee common hiccups and to put plans in place so that when things happen, it’s really easy and smooth.

So while it’s not fun to talk about what will happen, if one of you has a major life change and the collaboration can’t continue, it’s way easier to have that conversation upfront than when someone has just been delivered life-altering news.

Tips for handing the collaboration agreement over

Once you’ve put these 14 or so sentences into your Google Doc, how do you hand it over to your collaborator without it feeling like a power play?

That’s where a lot of creatives struggle and worry.

My suggestion is that you create it as a Google Doc or another shared doc that they have edit access to.

This way, you can frame it as a draft to tweak. You’ll present it as your first collaboration opportunity, not a demand.

You’ll use it to demonstrate that you are a great collaborator, not someone who thinks it’s your way or the highway.

So put it together and then send them an email saying, 

Hey, I’ve put this together to outline my understanding of how our collaboration might go. Please look it over and make any tweaks or changes, so that we’re both on the same page.

If you want a place to practice adapting this for your next collaboration, the artist’s Courtyard is set up for creatives to get the kind of guidance and support.