Client deadline and delivery tracking
Each commission carries a delivery date and a word count, and a late draft delays the whole chain a client has built behind it.
For copywriters
Client deadlines, revision rounds and usage terms tracked in one place
A copywriter's month is a run of client deadlines, revision rounds and usage terms attached to words already published.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What copywriters have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Revision round and scope limits
Contracts normally include a set number of revision rounds, and work beyond the agreed brief is chargeable only when it is flagged in writing before the extra work starts.
Usage rights and licensing terms
Clients pay for specific rights across media, territory and time, and copy reused in a campaign beyond the agreed term needs a fresh licence and fee.
Retainer contract renewals
Retainers set a monthly deliverable count or hours, a notice period and a rate that should be reviewed before the term rolls into another month.
Self-assessment and payments on account
Fees, royalties and any foreign client payments all feed the tax return, with payments on account due in January and July and the filing deadline on 31 January.
Professional indemnity renewal
A yearly professional indemnity policy covers claims arising from written work, and client contracts that require cover stay satisfied only while the policy is current.
Confidentiality and embargo dates
Launch copy, financial results and product news carry embargoes and non-disclosure terms, and drafts must stay off a portfolio and away from other clients until the date passes.
Ghostwriting and credit agreements
Where work goes out under a client's name, the agreement sets whether credit can be taken, in what form and where, and that record matters for future pitches.
Editorial calendar and content schedule slots
Recurring work such as newsletters, blogs and campaign copy runs to a published calendar with fixed slots, and a missed slot breaks a sequence the client has already announced.
Rate review and portfolio permissions
Rates need revisiting as scope grows, and showing published work in a portfolio depends on client permission, so both need a date to be looked at again.
What it costs to carry it
Words are quick to write and slow to get signed off. The week goes on rewrites that were outside the brief, on a client who has not sent the missing interview answers, on checking whether the copy is still covered by the usage terms it was sold under. When scope creeps without a written change or a published piece runs past its licence, the work is done twice at one fee and the client never notices a problem.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Deadline and draft chasing
The desk tracks each delivery date and word count, chases the client for missing source material, and sends the reminder before a deadline rather than after it.
Revision and scope records
Rounds used, changes requested and anything outside the agreed brief are recorded against the commission, so an extra round can be raised as a charge with evidence.
Usage and licence dates
Each piece keeps its licensed media, territory and term, and the desk raises a prompt before a client's rights to reuse copy expire.
Embargo and confidentiality watch
Embargoed projects are flagged with their release date, so nothing goes into a portfolio or a client update before the hold lifts.
Retainer and rate review dates
Retainer end dates, notice periods and the included deliverables sit on one list, with a review reminder ahead of each renewal.
What stays with the copywriter
The person still writes, interviews, and decides which version is the right one, because voice is the product and it cannot be passed on. The desk holds the deadlines, the scope records and the licence dates, and stops wherever a judgement about the writing is needed.
Questions
Can the desk tell when copy has moved outside the agreed brief?
It records the brief, the rounds used and each change requested, so extra scope shows up against the commission. Whether to charge for it stays with the copywriter.
How are embargoed projects kept out of a portfolio?
The project is flagged with its release date and held back until the hold lifts. Permission to show the work is recorded separately from the embargo.
What does the desk do about a client who never sends source material?
It chases on a set cadence and records each attempt against the deadline. If the material never arrives, the delay is raised rather than absorbed.
Put the copywriter's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the copywriter corrects it.