When you do work for ad agencies, design studios, and other commercial clients, it’s important to establish PRECISELY what you’re providing for the rate.
It helps to proceed as if your commercial art clients understand NOTHING about what you do. In your contract or letter of agreement, specify sizes, dpi, format, layered or unlayered, the number of revisions, and the schedule for each milestone.
Negotiate a rate for changes and rush work.
(Comics are pretty much the only place where freelancers aren’t expected to charge a rush fee. We should all feel sour and resentful about this.)
When you sell the rights to use your work, you should ask where, how, how long, and in what quantities the work will be reproduced or displayed. The more rights they want, the longer they want them, the more it costs. An all-rights buyout costs more than a one-time regional use.
And if the art director’s boss changes his mind about any of these usages halfway through, they don’t get to just have them for for free. Tape this phrase to your monitor:
“That’s beyond the scope of our original agreement. We’ll need to work out what doing that will cost.”
Establish that you only take feedback from ONE point of contact (preferably an art director, or someone who understands visual communication.) They may have lots of execs with contradictory opinions. Your contact needs to reconcile these opposing viewpoints before giving you instructions.
Do as much via email as possible. If the art director insists on briefing you by phone, take detailed notes, and immediately send an email itemizing everything you discussed. This helps keep everyone on the same page, and the paper trail provides accountability.
The people who work at ad agencies or corporate offices aren’t evil, but they’re focused on their job, not yours. Your happiness is irrelevant to them, and to them your time has no intrinsic value. You’ll need to be your own fierce advocate.