There are two key forms that you will likely deal with after landing a magazine-writing assignment. The first is an assignment letter, and the second is a contract. You'll learn about contracts in Chapter 8, but first it's important that you understand the importance of assignment letters. Some magazines offer lengthy assignment letters, others don't offer them at all, and still others fall somewhere in the middle. You need to know how to deal with each of these situations to protect yourself legally and financially.