Often, you have to agree to these conditions in order to land a writing assignment, since more and more corporate-owned magazines are strong-arming writers into signing these types of contracts. There's nothing good, or even fair, about them in the eyes of most magazine writers, but they are today's reality of doing business.

You need to know how to protect yourself, even if you think your work lacks controversy. You may write an article about tomato plants — an innocuous subject, for sure — only to find that there are several competing tomato-seed producers, and the one you left out of your story feels slighted enough to sue. Or, you may find yourself quoting a company's marketing director about the production of a new kind of adhesive fastener, only to find out later that the scientist who invented the fastener did not give the marketing director permission to take the news public.

The point is that even if you're not covering celebrity gossip or insider politics, the possibility of legal problems is very real, and you need to take it seriously — because you will be footing the defense bill should you have to hire a lawyer.

Separating Your Assets

One key to defending your personal assets in a court of law is by showing that they are separate from your writing business, even though you work from a home office. Your administrative and marketing materials are a good first step, proof that you take your job of magazine writing seriously.

What can help you most in a situation like this, though, is having your business assets literally separated from your personal money. If you can do this, then in many cases a legal action will only affect your business income — and not your personal savings account, home equity, and retirement investments.

S-Corps and LLCs

The easiest way to separate your business and personal income is by forming either an S-corporation or a limited liability corporation. Many professional magazine writers do this, and it's far less difficult, expensive, and scary than it sounds.

In most cases, you can form either kind of corporation by filling out online forms or by working through your local Small Business Administration. The fees typically range in the hundreds, not thousands, of dollars — a small price to pay to protect yourself in the long run. You can also pay a little extra to have companies such as www.legalzoom.com form these entities for you, although most magazine writers have no problem with the do-it-yourself method, especially if they already work with an accountant on an annual basis.

There are legal and tax distinctions that differ between S-corps and LLCs — your accountant can help you figure out which is best for you — but most writers describe the basic practical difference as one of accounting. With an S-corp, you typically have to be more diligent in keeping your business expenses separately notated from your personal expenses than you do with an LLC. As many magazine writers are “creative types” instead of “numbers people,” they are willing to pay a smidge more in taxes each year if it means less accounting and bookkeeping on a daily basis.

The Name Game

One last note about creating a corporation as a legal protection: Do not name your company Jane Smith, Inc., or Jane Smith LLC. Many magazine writers are tempted to do this, but remember that the entire purpose of creating the corporation is to separate your business life from your personal life. If the name of your company is the same as your personal name, you will be making it harder to prove your case later in a court of law.

Use your creative writing skills and come up with a corporate name such as those used by magazine writers today, including Write On, LLC, Imagine Media, LLC, and The Write Stuff, LLC. Try not to be corny, but do make sure your business title has something to do with the craft of writing. A good name will only enhance your professional appearance to the outside world, and it may even become an idea for a logo that you can create to go along with it.