How much are you worth? (Was: Technical Writing - Consulting Experienc

[Ken d'Albenas <kendal -at- AUTOTROL -dot- CUC -dot- AB -dot- CA>]

Brian Berry <Berrytd -at- Delphi -dot- Com> asks:

>  Subject: Re: Technical Writing - Consulting Experiences?

>  I would be interested in something aimed at the
>  consulting end of the business. I have been an
>  independent for three years now.



That's a pretty wide open question.  I'm not a contractor, but
here's something I observed the other week, and it really opened
my eyes.  It has to do with determining how much you deserve
to charge.

A programmer consultant was struggling to document an application
he had written for a client (actually, a sub-application
enhancing a bigger one already on line).  He wasn't doing too
badly, and certainly had top-of-the-line documentation software,
but to call his documentation "rough around the edges" would be
a mild statement.  And there was no joy in the task.

The thing was, the consulting company he worked for was charging
the client over $100/hr.  The contract with the client called for
software plus documentation.  Contracts like this don't usually
specify "polished" documentation, or even "guaranteed usable"
documentation.  Just "documentation."  Not even a manual, just
a dozen or so pages for users.

At $100+/hr.

Now, suppose that when the client was first writing up the budget
specs, you had leapt from the chandelier and said, "Stop!  Don't
budget 2 days for the programmer to write documentation!  Budget
2 man-days for me, at the same hourly rate!  I will drop in to
observe the product in various stages development, and then write
you better documentation than the programmer ever could!"

They'd look at you like you were crazy.  Not only because you
leapt from the chandelier, but because you're a tech writer, not
a software writer.

You can almost hear their gears downshifting.  "Forty-five bucks
an hour, tops," they reply.

See anything wrong with this picture?

Moral of the story:
There are scads of clients like that out there, paying $100+/hr
for programmers to write documentation.  "But," you say, "that's
what the consulting company bills for; the programmer barely sees
half of it."  Doesn't matter; the client is willing to pay it,
regardless of the number of pockets it lines.  Brian, as an
independent consulting company, you deserve to be earning that
$100/hr. for documentation more than a software consulting company
does.  YOU can deliver a polished product that's also guaranteed
usable.

If only you can get the clients to see it that way.



Cheers,

Ken d'Albenas
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