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Subject:Re: Help Pricing Project From:Rebecca Phillips <Rebecca -at- QRONUS -dot- CO -dot- IL> Date:Wed, 20 Nov 1996 09:17:34 +0200
>>> However, if you don't know the scope of the project, I would recommend
>>>just going on an hourly rate. It sounds like a fixed bid will not
>>>be possible with such limited information.
Charging by the hour is fine if you are an experienced help developer.
The question is, what does experienced mean.
An experienced technical writer can usually estimate a project's scope,
even when the R&D folks really have no clue about what documentation
they want. In most cases, if you do proper initial research, you will be
able to give a reasonable price estimate. If you can't do so for a
particular project, you should ask yourself why. If the reason is that
it's the first time you did this kind of project, do you really feel
comfortable charging by the hour?
When I charge by the hour for technical writing, I know my customers are
getting their money's worth. However, my experience with on-line help
is, let us say, quite limited. I wouldn't feel right about charging by
the hour. I am not the original poster of the query, but I would suggest
that this factor could be an issue.
Rebecca
Rebecca M. Phillips
Documentation Manager
Qronus Interactive Ltd.
Automated System Testing http://www.qronus-int.com
rebecca -at- qronus -dot- co -dot- il
