TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
>Can you call yourself "independent" or a "contractor"
>if you are working by the hour and if you can simply
>declare that you need more time -- within the schedule --
>and charge overtime for it? ("I worked 7 hours per
>day for three months, and then I worked 16 hours per
>day for the final 2 weeks and charged 'em time-and-a-half
>for half those hours".)
You bet--the terms on which you get paid depend purely
on negotiating skill and do not determine if you're an
independent or contractor. Some projects we're comfortable
bidding on a fixed rate, while others have enough uncontrolled
variables that we'll only bid them on an hourly basis. (We've
never succeeded in getting time and a half for OT, though.)
We've had some projects in which we had no specific deliverables
beyond "need two sentences, at less than 25 total words, to
describe this technique". Only catch was immediate turnaround.
We did it, but they paid dearly for each word. ;-)
Eric
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Eric J. Ray RayComm, Inc. http://www.raycomm.com/ ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com
*Award-winning author of several popular computer books
*Syndicated columnist: Rays on Computing
*Technology Department Editor, _Technical Communication_
