Tech Biz Writing

Costing is beset with problems for an inexperienced writer. Not only do costs of all kinds change unrelatedly over short periods of time, but many hidden variables surface only when the job has been finished and paid for.

Generally, a technical writer will not “talk money” to a client, as the contracting company will bear this responsibility. The writer will, though, be expected to “talk time”, and this in large part is the major element in the final quotation, apart from costs of production.

The exceptions to this rule are senior writers with management responsibilities, and the freelance, who will need to do most things for himself. A writer publishing commercial books will of course negotiate a royalty on sales, or dispose of his copyright for a set fee.

Technical writing jobs are usually undertaken on the following terms:

* Fixed price agreements
* Cost plus
* Limit of liability

Fixed price terms are the more usual for small to medium jobs, where any overshoot will not present too many problems for either party. The advantage from the client’s point of view is that the payout is known from the outset. For the writer, the main advantage is that, if the work can be completed within the proposed timescale, the work will be more lucrative.

Naturally, in exercises of this kind, it’s vital to estimate author-time very accurately, even adding a contingency period — 20% is usual. Other overheads, keying, illustrating, material costs etc, are more easily pinned down with some accuracy.

The usual practice in fixed-price situations is for the writer to estimate the writing time plus the number of liaison visits likely to be needed. This information is passed to the administrator, who will add the other resources needed, a 20% contingency, and the profit margin.

The quotation arrived at is an important document in the event of a dispute, so all factors should be carefully laid out.

“Cost-plus” is more normal for large, long-drawn-out documentation jobs, particularly where government contracts are concerned. A retrospective calculation of total costs is mutually agreed and a standard profit margin, perhaps 7-10% is added. It is common in such situations to invoice a client monthly or quarterly.

A limit of liability (or upper ceiling) to costs is often set when accurate forward costing is not possible, or when the author is not fully known to the contractor. This figure may be altered from time to time during a project, and gives the contractor financial control over the operation.

The cost of a book will vary considerably according to how much weight is given to each of the factors shown. Generally, office overheads are thought to work out at 125% of basic labour. The basic cost of the manual will be labour + office overheads + materials.

Next: 27. First Draft.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 9th, 2006 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Technical Writing, Publishing, TechBiz Writing, Educational Textbooks, Documentation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.