Re: How do freelance technical writers deal with the thorny issue of payment?

["Michael L. Wyland" <michael -at- sumptionandwyland -dot- com>]

Pippa:

1.  Flat rate or piece rate (per unit, her hour, per day, etc.) 
depends on the type of work being performed.  I vastly prefer flat 
rate, for a number of reasons.

2.  The longer the duration of the agreement, the more you should 
insist on at least partial advance payment.  If you're allocating 
significant time to a client that you can't easily make available to 
other clients, that allocation action has a definite value.

A couple of other considerations about advance payment:

a)  it tests a client's dedication to a project.
b)  it's insurance for the consultant when a project is controversial 
and either the work or the continued payment may be used as leverage 
by the client against the consultant.
c)  it's important when the consultant has to expend money ("hard 
dollars" as opposed to time) in order to get a project going or keep 
it running.

I've encountered all three situations in my 17 years of consulting.

Alan Weiss ("Million Dollar Consulting," "The Ultimate Consulting 
Series," etc.) advocates for consultants offering a 10% discount for 
100% prepayment by the client.  My firm recently completed a major 
project where the discount was worth several thousand dollars to the 
client, and turned out to be priceless to us when we encountered 
situation b) above.


Michael L. Wyland
Sumption & Wyland
818 South Hawthorne Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD  57104-4537
(605) 336-0244
(605) 336-0275 (FAX)
(888) 4-SUMPTION (toll-free)
michael -at- sumptionandwyland -dot- com

Since 1990
Strategic Planning * Executive Coaching * Training & Facilitation * 
Grantsmanship

http://www.sumptionandwyland.com
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