For technical writers
Documentation is a project to write and a job to keep current. Quote the first set of docs as an offer with a share up front, take the source material from the client’s own page, and keep a monthly slot for the updates every release brings.
Docs nobody updated
Engineers send source material as a dozen links to a dozen tools.
The docs are written, the product changes, and nobody owns the update.
Clients want a price per page for a job that’s mostly reading code.
What’s different for technical writers
Source material from their own page
Clients send specs, screenshots and drafts from their own page, and the files land on their row in your app.
Kept current monthly
A monthly offering holds time for the updates each release needs, renewed on the client’s card.
Questions technical writers ask
How do technical writers charge?
By the project for a set of docs, and monthly for upkeep. Per-page pricing undervalues the research.
What does a technical writer need from a client?
Access to the product, the specs, and an engineer who answers questions within a day or two.
Who owns the documentation?
The client, once it’s paid for. Say so in your agreement.
Your page on the first day
This is the design or creative setup, and it’s what your page starts with. Change any of it where it appears.
- Clients can book from tomorrow onward.
- Moving or canceling is free up to 24 hours before.
- Before booking, your page asks: “What are we making, and by when?”
Your project agreement opens with this: Half of the project price is due up front and half on delivery. The scope is what we agreed in writing; new work is a new agreement.
What it doesn’t do for you
There’s no docs platform, no version control and no style checker. Write in the client’s docs tool.
Others who start from the same setup
Graphic designers · Photographers · Copywriters · Web designers · Videographers · Translators · Interior designers · Illustrators · Ghostwriters · Brand designers · Proofreaders · Makeup artists · Voice-over artists · Personal stylists · Event musicians · Tattoo artists · Podcast producers · Wedding planners · Freelance developers · Social media managers · Landscape designers · Calligraphers · Music producers · Portrait artists · UX designers · Video editors · Animators