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> A potential client has requested my hourly rate for writing which I have
> provided. There is other work in the project that the client is interested
> in retaining my services for that involves a large amount of research. The
> client wants to know if I structure my fees differently for research than
> for writing.
A first thought: the majority of a professional technical writer's job
is research. That includes lots of time making sense of what you've
seen, read, or done, in addition to seeing, reading, and doing. The
vast majority of technical writing is figuring out what to say and
what not to say, what's more important and what's less important, and
the kinds of connections that are most useful to your audience.
That's what makes you a writer rather than a typist.
Is the research preparation to write something, or is it research with
no (perceived) connection to writing? What sort of deliverable does
your client expect when you complete the research? Some jotted notes,
or a document tuned to certain users and uses?
If your client thinks of the research as tedious "catch-up" work to
make up for your lack of expertise in the field, he may reasonably
demand a special lower rate for research. If he thinks of research as
a special part of the job where you apply your great expertise in how
knowledge is structured and how people acquire it, he may reasonably
expect to pay more for research. If you answer by explaining that
research is always the majority of writing, because the main value you
deliver is shortened research time for his users, he may come to
understand and value your services very differently.
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