$/Word coming to TWing?

[Geoff Hart <geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

 Some time back, I offered to act as an anonymous reposter
 for anyone who had questions they wanted to send to the
 list anonymously... for example, if you're having a
 techwhirling problem with your boss and need advice, but
 you're worried that the boss may be lurking on the list.

 Be discreet, polite, and on-topic, and I'll happily forward
 the post for you. If you really need to have private
 replies, I can also collect mail and forward it back to
 you, but I'd rather make that the exception than the rule.

 With that introduction, here's the first example:

 *************************************

 I have to post this anonymously, for in my Day Job, this
 List has many lurkers. Geoff has graciously agreed to
 re-post this.
 __________________________________________

 Tech Writing paid by the word. Yeeeehaaaa!

 I have been working part time for a client for several
 years, and we have a very good relationship. I have been
 billing by the hour, and they have been paying on time.
 Smooth as snoose.

 After all this time, they made me more official, and gave
 me a genuine Boss to report to, and a real position on the
 org. chart.  Well, it is nice to have things defined.

 The new Boss likes measurable, quantifiable production.
 First he asked me to come up with a price per final page.
 I beat that one back on the basis of puffery and wide
 margins. Then he thought about establishing a price per
 word.

 Heh, Heh.

 We use Word 6 or 7, which has the nifty word count and
 revisions feature. Theoretically, I can record the word
 count when I begin writing, record it again and again
 during the process, and come up with the number of added
 and even deleted words.

 Late in a manual, after the learning curve and the false
 screens, I tested out the plan.  Writing was easy enough to
 quantify, and when I had to stop and write bug notes to the
 programmer, I left the clock running.  During the
 next-to-last phase of the book, I average 160 words/hour.
 That's added text plus deleted text.

 The final rush to printing was just too complex to bother
 recording the stats.  Spell checking, page breaks, TOC,
 headers & footers, drawing touch-up, all that stuff would
 not have been worth the time to record the tiny word count
 changes.

 The Boss is a reasonable dude, and we are running this
 $/word experiment in parallel with my normal hourly
 billing. At some time when I feel confident in my $ per
 word figure, we will switch to that method.  If I feel I'm
 getting shortchanged, I squawk, and he the same.  There IS
 full trust both ways. This is a great client.

 I  know the research phase will be dry time.  I know the
 changing phase will be rich time.  I won't charge for big
 cut&pastes, because that counts both the deletion AND the
 insertion.

 FWIW, in this test so far, I come up with $0.23/word. I
 humorously correct my Boss when he speaks of cents a word,
 for I am fairly certain the long term cost is above a
 dollar a word.

 I myself have the most complete confidence in my  TW art.

 NOW I ASK YOU:

 Have any of y'all EVER come across such a billing method in
 tech writing?

 Eh?

 OK, those of you still not ROTFLing, you answer, please.

 What pitfalls lie ahead?

 I think I just lost my last non-ROTFLer.

 I look at it like this:  * I * have the guts, the courage
 to try this.

 I would appreciate any input you people can give.

 sig'ed, so to speak:

 The Second Tech Writer who really IS worth $2/word, if
 not maybe $3. Do I hear $10? These are GOOD words, folks!
 Technical words! Long words!

 ********************************

 There you go! Please reply to the list, not to me to
 forward to the original poster... the subject is of general
 interest.

 --Geoff Hart    @8^{)}
 geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

 Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of our
 reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.