Re: Technical scriptwriting advice needed

[Liam <mialliam -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

I have seen that "finished minute" approach, but I have never followed it. I
have worked a lot in video, and done some audio stuff, serving as an executive
producer, director, and scriptwriter in the U.S. for little over 20 years.

People used to talk about $1,000/minute finished video (some time ago), and I
never bid that way, and here's how I explained things. It is a lot harder to
write short, tight scripts than it is to write rambling, confused ones. A lot
of people working with web sites are obsessed about writing in short modules,
avoiding the long treatise approach to web communications. They would say that
this takes additional skill and effort. 

And ask your client if it would be harder to put their message across in a
book, a brochure, or a postcard. 

So, I never figured out why I should get paid less for working harder, just
because the product was shorter.

I would recommend figuring out how long it would take you to write the audio,
and then compute project costs based on your hourly rate for the writing you
usually do. Another way to think of it would be to figure out how long it will
take to produce one of these 2-7 minute modules, assign a price to that, and
multiply by the number of modules.

I would recommend, in fact, charging by the module or project, because you are
also the SME. So, each module will have some of your expertise, your writing
skill, and your time in it, and should be worth a certain amount. 

Admittedly, some people will argue that "finished minute" is common practice,
but it is a bad one for everyone. The writer, of course, gets less money for
having better skills.

But point out to your client that "finished minute" pricing encourages waste.
THEIR audience will be happy completing this stuff in the least amount of time,
but that kind of pricing schedule encourages the writers and production company
to be sloppy. Why would I work hard to produce a good four-minute module for
you, when I can charge almost twice as much to produce a fair-to-poor
seven-minute module for you?

--- John McDermott <jjm -at- jkintl -dot- com> wrote:


> I have what is for me an unusual opportunity.  I have been asked by a 
> client to develop a series of scripts for website audio.  I would act as 
> writer and SME and someone, possibly commercial talent, would do the 
> actual recording.  The total finished audio will be six to eight hours in 
> two to seven minute chunks.
> 
> I checked my trusty Writers' Market and found rates for business script 
> writing ranging from USD75 - USD300 per finished minute.  The comments 
> also said there is no standardization in this field at all.
> 
> So, has anyone done this?  Can someone give me guidance on rates from a 
> techwriting perspective?  I kind of need an idea for rates per finished 
> minute (or hour or other time unit). This is a bit different than my 
> usual technical courseware development so any pointers would be welcome.


	
		
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