TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:FWD: Reselling existing corporate work From:Anonymous User <anonfwd -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 3 Apr 1999 04:49:12 -0600
Name withheld upon request. Please reply on list.
*************************************************
"I got an email from someone who works for the same company at a different
location, where they've been using an Outlook manual that I developed for
in-house use. A friend of hers, at another company in that city, has asked
her to ask me if the other company could have the electronic version of the
manual, so that they could use it in their Outlook rollout.
"Am I pleased? Yes. Would I like this other company to pay my company
something for the file, rather than just giving it to them? Yes. But I don't
know how to think about setting a price.
"What experience do others have with this kind of situation? Don't some
contracting groups in fact have generic templates of manuals that can be
customized to suit each of several client companies? (But wouldn't you then
also provide the client with a refined list of styles, and instructions for
making specific kinds of customizations, etc.? which I don't have time to do
for this manual.)
"I'm thinking that we'd have to have them sign some kind of simple
agreement, stating that they would not resell this file to yet other people,
and that we would or wouldn't provide any ongoing support concerning how its
styles and frames work. Are those the important points? Are there others?
"Some additional information:
- The manual is a 54-page Word 7 file.
- Either they or we would have some work to do, replacing our logo and all
specific references to our company and its procedures with their own info.
"Thanks in advance for all comments and suggestions."