As writers we often get assignments that are considerably large. A smaller assignment is still OK to get over but with large assignments there are a few things I realised along my journey.
1. Always be clear about the money. If you need time to get clarity on the effort and difficulty the job may involve, keep the pricing tentative or quote in a band depending on the difficulty. But never ever leave it vague. One can quote lumpsum or monthly depending on the project.
2. Be clear about the time frame. Start date. End date. If it does not end, then what? Renegotiate terms? Extend terms? Figure that out.
3. Number of drafts. They can go on endlessly. Best is to say, two drafts and then it is final. That's what I do.
4. How much time will they give - and resources. Especially if we need to interview people, we cannot be waiting endlessly for them to give time.
5. Deadlines for each module. It's best to split up the work into modules if it works like that and set deadlines for each. If deadlines are not being met then it has to b renegotiated else the project will go on forever.
6. Sometimes projects start and do not end. In which case give a deadline and end the project and get the entire amount of money since it is their responsibility to provide material, give time and feedback. Keeping projects open for long can be very draining, so keep a very small buffer.
7. As far as possible collect money upfront. At least guard against a scenario where they pay an advance and you've done 90% of the job and they stop the project. You will end up getting paid 50% for doing 90% of the job.
The more detail you go into the better, in terms of hours, inputs, difficulty, feedback quality, turnaround time etc because it will simply keep floating otherwise. Once there's a gap in the project, it is difficult to restart the whole thing again because you would have forgotten many details.
Anyway, have fun. Charge well so you feel good about giving your time and feel like doing a good job.
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