Wondering if we’re a good fit? I offer a free 30-minute online consultation to make it pretty painless to decide if you’ll be comfortable working with me, and here’s a typical project process:

We chat about your project.

During our initial conversation we talk about your project goals, scope, budget, and timelines.

I answer any questions you may have, ask you some questions, and we discuss what completing the project together would look like and whether we want to go forward.

Recapping the meeting and deciding to work together.

After we chat, I’ll recap the high points of our discussion in an email so we know we’ve communicated effectively and can quickly clear up any miscommunications.

Depending on our discussion, and your business processes, I may send a proposal for you and your team to review or, if we’ve already agreed the details, I’ll send a contract.

Whether proposal or contract, the document(s) I send will outline everything we’ve agreed: what exactly you want me to create, how much it will cost, the time frame, whether I’ll be working with your designer or other members of your team, the responsibilities each of us will have, etc.

We sign!

You review / revise / agree the proposal and contract.

If you have questions or want changes, we go over those. When everyone’s happy with the plan, we sign a contract to complete the project.

At this point, I’ll send you an invoice for the deposit, you pay that, and we’ll get to work!

I review, plan and (sometimes) outline.

I go through the materials you’ve provided, the conversation we’ve had, your website, your other marketing materials – basically everything I need to get the full picture of how to create your content.

For something like a simple blog post or factsheet we might have hashed everything out already, but for larger, more complex projects, I will create a proposed outline for your review.

(Sometimes) we meet again

Once you’re happy with the outline, and have signed off on that, I come back to you with more questions (lots and lots of questions), or to make connections for interviews (of your team, SMEs, or happy customers who are part of the project), or any other information I need to produce the right content for your project.

I write. You review. We talk as needed.

Again, this will vary with the size and complexity of your project, but generally I’ll create a first draft, which you can review and mark up to your heart’s content.

Then I’ll make all the revisions we need to perfect the document, and send the final back to you.

Our contract includes two rounds of review for the final draft.

Depending on our project agreement, I may also work with your designer on the formatting, or with other stakeholders in the process – as we’ve agreed in our contract.

I follow up as needed.

I would never nag! But let’s face it: most clients hire me because there’s a lot on your plates.

And I’m good at following up.

So, as we move through this process, I’ll keep track of things like who is reviewing the content, what documents or other information we’re still waiting on, copyright permissions, or anything else, and send gentle reminders at intervals to keep the process flowing smoothly and make sure we meet any critical deadlines.

Then we’re done!

Once you’re happy with the content, and we’ve agreed that the final is final, I’ll send you an invoice for the final payment, and we can both enjoy the benefits from our hard work.

I’ll often check back with you to see how much traffic the case study generated for your site, or how your proposal was received, or if the white paper is having the impact you anticipated.

Finally, if all has gone well, we’ll connect again next time you need a writer!

Typical Project Time Frames

Every project is different, so the average times below will vary based on the number of interviews, interviewee availability, how often we work together and how closely related the project is to other projects I’ve written for you, the number of reviewers, whether I’m working with designers, and many other factors.

• Complex post or interview article: 3-5 days
• Case Study, fact sheet, donor and other short reports with 2-3 interviews: 1-2 weeks
• White papers, E-Books, annual and other large, multi-stakeholder reports: 2-4 weeks
• Book length documents: requires discussion, project-specific.

To get an idea of how long your project would take, or for any other questions, consider taking advantage of my free half-hour consultation.