My Professional Services
One Project—One Price
I offer professional communication services to you, your company, or your organization. I deliver the projects you assign to me on-time and on-budget.
What Service Do You Need?
| Business Documentation | Communicating the proper message to the correct audience is of utmost importance to you and your company, regardless of whether yours is a small, medium, or large firm. I help you present your message to your customers, suppliers, staff, and shareholders. |
| System Documentation | System documentation demands clarity and consistency. I have the background and expertise with system analysis and documentation to help your development teams ensure a successful product. |
| Web Content | Online communication continues to be a major problem. The medium is no longer new, yet it’s getting newer by the day and by the device! |
Skills
My experience is in system analysis, technical writing, editing, desktop publishing, and Web content. I am an effective leader, manager, and mentor. Doing business as James River Technical Communications, I bring these software skills to your project:
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Documentation
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Word Processing
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Desktop Publishing
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Graphics
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Web Design
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Database
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Document Management
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Presentations
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Help Authoring
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Project Management Microsoft Project |
Hardware
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Operating Systems
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Return on Your Investment
Technical communication—good, effective technical communication—directly affects your bottom line. Look for newer, more efficient, and more effective ways to get our message out to serve your clients and to potential consumers.
My Rates
No matter the skill or the value offered, it always comes down to Money: Can you afford me?
The rates I quote are "standard" and may differ from those I negotiate with specific clients. I take into account the status of my client—I apply different scales to businesses and non-profits, depending upon their situations.
You can depend on this: You are able to afford me!
Get My Estimate for Your Project!
Documentation Services
| Publication | Commercial Rate/hr | Notes |
| Requirements Analysis | $45.00 |
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| Design Specification | $45.00 | |
| API/Programming Guide | $55.00 | |
| Quick-Start Guide | $55.00 | |
| Administrator Guide | $65.00 | |
| User Guide | $65.00 | |
| Policy & Procedure Manual | $75.00 | |
| Proposal Response | $75.00 | Financials data not included |
| Presentation Material | $125.00 |
Formats:
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Note: Other media or document types available on request.
Website Services
I work exclusively with open-source Content Management Systems.
Website Design & Deployment
| Website Model | Open-Source CMS/hr | Notes |
| Brochure | $45.00 |
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| E-commerce | $45.00 | |
| Social Networking | $45.00 |
Website Support
These are add-on services to support existing sites.
| Service | Commercial Sites | Notes |
| Images | $25.00/image | Includes cost of royalty-free stock image purchased, preparation, & installation |
| Image Galleries | $65.00/gallery | Includes preparation & configuration of a static or sliding image gallery averaging 15 images |
| Web Content Creation/Editing | $45.00/article | Includes SEO functions & tagging |
| Website Maintenance | $120.00/month | Includes: 4 hours per month, CMS, component, & extension software updates; complete Website backup |
Payment Terms & Methods
- New clients pay up-front for contracted hourly services as agreed in our contract before I begin work.
- Clients pay 50% of the negotiated cost of a fixed-fee contract before I begin work.
- I invoice only on an "On Receipt" basis.
- I accept payments via company or personal check, cash, or PayPal.
- I do not accept payments via e-check, telecheck, or through any online gateway other than PayPal.
Warranty
I provide a 90-day warranty for my services following acceptance of the final deliverable. In other words, if you find an issue with what I’ve done for you, I will make the change for free.
This does not include items that were not included in our contract and statement of work or changes that you need to add after you accept the project materials I provide.
Why Remote Work
How do you profit—increase your profit—if your contractor works from a remote site?
- Do personnel or staff expenses eat the lion’s share of any company’s budget.
- How can you manage a contractor’s work if he or she isn’t sitting in a cubicle at your site?
Let’s face it: the classic personnel management model—on-site observation and monitoring—may not be best for your bottom line today, particularly with subcontractors you take on occasionally. It’s expensive to bring in a new employee or a contractor.
Many companies see technical communicators as overhead and have, therefore, out-sourced this support as much as possible. That’s where I fit best.
Low Overhead
The cost of doing business always rises. Almost everything seems to be rising, except profits. Business is all about profit, of course. Today, your costs grow exponentially due to:
- Commuting & transportation
- Leasing office space
- Purchases or leases of office equipment
- Software license fees
- Staff turnover
I save you money by working for you from my site rather than yours. You don’t have to provide me with:
- Office or cubicle space
- Telephone and e-mail
- Computer workstations
- Software licenses
- Admin support
Of course…Some environments require on-site work. I am happy to work within that framework, too.
You don’t pay me for the time I would wait for the equipment or software you’d have to order for a new on-site accession. I go to you for interviews and project meetings and I am available throughout the day for phone calls or online meetings. I use a commercial Citrix-based professional online meeting tool that eases your work—you won’t have to mess with scheduling the use of your corporate system.
And, you won’t expend any of your resources to support and manage me. I manage myself and deliver your materials on-time and within your budget.
What Do You Provide?
Depending upon the project, you may need to provide a VPN or FTP access to your development system.