Hi Angela,

I’ve been approached by a medical communications company to look over a four-page word document on a type of surgery, rework the copy/edit and add my “own stamp to it.” They plan to use it on a web site. However, the company would like to know how much I charge to do this beforehand.

Is it better to give them an hourly rate or flat fee? My fear with a flat rate is that I turn it in and they send it back for more revisions. Also, before I do any writing/editing, I’ll need to do some research to determine what is misinformation and what are the facts.

In addition, they’ve told me that the doctor who is funding this project has serious problems with the use of tense, misinformation and overall structure – what he calls “critical errors” – with the writing.

Your thoughts? Thanks.

DEFINITELY charge them your hourly rate! They could request revisions until the cows come home and you’d be at their mercy for eternity. When given a choice, I always recommend writers charge an hourly rate.