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Where can I find East Indian copy and technical writers for hire?

• Where can I find East Indian copy and technical writers for hire? I would prefer to deal with individuals with PayPal accounts rather than the new Banglore conglomerates. I'm looking for college level or better educated individuals. - Where can I find them? - Give me a list of discussion forums where eligible East Indian writers hang out and discuss events. - What cultural nuances should I be aware of when conducting business with an individual of East Indian culture; include any religious and political caveats. - What tax and business related items do I need to be aware of when dealing with citizens of the nation of India. - How can I verify their age? (Above 18 years at least). - What are the expected rates of pay for copy and technical writing for East Indian nationals? (For original copy whose copyright will be assigned to me. I want the results to have associated URL's and other resource identifier items so I can easily follow-up and find writers quickly. Thank You.

• Answer:

  Hello, ganswers-ga! Well....this was certainly a hard one! You have asked a number of questions, some of which I cannot answer definitively. For example, I have found no sites or forums dedicated * exclusively * to technical writers and copywriters from "Eastern India". I have also found no references to individual writers who specifically outline a request for payment via Paypal. Paying a technical writer or copywriter from Eastern India who via Paypal will likely have to be negotiated in a contract between you and the actual employee you hire. However, it is certainly a payment option you can outline in your job posting. I have compiled some information about where you might find Indian technical writers and copywriters. I am assuming that you are looking for freelance individuals as opposed to those who are outsourced from a larger firm. Therefore, you will have to go to job boards that serve a dual purpose for job seekers and potential employers. The Indian technical writing community is more heavily represented online than Indian copywriters. In terms of technical writers, I strongly suggest that you contact the Indian Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication for any specific questions you might have related to freelance workers. (I have posted their contact information below.) As for copywriters, I have not found a central source that stands out as a pefect place for an overseas employer to advertise. The most comprehensive online site I have uncovered is the India Copywriters Directory, but it is a mix of both individuals and corporate groups. You might want to consider the regional newspapers as a source of advertising for freelance writers as well. ******************* TECHNICAL WRITERS ******************* The number of technical writers in India is currently estimated at less than 5,000, according to a 2003 from the Indian Express Group. While the numbers of technical writers is growing rapidly, the lack of any formal technical writing courses in India institutions has prevented the field from growing as quickly as the software industry. Overview of Technical Writing in India and Salary Considerations ================================================================ You might first want to read about some recent experiences concerning the outsourcing of technical writing to India! From "Offshoring of Tech Writing: A Roundtable Discussion." The NWU BizTech Offshoring Project (July 24, 2003) http://www.biztech-offshoring.com/roundtable.html "There were frustrations in dealing with an offshore documentation team: The Bangalore doc team was less experienced, there was lower quality, their understanding of the technical writing process was more elementary. There were communication difficulties because of the time difference, cultural differences, network problems and intermittent phone problems. The Indian technical writers were new to the technical writing profession. Their skills were not as good as those of U.S. technical writers, nor was the quality of their writing. Not many technical writers seem to have combined both good writing skills and subject matter expertise. Their attitude seemed to be that technical writing is simply massage the English of engineering notes. They did not seem to "get" that it is the job of technical writers to organize and present information so that it is easily understand. Some writers were good with tools, but they did not have an in-depth understanding of technical writing processes." ** "Costs are generally 1/6th of American costs (84% cheaper), asides from rent (which is often close to American prices.) Services can be very bad (phone, electricity, DSL, etc.). After other costs (post-processing, management, etc.) are factored, the offshore costs are about 1/3rd to 1/4th of onshore costs. The Indian writing style is British and formal. There are sometimes problems with urgency, deadlines, follow-up, and enforcement. They are often careless, sloppy, and not pro-active or organized. The Americans must stay on top of project management. Everything had to be rewritten by editors in the USA. Even when the Americans write texts, these must be rewritten into Indian English. There is a growing stigma for Indians to work in an Indian company. They prefer international companies." == From "Technical Writers? Salary Survey 2003," by Gurudutt Kamath. IT People http://www.expressitpeople.com/20030901/careers1.shtml "STC India?s 2003 technical communicator salary survey indicates that the median salary for technical communication professionals in India is Rs 3,10,000 per annum or Rs 25,833 per month. The survey also suggests that 10 percent of the technical communication community earns upward of Rs 58,333 per month." "A median salary of Rs 26,000 per month. The salary structure is elaborated as follows: "The median salary for technical communicators with less than two years of experience is Rs 17,958 per month. The median figure for those with two-three years of experience is slightly higher at Rs 18,000. The three-four years of experience group earns a median salary of Rs 25,000. The figure goes up to Rs 33,333 for the four-seven years experience group. The median figure for those with more than seven years of experience is Rs 58,333 per month. Just imagine, within two years, someone could be earning as high as Rs 18,000. With seven years, you could touch the peak of Rs 60,000!" "We do not have figures of starting salaries. If we say that those with two years experience are getting 18,000 and those with four years are getting 25,000; what is the percentage increase per year? I think it is 14 percent per year. In good years, everyone does get a hike of 15-20 percent. However, these are not good years. So going by say 15 percent appreciation, if we reduce Rs 18,000 by 30 percent (for two years), we get a figure of about Rs 12,000 (an annual salary of say Rs 1,44,000). Indeed, those with six months to one year experience should be getting this kind of salary. Newbies must be starting with Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000." == From "Freelance technical writing and money," by Gurudutt Kamath. IT People Evolve. http://www.expressitpeople.com/20020909/careers1.shtml "The most frequent questions I am asked relate to money - the method of arriving at the quantum of money a project is worth. The best way to charge is on an hourly basis and by giving an estimate of the number of hours a project will take. I have heard of figures of Rs 200-250 per hour. That makes it about Rs 32,000 to Rs 40,000 (for 160 hours per month)." "But companies are often reluctant to agree to the above method as they feel that the number of hours would be extended needlessly and they would have no clue on the exact amount of money they would finally spend on a project. Rather, charging on a project basis is what they like. Quote Rs 30,000 and they will want the job done in Rs 10,000 or Rs 15,000. Freelancing is meant for people with a business sense or those who are highly professional. They would know how to quote and how to negotiate." == From "Offshore Outsourcing: What It Is and Why It's Important to Understand It," by Kevin Cox. The Willamette Galley. Volume 6, Issue 6, November 2003 http://www.stcwvc.org/galley/0311/C02_OffshoreOutsourcing.html "In India, a technical writer, trained in the Queen's English, makes $12 an hour, compared to his or her US counterpart doing the same job, at $40 an hour." == From "Technical writing: On the ?write? note." Express Computer. January 2003 http://www.express-computer.com/20030106/indtrend1.shtml Excerpts: "According to STC, there are 74 technical writers registered with the organisation. Another trade organisation, Technical Writers of India, (TWIN) has a membership of 800. However, there are large numbers of technical writers working in small organisations, which are not registered with either STC or TWIN. According to estimates, this number could range between 2,500 to 3,000. It is also estimated that in Bangalore alone, there are 400 to 500 technical writers working in various firms." "A technical writer can start his or her career as a trainee technical writer with a starting salary of Rs 8,000 onwards, depending upon the organisation. After gaining two to four years experience he/she can go on to become a technical writer or a senior technical writer drawing a salary of Rs 25,000 and above. Once the person reaches the managerial position, some can diversify into marketing, quality co-ordination, software development or managing a technical team. Other choices include copywriting, marketing communication, and related fields." The Indian English challenge: "The English-language as it is taught in Indian schools emphasises on nouns and not verbs. Hence, the final tone of the English language differs from the Queen?s English. Therefore, though India does have a large English-speaking population, it doesn?t meet world standards. So the advantage is only a theoretical advantage that can actually adversely affect the Indian market." "There are a number of MNC subsidiaries in India as well as Indian software services companies and their main market is the US and Europe. When a technical document is sent to the US from India, often MNCs have to conduct a teleconference with their subsidiary to make corrections to understand the true meaning conveyed in the documentation. According to industry sources, MNCs spend crore of rupees in teleconferences calling back for corrections and making changes in documents. By not converting nouns to verbs we are increasing the overall cost. Sanyal says, "This is the major challenge India is facing today and if companies do not realise this, India will loose out on its advantage of being a large English-speaking nation." "R Ramkumar, chief knowledge officer at Cognizant India acknowledges the lack of training as the main reason for technical writing not catching up with the software industry. He says, "We take students from the literature and mass communications stream and provide them with in-house training on customer projects." Sanyal points out a peculiar problem. He says there is no separate breed of technical writers that are groomed in the country primarily because there is no distinction in teaching technical and non-technical English." Read more.... = Also read "SA01: Technical Writing in India," by Guru Kamath. March 1999 http://www.tc-forum.org/topicspe/sa01tech.htm == Though several years old, the following article provides a good overview: From "SA04: Technical Writers of India - A Survey," by Frederick Menezes. June 1999 http://www.tc-forum.org/topicspe/sa04tech.htm "If Indian technical writers are arranged according to their technical or non-technical background, the division looks like this: 55% - Technical background 35% - Other background "The survey reveals that a substantial number got into the field without having a clear picture about the job they were supposed to do. These technical writers mostly answered advertisements thinking they would fit the bill. A lot of technical writers also seem to have been introduced to the field by friends and family members who were already technical writers or who were aware of the field." "The majority of technical writers, however, came to know about technical writing through the organisation they were working in. These people apparently came in contact with people doing documentation in their respective organisations, took a liking to what the documentation people were doing, and embarked on the path of technical writing themselves. WHERE DO INDIAN TECHNICAL WRITERS CONGREGATE ONLINE? ==================================================== Technical Writers of India (TWIN) ========================== http://twin-india.org/ "Welcome to the cyberhome of TWIN (Technical Writers of India). TWIN, the bonding glue of the Indian technical writing community, was founded in the winter of 1997. The TWIN mailing list, with over 1000 members, is a forum to communicate, share, and discuss issues about technical writing." Jobs Database: TWIN now hosts a jobs database where companies looking for technical writers can specify their requirements. Job seekers can look out for opportunities based on their needs. On the Contract Search page, you can see the available listings for technical writers by clicking on that category http://twin-india.org/html/Registration/Search.asp Salary Survey: Provides an overview of salaries by Region and city, etc. However, this does not seem to reflect an hourly, freelance or per contract basis. (Click on link on front page to see the figures. ** An excerpt from this survey is written up under Salary, below) Forum Archive: http://user.itconsult.co.uk/twin/archive/ Technical Writer India: Blog on technical writing, usability, and more. ======================================================================== http://tw-india.blogspot.com/ (You can follow down through the archives) Technical Writing Blog (Society for Technical Communication) ============================================================= http://techwriting.blogdrive.com/ PLACES TO ADVERTISE FOR WRITERS AND FIND POSTED RESUMES ======================================================= TimesJobs.com ============= http://www.timesjobs.com/ CareerAge.com ============= www.careerage.com Posted ad for Technical Writer (no info on pay) http://www.careerage.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?KEYWORDS=technical+writer CIOL Jobs ========== http://www.cioljobs.com/ Posted ads for Technical Writers http://www.cioljobs.com/jobseeker/searchresults.asp?val=TECHNICAL+WRITER Society for Technical Communication - India ============================================ "The chapter aims to promote awareness about technical communication in India and to create opportunities for budding technical communicators. http://www.stc-india.org/ Technical job postings: http://www.stc-india.org/jobs/jobs.htm Technical Communications Group =============================== http://suman_malik.tripod.com/tcg/ "TCG aims to form a society of indian technical writers who are willing to contribute selflessly to promote the profession of technical writing. Active technical writers are encouraged to conribute to the understanding of concepts of technical writing to the budding community." http://suman_malik.tripod.com/tcg/id4.html "Contact me at [email protected] to advertise indian technical writing/editing jobs. http://suman_malik.tripod.com/tcg/id5.html Ad-Programming.com =================== http://www.ads-programming.com/index.html Surprisingly, this job site has some postings from technical writers wanting freelance work. http://www.ads-programming.com/cgi-bin/wo/needed.cgi?ct=n_asp&md=viewadd&min=19&max=29& Technical Writer and Developer - Hourly fee: $negotiable "I am a Freelance Developer cum technical writer with 3+ years of experience in developing Web based applications using ASP,VB,SQL,ColdFusion and ASP.NET.have 2+ years of experience writing course materials and books on various technologies, such as ASP, ASP.NET,CFusion and PHP." TechWriting: "I'm a tech writer in IT field! Looking for Writing Job, Documentation etc" See Resumes and Customers Orders http://www.ads-programming.com/cgi-bin/wo/a601.cgi JobStreet.com ============== Ads for Technical Writers http://search3.jobstreet.com/searchGo.asp?spe=-&loc=&key=technical+writer&site=in&by=search ************ COPYWRITERS ************ There was very little information for the Indian copywriting industry. However, the following resources provide some references for individual copywriters. Some copywriters post fees on their site which will provide a small overview of the type of payscale you might consider. PLACES TO ADVERTISE AND FIND POSTED RESUMES =========================================== India Copywriters Directory ============================ http://www.marketingtool.com/channel/copy/b.457.g.india.html Some of the listings are for individuals, others are for groups of copywriters. View the following individual copywriter's websites (some with fee information) http://www.cvsurgeon.com/copy.html http://galaxy4u.8k.com/index.html http://deveshvernekar.8m.com/ Aamrit Hallan - Freelance Copywriter ==================================== http://www.amrithallan.com/ Rates: http://www.amrithallan.com/rates.asp Amit's Profile =============== http://www.geocities.com/amitamit_p/freelancewriter.html CareerAge.com ============= http://www.careerage.com/ Posted ads for copywriters: http://www.careerage.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?KEYWORDS=copywriter Asiaexpat (an unexpected find) =========== http://tokyo.asiaxpat.com/careers/thread.asp?display=9229 [email protected]. (Mar. 11, 04) "Greetings! i am an experienced copywriter from India offering offshore outsourced creating writing services. I have had over 20 years fo experience and have been working with leading Indian and Multinational companies. do write to me if you are looking for a value priced outsourced solution for your communication assignments." regards, kk! varma An Untitled Writers Ad page ============================ http://www.i-depth.com/P/j/jz00285.gst.writer.html Several listings: "i am a dedicated, self driven person with nine years of experience in journalism with top indian publications. i seek yearly retainer assignments from newspapers, magazines and web portals to write regularly on business, corporate, travel, technology issues affecting india and commercial copywriting and copyediting work as well. contact: 91-11-22786643 kanishka gupta <[email protected]> new delhi, india - Tuesday, August 26, 2003 "Hi, I am a freelance copywriter and am looking for freelance writing jobs on net for web-pages and print medium. Even style editing of current contents is welcome. From small print ads, corporate / product brochures, leaflets, flyers, posters, calendar fly-leaf; I have written compelling text for a variety of clients. Given the right brief I can write compelling stuff. In addition to this I now write regularly for e-brochures and Corporate CD presentations. K R Vaishampayan <[email protected]> Nagpur, Maharashtra India - Tuesday, August 12, 2003 "malayalam copywriter. ad film script writer. radio jingles. cherian pampady <cherianpampady@rediffmail,com> cochin, kerala india - Sunday, July 13, 2003 "Copy/Content/Script/Technical writer. I write commissioned and general articles. I also dabble with short-fiction and poetry. Am based in Bangalore but am willing to accept work from anywhere in the world. Assured quality and quick turnaround time. Competitive rates. Do get in touch! Prashanth Kumar <[email protected]> Bangalore, KA India - Thursday, May 15, 2003 Jobstreet.com India =================== Copywriting advertisement http://search3.jobstreet.com/searchGo.asp?spe=-&loc=&key=copywriter&site=in&by=search CareerDoWell outlines a job description for a copywriter with a sample starting salary of Rs. 6,500 per month (excluding other allowances) http://www.careerdowell.com/CareerFields/Advertising/CopyWriters.htm ==== For some issues to consider when outsourcing a project to India (even though this is on a bigger level and concerns IT, read: "IT Outsourcing and India," by Bipin Nambiar. http://www.emergence.nu/events/brussels/outsource.pdf See Section 4. CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS ======================== "Doing Business in India: A Cultural Perspective." http://stylusinc.com/business/india/business_india.htm "Let's Make a Deal - Part 2." Executive Planet http://www.executiveplanet.com/business-culture-in/132249186761.html "Business Culture of India." India Server http://business.indiaserver.com/business-culture-india.html "Cultural Insights: India." (includes religion) http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/cfsi-icse/cil-cai/inter-source/w-en.asp?iso=in&i=0&o=0 "Hands Across the Waters," by Tracy Mayor. CIO Magazine. (Sept 15, 2000) http://www.cio.com/archive/091500_hands.html PAYMENT METHODS =============== The following freelance writing jobs website might serve as an example. Although these are for research writers, reference is made to payment through a bank: "Wanted young freelance writers who are capable of writing excellent research papers in excellent English by accessing internet sources for information from their personal computers at home. ** Writers from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh will be preferred. ** Payment through bank http://www.freelancewriting.com/forumdir/fjb/ == A good overview about payment methods can be found in the following article: "Overseas Work - Arranging Payment," by Nicole Bishop. Writerfind http://www.writerfind.com/resources/payment.htm == * In terms of any special payment idiosyncracies that apply to Indian freelancers, I would contact the Society for Technical Communication. Since they deal with technical writers that perform work for overseas clients, they would be in the best position to provide the most accurate information. US Office Contacts: http://www.stc.org/contactSociety.asp Indian Chapter Newsletter http://www.stc-india.org/indus/index.htm AGE VERIFICATION ================== The only advice I can give you on this issue is to go by an individual's resume. If you are not dealing with an outsourcing corporation, you are subject to the word of the individual freelancer. Take note of other jobs they have performed. Look at their education. If an individual cannot provide a proper resume, stay away. As their employer, it is not outside your rights to ask for other documentation that will verify their age. You might also request a copy of college transcripts, a verification of graduation, or documented referrals from past employers. These papers should provide you with a good level of confidence concerning age. If you hire someone who is a member of a professional organization, find out if there are certain age requirements for membership. BUSINESS AND TAX CONCERNS ========================= This is also a matter that should be addressed by contacting an organization like the Society for Technical Writers, or a local tax attorney knowledgable in small-scale outsourcing. You have not mentioned your country of business, and laws differ accordingly. The following articles provide a bit of overview, though not the nitty-gritty that you need: "Indian outsourcing tax moves to help global firms," by Rosemary Arackaparambil and Umesh Desai, (2/24/2004) http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/2004-02-24-india-outsourcing_x.htm = "File 2 File, lawyers take the outsourcing call," by Sangeeta Kulkarni. The Economic Times. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/491410.cms ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ====================== If you can possibly attend the upcoming conference of the STC, you will probably find out everything you need to know about hiring a technical writer and a copywriter from India. Society for Technical Communication 51st Annual Conference - May 9-12, 2004 http://www.stc.org/51stConf/ ====== I sincerely hope my answer provides a good starting point for you. I have provided the most definitive information I was able to find concerning each aspect of your question. For more precise details, I would again recommend contacting the Society for Technical Writers. They may also be able to provide you with a good contact organization for Indian copywriters. Unfortunately, the Copywriters Directory has no contact listing or individual website. Best of Luck! umiat Google Search Strategy Indian technical writers technical writers of India east indian technical writers Indian technical writers +forum society for technical communication +India Indian technical writers +individual outsourcing technical writing to India freelance technical writers AND india Indian technical writers for hire copywriters in India Indian copywriters India AND freelance copywriters site:.in copywriting jobs cultural considerations for outsourcing to India Indian cultural considerations +business religious considerations when conducting business in India paying for overseas work tax laws and Indian outsourcing