This is very much a "how long is a piece of string?" question - but I'm going to ask it nonetheless.

My role has just been made redundant. However, there are a number of unfinished projects, one of which is authoring a workflow guidance document for my (ex) employer's intranet CMS. At present the content amounts to some 10,000 words - but I envisage that could easily triple nearer to completion.

Clearly, my "question" relates to what the content is worth, more than the man hours spent invested writing it, or the final word count. I am writing a proposal to finish the task, in a consultancy capacity, and I'm trying to think how best to pose the fee.

Should I pick a number out of the air, or base it on a calculation of hourly/word rate?

I'd work it out on a time basis.
£70-£80 per hour would be fair.

If you do give them an all-in price to finish the document, then make sure you state in the estimate that further client amends will be priced at £xx per hour.

I'd be inclined to price it on a per-hour basis anyway, but make sure you allow for the usual dicking about after the 1st draft of the document is completed!

Cheers lads

One element I need to factor is that it's the kind of "document" that can never be completed - so I will need to agree that cut-off point also.

As in my OP, because it's an intranet/CMS/Wiki kind of thing (or at least is planned to be) I should be able to author the document remotely, continuously, so the hourly rate seems to make sense.

This all (kind of) marries up with my new thread about wanting a website. Because the content I'm writing really is "mine" - and I'm looking into the Intellectual Property aspects of taking the work on as a consultant (since that changes from how it was when I was an employee) - and whether or not I could "have it" also (slightly ambiguous ground I know)