Work Type: Microsoft Office 2016 and Windows 10 writer

Description:
BarCharts Publishing, Inc., a premier publisher of quick-reference material (laminated study guides, flash cards, books, and posters) is seeking author(s) for planned guides scheduled for publication in December 2015: Word 2016, Outlook 2016, PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2016 Tips & Tricks, Excel 2016, Excel 2016 Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 10 Tips & Tricks.
Our QuickStudy guides would each be three panels (six 8.5x11-inch laminated pages), approx. 8,000 words with screenshots and icons.

Requirements for author(s):
Understand the average user's level of technical knowledge of the Microsoft products today. For example: from 1998 to 2002 many people were transitioning to using Microsoft Office products who needed basic help. Today the average user has evolved. In an office environment, expectations are higher--more intermediate and high-level functions are required.
Know the most popular use of the various Microsoft products for business (i.e., the typical sticking points of the software's use for your average business user).

Author(s) must have access to and be very familiar with the beta version of the software and the experience of its evolution during beta testing. Author(s) should have been involved with beta testing of previous versions that have been released. The more familiar the author is with the beta process of evolution and the outcome, the more confidence there is that the author(s) will use experience to develop content on those parts of the software that are closer to completion although still in the beta phase. The goal is to develop content before release that has less chance of changing once the full version is released. We know there is no guarantee, but this experience has been very useful in the past.

Review of previous Microsoft Office guides:
Previous QuickStudy guides covering Microsoft Office have some instances of "fluff," which is wording that does not contribute to an "action" that would resolve a user's issue. A user's issue is a question or sticking point -- a need for an integral "click" or action that would move the user along in their work.
While our intro level Microsoft Office guides have been very successful, we believe they could be more successful if there were less fluff to navigate around while attempting to accomplish a task. This would in turn allow for more content that focuses on actions since fluff elimination frees up word count. Most fluff in previous guides can be found in intros and explanatory paragraphs before certain sections.

Content coverage of high-level functions:
Some of the higher level guides such as Excel Formulas appear to have fluff in the number of words used, but in actuality that content is covering a more intricate function that takes more "actions" to accomplish the task. In the case of Excel 2013 Formulas or Excel 2013 Advanced, it would be very hard to edit any words out of the content as they all support executing a function.

You can take a look at some of our products on our website, including our Word 2013 QuickStudy guide (http://www.barcharts.com/9781423220046-details.aspx#.VWxr8vlVhHw) and our Excel 2013 Advanced QuickStudy guide (http://www.barcharts.com/9781423220008-details.aspx#.VWxsxflVhHx).

Please email me a resume as an attachment and put your first and last name in the file name. Feel free to provide any additional information you think might be helpful.
Please indicate what beta versions you have access to, what software guide(s) you would be interested in writing, and when you would be able to submit the guide(s).

Location: Remote
Rate: $ 3000 per QuickStudy guide

Contact Name: Elizabeth Ronne
Contact Company: BarCharts Publishing, Inc.
Contact Website: http://www.barcharts.com
Contact Method: -by email
Email: [email protected]