Proposal Milestones (Writing) - How do I know what milestones to create?

[6f850810]

Hey guys!

I'm pretty new to Upwork. I'm ready to start making proposals but I keep running into the same problem. As a writer, the jobs I'm going for are loosely defined (EG: X number of blogs a week. X word count at X price each/per word) with fixed prices. I'd like to be paid by milestone. However, that means that I have to create milestones with fixed prices and due dates. 

As I am obviously unable to contact the client directly, I have no idea what topics they are going to assign to me. I also can't offer any due dates as I will have to wait for the proposal to be accepted and get the briefs for each piece before I know what date they will be started and completed.

How can I create milestones without defined topics for each, knowledge of when the project will be started (and thus completed), or knowledge of exactly how many pieces will be needed over the entire course of the job?

Would it be better to propose generalised milestones based on their requirements? EG: 5 X Articles at $X (based on their required word count X their 0.05 dollars per word offer) and make due dates for the end of each week?

I'd really appreciate some insights into this 🙂

[luqman_mak · Accepted solution]

If the client did not provide a brief that is descriptive enough, you can provide a breakdown of the stages or milestones in your -lets say cover letter. The milestone feature is available for fixed contracts, you can add them later (during an offer or even when the contract is already in place) after you have had an interview with your client.
When using milestones, enusre that the milestone you are working on is funded for the value of work you are submitting and do not submit work that is not funded for as this could lead to non-payment issues.

Incase i missed anything or got my facts wrong, check this link 
https://community.upwork.com/t5/Courses/Work-Contracts/ta-p/1065213

[6f850810]

Thank you so much for your help! Really appreciate the insights 🙂

[martina_plaschka]

No, don't create milestones. You have no idea how much work this is going to be. Don't lock yourself into something that you know not much about.