Proposal Planning and Writing for an RFP

Proposal Planning and Writing for an RFP (Request For Proposal) is a lucrative writing field with a constant demand due to the $500 billion (and ever growing) U.S. federal procurement pie.
Every year companies large and small compete to get a slice out of that pie by responding to RFPs issued by different departments and agencies.
However, federal government is not the only entity that issues such RFPs. States and municipalities issue their RFPs as well. So taken all together, such business bids constitute a vast field with a constant demand for well-written proposals.

That’s the good news.

And here is the not-so-good news (from a writer’s point of view): a technical writer cannot just sit down and start to write a proposal without the close support of a corporate management team.
Responding to an RFP is truly a team effort. As a crucial member of that team, you can play an important role in participating all the preparatory meetings, researching and gathering information, and then writing the multiple drafts required to bring the project to a close.

A business or technical writer also needs to be aware of the specific components that such a proposal must have since every RFP comes with its own rather unique specs.

For example, every proposal needs a Cover Page of course and that cover page needs to have certain elements like the project name and number, contact information, etc. The same goes for the Executive Summary.
But other components, like the Non-Collusion Statement, for example, may or may not be necessary. It all depends on the specific RFP in question.

To find such writing opportunities is not as hard as you may think if you’re living close to Washington D.C. or any large state capital. If you check a readily available resource like LinkedIn or STC’s job postings you may come across many such opportunities throughout the year since federal and state procurement never stops. In that vein, you should seek out telecommuting positions as well if you’re nowhere close to large metropolitan areas.