Writing & MediaFree
Client Intake Questionnaire for Writers
Describe the new client and project. Get a tailored intake questionnaire plus the welcome email to send with it, with next steps and deadlines.
River's client onboarding questionnaire generator writes the intake questions for a new writing client, tailored to the project. Describe the client and the job, whether it is a memoir, a business book, a content retainer or a website rewrite. River writes a grouped questionnaire covering goals, audience, voice, existing material, the people involved, approvals and logistics. It also writes the welcome email that goes with it, confirming what was agreed, what happens next, and what the client needs to send and by when.
Generic onboarding questionnaires ask every client the same twenty questions, most of them irrelevant to the job and some already answered on the discovery call. Clients skim them, skip half, and the writer learns nothing new. This one skips what you already know, asks only what the project needs, and phrases each question so a busy client can answer in a sentence. For book projects it also asks the questions that save rework later, such as who else must approve the manuscript and which stories are off limits.
It is for freelance writers, ghostwriters and small agencies starting work with a new client, right after the contract is signed. Use the result as a form the client fills in, or as a guide for a kickoff call if your client prefers to talk. If the paperwork is not finished yet, the freelance contract template drafts the agreement first. For ghostwriting, the answers feed straight into a voice and style guide for the book.
What a good intake questionnaire actually finds out
The most useful questions are the ones that prevent rework. Who else will read drafts before they are approved, and who has the final say? What must not appear, such as a former business partner, a lawsuit or a family story? Which deadline is real, and what is it tied to, such as a conference or a launch? Clients rarely volunteer these, and each one discovered late can cost a full revision round. Ask them in writing at the start, before anyone feels defensive.
For voice-led work like books and executive content, ask for evidence rather than adjectives. A client who says they want to sound warm but authoritative has told you little. A client who sends two emails they are proud of, a recorded talk and three authors they admire has told you a great deal. Ask for links and files, and ask which phrases colleagues would recognise as theirs. Those answers make the first draft sound like them, and the client voice match analyzer can later check each chapter against the same samples.
Keep it short enough to finish. SurveyMonkey's research on completion times found that the more questions a survey asks, the less time people spend on each answer. Aim for twelve to twenty questions under plain headings, with the essential ones first and optional ones clearly marked. Send it with a welcome email that gives a return date and explains why it matters, for example that interviews start once it is back. A questionnaire that arrives with a reason and a date gets answered.
How it works
Describe the client
Who they are, what you are writing, and anything you already learned on the call.
Choose the format
Pick a form for the client to fill in, a call guide, or both versions together.
Get the questionnaire
A tailored questionnaire and a welcome email in one document, ready to copy into a form.
Tune it in chat
Ask River to shorten it, add questions on a sensitive topic, or adjust the email's tone.
What you get
- A questionnaire grouped under plain headings, tailored to the project type and the client
- Questions that skip what you already know from the call and ask what the project needs
- Book projects covered properly: approvers, sensitive stories, people named and existing material
- Voice questions that ask for real samples, talks and phrases rather than adjectives
- A welcome email confirming next steps, what to send, and the date answers are due
- A kickoff call guide version when your client would rather talk than fill in a form
Common questions
How many questions should an onboarding questionnaire have?
Enough to start the work and no more. For most writing projects that is twelve to twenty questions, with the essential ones first and the rest marked optional. A book may need more, split into sections the client can answer over a few days. River keeps the list as short as the project allows and leaves out anything your notes already answer.
Can I use it for clients who are not writing books?
Yes. Describe a content retainer, a website rewrite, a brand voice project or a series of speeches and the questions change to fit: audience, goals, competitors, approvals, voice samples and logistics. The book-specific questions about sensitive stories and people named only appear when the project needs them, so a blog client never sees them.
What does the welcome email include?
A short confirmation of what was agreed, the next two or three steps, exactly what the client needs to send and by when, and how and when you communicate. It mentions the first invoice if your notes cover billing. River writes it in your voice from your notes and marks any date or detail you still need to confirm.
Should I send a form or ask the questions on a call?
It depends on the client. Busy executives often prefer a call, while detail-minded clients like time to think in writing. Many writers send the form and use the call to follow up on the answers that matter most. Choose both and River writes the form plus a shorter call guide built from the same questions.
Can River turn the answers into something useful?
Yes. Paste the client's answers back into chat and River can summarise them into a project brief or list the gaps to raise on the kickoff call. For ghostwriting, it can start a voice and style guide from the samples and phrases they shared. That saves rereading the whole questionnaire every time you start a new chapter.
Built by
Chandler Supple
Co-founder & CEO, River
Chandler has spent the last six years working in AI, building tools for millions of users and Fortune 100 companies. In 2025, he co-founded River to build a new kind of operating system for AI agents.
Client Intake Questionnaire for Writers
Describe what you need, add any files you have, and your workspace opens with the work already underway.