How much will it cost to have my manuscript copy-edited? Do you have a fee schedule?
There is no standard fee schedule because projects vary widely in terms of length, level of editing desired, subject matter and quality of writing.
An hourly rate addresses those variations, but I have found that most people are reluctant to hire at an hourly rate. The fear seems to be that it will motivate the editor to take their time and maximize hours billed.
Another option is to bill a per word or per page rate; however, that is unfair to the editor and to some clients. The editor will be underpaid on projects that require intensive editing due to the subject matter or quality of writing. If the editor charges a higher rate to compensate for that, writers whose work does not take as much editing effort will be unfairly overcharged.
The method that seems fairest for everyone is for me to review the work to be edited in order to estimate how long it will take. I then provide the client with a fixed price for their project. This method also allows me to
How long will it take to proofread/copy-edit my document or manuscript?
The short answer is that it depends on the same variables as pricing, which are listed above.
To give you a rough idea of the time required, you can expect that a document of 1,000 words will take about an hour. But that does not mean that a 10,000-word document will take ten hours. Rather, it would take two to four workdays. A full-length novel can take a month or more.
Editors and proofreaders do not typically read or edit for eight hours each workday. Because of the intense focus and attention to detail required, most spend only four to six hours per day on client projects. The rest of the time is spent on client interactions, marketing, professional skills development or other business-related matters.
Why do you require half of your fee before you start?
Quite simply, I am making a commitment to my client and I ask that the client make a commitment to me.
Once a client hires me to work on their project, I commit time in my schedule for it. Because of that commitment, I may have to turn away other work or push it back to a later date.
If a client backs out or hasn’t finished their manuscript by our agreed-upon start date, I am unexpectedly out of work through no fault of mine. I can’t pull back work that has been turned away, and I can’t always pull forward work that has been scheduled for a later date.
Of course, I do my best to accommodate a client if a change is absolutely necessary. And the sooner I’m aware of an issue, the better the chance that I can rearrange my schedule in a way that is fair to everyone.
