LITERARY ART CAREER: Guide to edit fees for manuscript et al

QUESTION: Dear Anthea,
What are good prices for editing services, for example a manuscript or poems?
Rossa

Dear Rossa,
Several websites offer a guide to this service although a lot can depend on the level of expertise needed and area of speciality. Here are a few ideas however.
Editing can be cheap for example I’ve seen where one person offers $0.30 for 100 words. On the other hand a number of editors charge US$0.30 per word for say development editing.

Ideally the way to go if you have a large manuscript is a per page charge. This usually begins from US$2.00 and depends on the type of editing needed, and the size of the page. So therefore by the time to contract for development or substantive editing you may wind up paying US$50.00. At this point some persons would rather an hourly rate to minimise costs or secure a ‘bulk or wholesale fee’. Editors therefore charge between US$12.00-US$50.00 on average hourly.

QUICKIE GUIDE:

PROOF READING
Generally, for small jobs $0.02/word for proofreading, while others might charge around $0.05/word. That comes out to between $5.00 and $12.00 per page.

COPY EDITING
According to the Writer’s Market, the average copy editor charges between $0.12 and $0.40 per word, which comes out to between $30.00 and $100.00 per page. Hourly fee for basic copy editing US$30-40 p/h

DEVELOPMENT EDITING
Generally a charge of $0.30 and $0.50 per word, which amounts to between $100 and $125 per page. Hourly rate can be US$60-80 p/h

SUBSTANTIVE/LINE EDITING
Hourly rate can be US$50-60 p/h

CRITIQUE/APPRAISAL of completed manuscript
…entails an evaluation for strengths and weaknesses.
Generally US$200.00 – 300

LAYOUT
Book layout US$45-75p/h (apprx 6-10 pages)
Newsletter layout US$40-100 per page

RESEARCH
Research US$40-70p/h on average

USEFUL LINKS ON THIS TOPIC:
TYPES Of Editing
Estimated pace, fees structure for writing, editing in tabulated form
HOW much should you pay for editing?

Author Profile

Anthea

... qualified & experienced in journalism, creative writing, editing, the arts, art critique, paralegal, photography, teaching, research, event planning, motivational speaking, workshops for children and adults, visual arts etc. Click here for contact form. ...or email me here