PRICING & PROCESS

PRICING

My estimate for editorial services will depend on several factors, including the level of editing you’ve requested, the complexity of your manuscript, the word count (length) of your project, the overall quality of your writing, and your desired schedule (rush orders can usually be accommodated, though they come with an additional fee). In order to assess your project, I’ll first do a general review of your manuscript, during which I’ll edit a random selection of several pages to get a feel for your writing and for the condition of the manuscript as a whole. Once I’ve reviewed your manuscript and we’ve had a chance to discuss your objectives, I’ll offer an estimate of schedule and fees.

My estimate is based on the number of hours I expect the edit to require. The following is a generally accepted range of editing speeds for different levels of editing, based on the industry standard of 250 words per page:

Substantive or developmental editing:  1-3 pages per hour
Medium-heavy copyediting (stylistic editing, sometimes called line editing): 4-6 pages per hour
Light-medium copyediting (the term copyediting usually refers to this level): 6-8 pages per hour
Proofreading: 8-10 pages per hour

If the scope of editing should change significantly during our process together, I’ll alert you first and adjust my estimate as necessary. Be assured that I will never change an estimate without consulting you first. And I’m always happy to lower my final fee if the project goes more quickly than we had projected.

Once we’ve agreed on a fee for services and a schedule for completion, we’ll complete a short contract together and get to work.

THE EDITING PROCESS

I’ll edit your manuscript using the Track Changes feature of Microsoft Word. Before you send your manuscript to me, I’ll ask that you set it in 12pt Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins all around and the line spacing set to “double,” with minimal or no formatting. This is generally considered an industry standard, and it will be much appreciated by journal editors or your book designer should you eventually decide to hire one.

After I’ve worked through your manuscript, I’ll return it to you so you can review my corrections, comments, and recommendations. In most cases, our work will be completed at that point, though it’s not uncommon to do a second, final-draft round after you’ve had a chance to incorporate changes and make revisions. Comprehensive developmental projects can sometimes require three or four such rounds or more.