Rates FAQ

Contents
  1. What are your rates?
  2. What would make a project more expensive?
  3. Are your rates flexible?
  4. Can I afford your services?
  1. What are your rates?

Guideline rates

As of 27th July 2022, my rates are worked out as £ (or your currency equivalent) per 10,000 words for all of my services. Yes, all of them: critique/structural editing, copy editing, and proofreading. This is because it will take me a similar length of time to carry out all of these services, depending on their word count.

I’m also willing to be flexible about payment based on your needs.

Projects under 10,000 words

Exceptions are fiction projects under 10,000 words or non-fiction projects. Please read the Contact page, or get in touch through the Contact page, if you wish to enquire about a project that is under 10,000 words.

Final rates

I will let you know my final rates for your project in a quote once you have supplied me with your brief and all final requirements for your project, which I may request. Every project is different, and because of this sometimes rates can be based on other factors too (not just the word count): complexity of brief, time it will take, my schedule, and probably wind speed also. It wouldn’t make sense to me to provide you with a fixed rate before I know what you’re wanting done with your project.

The final rates will be visible for you in a contract I’ll send to you, for your signature/agreement, so that you know what you’re paying for. Any rates I do put on my website, on a directory, or on any other social media, will be fulfilled in an agreement or contract at my discretion unless we both agree to follow the rules of a third-party enterprise.

  1. What would make a project more expensive?

The price is likely to be higher if there are extremely time-consuming tasks or complex requirements. As said above, length/word count is the basis, though there are factors that can increase or decrease a price at a specified time: these nuggets of information can be obtained when I assess your sample, or when you get in touch and tell me all of your brief/final requirements.

  1. Are your rates flexible?

If my prices are too demanding on your wallet, please do let me know your thoughts about payment. I’m prepared to be flexible, within reason, and I’ll try to come to an arrangement. This is because I don’t want price to be a barrier towards you hiring a copy editor or proofreader. I understand that many authors unacquainted with hiring a copy editor or proofreader can be shocked by the price and it’s no wonder: many copy editors and proofreaders have different rates and models for setting those rates.

You’re free to Contact me with any questions. If you’re unhappy about a quote, for whatever reason, please tell me why and I’ll try my best to accommodate your needs.

  1. Can I afford your services?

If you look at the question from another point of view, can you afford not to have me? I’ll be looking at different, and yet essential, parts of your writing that you haven’t been focusing on and may not be able to focus on because you’re more familiar with your writing than I am and you’ve been looking at it from a creator’s point of view. I can save you time and money later on in the publishing process, saving you updating and re-uploading your ebooks, avoiding some bad reviews that mention copy editing or proofreading problems you could have had sorted, and keep a potential series consistent in style, formatting, and word preferences.

  1. Are your fees higher or lower than those of other copy editors and proofreaders?

Some fellow professionals charge per word, as I do. While others charge per page or per hour.

My rates are as HIGH as they are because I’m a qualified and experienced copy editor and proofreader with many years working with the written word. And I’m currently a professional member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.

My rates are as LOW as they are because sometimes I offer vouchers, at my discretion. And, if the project isn’t based on a per 10,000 words rate and it isn’t going to take me much longer than it usually does, I don’t see any reason to overcharge a writer/author. I’m aware that the heart and soul of the writer/author goes into their work, and often this involves paying pre-publication fees, whether they’re aiming for traditional publishing or self-publishing, so I wouldn’t want to make this process more difficult.

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