Alana Woods   AUTHOR        

There's a variety of ways that editors price jobs. It can be by the word, the page, the hour or a flat fee. There may be other ways but these four are the ones I’m familiar with.

Some editors charge different rates for the different levels of edit. Some charge the same rate but because a proofread takes less time than a substantive edit the total price will be less.

The range in rates is large, for example I’ve seen hourly rates ranging from $40 to $100 and I imagine there are editors out there who charge below or above that range.

Working out the total fee for by the word is simple to calculate.

By the page and hour require a bit more thought. You need to know the equation the editor uses, for example:

• Paper size:A4
• Type size: 12 pt Times New Roman
• Words per page: I’ve seen a range from 250 to 400 words, which will give you the total number of pages to be edited.

Then you need to know what level of edit is required: proofread, copy or substantive.

A per page fee will increase depending on the level of edit.

A per hour fee is the same regardless of the edit level but the number of pages per hour will vary, for example 10 pages an hour for a proofread, 6 pages for a copy edit and 3 for a substantive edit.

If you calculate things differently I’d be interested to hear what you do.