Pricing
You are probably wondering why I haven’t included my fees for line and copyediting on my services page.
The simple reason is each project will have its own individual scope within that chosen level of service. For example, one author may wish for a copyedit with a light touch, another may wish a more invasive line edit with sentence smoothing.
Each project is assessed on an individual basis during a sample edit. The word count, genre, time frame and author’s brief on the level of intervention required are all taken into account because together they affect the length of time the project will take and therefore the fee.
But, you might say, this still doesn’t help me decide if I can afford you for my 100,000-word fantasy romance.
Follows are three fictional case studies based on past projects, which I hope will give you some idea of my fees charged. It is worth mentioning here that I base my fees on the recommended minimum rates set out by the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP).
Project A: mystery novel – 89,000 words – American English
Client: this was the sixth novel written by this author who was experienced with the self-publishing process.
Brief: the author was confident in their writing ability and wished for a light copyedit to check for standard spelling and grammar, and to maintain consistency of character names, the timeline, and places and events from previous books.
Time frame: around three weeks in total for the first pass.
Fixed Fee: £792.00. The author paid a 30% deposit of £238.00 to secure the project in my schedule, and paid a balance of £554.00 on return of the competed project.
Project B: the first novel in an epic fantasy trilogy – 130,000 words – British English
Client: a debut novel for an author embarking on the first step of their self-publishing journey.
Brief: the novel was very well-written, but the author requested some extra focus on sentence polishing. In addition to the standard copyedit, I made suggestions for some sentence smoothing and alternative vocabulary. Special attention was made to ensure consistency in the world-building, the large cast of characters and the timeline.
Time frame: five weeks in total for the first pass.
Fixed fee: £1440.00. The author paid a 30% deposit of £432.00 to secure the job in my schedule, and the balance of £1008.00 on return of the finished project.
Project C: crime novel – 60,000 words – British English
Client: the author had previously self-published a novel but this was the first professional edit they had commissioned.
Brief: the author requested some extra help with sentence smoothing, syntax and rhythm. I conducted a comprehensive line edit to help with sentence flow and logic, and I made suggestions for recasting and alternative vocabulary.
Time frame: three weeks for the first pass.
Fixed fee: £864.00. The author paid a 30% deposit of £260.00 to secure the job in my schedule, and the balance of £604.00 on return of the finished project.
If you think I could be the right editor for you, then please drop me an email and we can talk about your project and what your needs might be.
