How much should I charge for freelance copy-editing services?
I am just getting into the world of freelance copy-editing, and I am unsure as to what I should charge. I am two years out of college and I have my BA in English. I was the copy-editor for my college newspaper, I was a writing/editing intern for a non-profit organization’s quarterly newsletter, and I currently work as an Editorial Assistant for a medical publisher (there is little editing for me on a day-to-day basis, but I did take a 6-week copy-editing course in which I earned I very good score). I have been editing/proofreading work since high school, when friends would ask that I review their term papers, and so editing is not new to me.
I know some editors charge a flat rate, and some charge per hour or per page. Any advice on what I should charge, considering that I am new to freelance and considering my past experience? All suggestions are appreciated. Thank you!
I proof read and edit market research reports. I do not have any formal education in this area. The company I worked for on a part time basis just decided that I was good enough at writing reports, and that I would be able to proof read and edit the lesser quality ones.
I am now self-employed and classed as a contract worker. I am located in Australia and currently get paid at AUD $20 per hour. I believe this converts to around US $16
As you have formal education in this area, I would imagine that you would be able to charge more. My suggestion is to check employment agencies in your area to see how much they are offering for this type of work.
Good luck!
It depends on a lot of factors. Here are some basic rates:
Common rates reported to us by our members fall within the ranges indicated below. They should be used only as a rough guideline; rates vary considerably depending on the nature of the work, the time frame of the assignment, the degree of special expertise required, and other factors. The industry standard for a page is 250 words.
Type of Work Estimated Pace Range of Fees
Copyediting, basic 5–10 ms pages/hour $20–35/hour
Copyediting, heavy 2–5 ms pages/hour $25–50/hour
Layout | newsletters 1–4 pages/hour $30–40/printed page
Layout | books 6–10 pages/hour $35–65/hour
Developmental editing 1–5 pages/hour $32–60/hour
Indexing 5–10 book pages/hour $25–60/hour, $3.50–12/indexable book page
Project management not applicable $8.50–17.50/printed page, $40–65/hour
Proofreading 3–10 ms pages/hour $20–35/hour
Researching not applicable $25-50/hour
Translating 300–500 words/hour 10-20¢/word
Writing 1–3 ms pages/hour $40–125/hour, $50–110/book page
Transcribing undetermined $3 to $5/page
What you charge will depend on exactly what nature of editing you do and how good you are. If you catch and correct errors in grammar, syntax, and punctuation, that’s probably basic copy editing or proofreading. If you make substantive changes, it goes slower and gets more expensive.
It also will depend on what the market will bear and on how regularly you work. Are your clients going to be wanna-be writers readying a manuscript for submission? Some can’t afford the lowest of these rates, but there are many, many such writers. Or will you go over newsletters, ad copy, textbooks, academic journals, etc.?
Best of luck getting this up and running.