How Much Does a Book Editor Cost?
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Let’s talk money — specifically, how much does a book editor cost?
If you intend to publish your book, whether through self-publishing or traditional publishing, editing will be an essential component of your journey, because you want to ensure you are putting the strongest version of your story out there. If you are self-editing, it is critical that you do multiple rigorous rounds of edits so the book is high-quality and on par with those put out by publishing houses that have editorial teams. If you're querying literary agents, you don't necessarily need to hire an independent editor — but if you aren't getting full manuscript requests or you want to make sure the story is as strong as possible before reaching out to literary agents, working with a pro can really help.
It can be intimidating and confusing to figure out the cost of hiring a book editor. So, today I'm going to talk about how book editors calculate their rates, what factors go into the overall book editor cost, and where you can look online to get a general range of what you can expect to pay for your edit.
Let's begin talking about book editing costs by discussing the key factors that go into a book editor's rates.
Type of Editing
The first factor in how much a book editor costs is the type of editing that you are seeking. This is by far the biggest determining factor in the cost for a book edit. If someone reaches out to me asking for a quote on how much it will cost to edit their book, the first question I ask is, “What type of editing are you looking for?”
Throughout the publishing process, a manuscript will go through a number of editing rounds, all targeting different aspects of the story.
Editorial Assessment or Manuscript Critique
Typically, you would start with an editorial assessment or a manuscript critique. This is a big-picture report encompassing overarching feedback on the main story areas:
It is typically delivered as a separate document, almost like a book report, rather than inline edits in the manuscript itself.
Developmental Editing
After the editorial assessment, a manuscript will typically go into developmental editing, which is inline comments and edits in the manuscript itself. This is more for scene-level feedback discussing potential areas that are lagging in pace or areas to amplify the conflict between characters.
Line or Copy Editing
Then you will go into a line or a copy edit, which focuses on the flow of the sentences themselves.
Proofreading
Finally, you will go into the proofreading phase, which is fixing grammatical errors and typos.
Each of these different service levels has its own price range. For example, the two services that I provide are editorial assessments and developmental edits, but editorial assessments are priced significantly lower. That’s because they do not involve inline comments in the manuscript itself, which is extremely time-consuming, especially on a document that is hundreds of pages long.
Typically, developmental editing is the priciest service, followed by line or copy editing and then followed by proofreading. If you are ready to work with a book editor but aren’t sure which service you need, you can learn more about the differences between the editorial assessment and the developmental edit here.
Manuscript Length
The next factor that goes into the cost for a book editor is the manuscript length. Editors will typically calculate their price based on either the word count of the manuscript or the page count, because this allows them to roughly estimate how long the edit is going to take them.
Obviously, a longer manuscript is going to come out to a higher price point than a shorter manuscript, simply because it is more for the editor to review.
Your Needs
The next factor that goes into the cost of a book editor is your needs as an author. Most editors will require a description of your book as well as a sample of the manuscript itself, and they will evaluate it before making their proposal to you. This could potentially affect the rate that they set for your specific project.
For example, if you are seeking a copy edit and you submit sample pages to the editor, and they notice a large number of errors in those sample pages, they might quote you at the higher end of their price point because they anticipate they are going to find more errors than usual in the manuscript, and therefore it's going to be more time-intensive for them.
The Editor’s Experience
The final element that goes into how much it costs to hire a book editor is their editorial experience. As in most professions, as an editor gains expertise, credentials, and specialty areas, their rates are more likely to go up because they are bringing you more precise expertise and they are likely higher in demand.
Each individual editor sets their own rates depending on what they feel their time and expertise is worth. So, you will see a range of price points between newer editors who are just starting out in their career and more experienced editors who have a number of high-profile clients or publishing industry credentials.
How Much Does a Book Editor Cost? Where to Find Rates
You likely want to get some idea of how much book editors cost well in advance of actually signing on with an editor, because it is often a significant investment for writers, especially if you are doing this as a passion project on the side. You may want to budget and save up for a professional edit if it is important to you.
Reedsy’s Pricing Calculator
The first resource I would direct you to for a general idea of the average cost for a book editor is Reedsy’s pricing calculator. Reedsy is an online platform that connects authors with book editors and other publishing professionals, and they have a pricing calculator where you can input your genre and your length and it will tell you, based on all of the data in the Reedsy platform, what the average rate is from all of the collaborations that have been conducted through Reedsy. That's a good place to get a general idea, especially for your specific genre.
Editorial Freelancers Association Price Chart
There is also an online pricing chart available through the Editorial Freelancers Association that can be very helpful, though note that this pricing chart was last updated in 2020, so it may be a little bit outdated.
As I said before, every editor sets their own rates, so they may or may not be in line with what these pricing calculators or pricing guides give you. That's why it's a good idea to reach out to a handful of editors who you are potentially interested in working with and getting quotes from them, even if it is early in your process and you're not quite ready to sign yet. That will still give you an idea of what to expect when you are ready for the professional edit.
I hope this helped you better understand what to expect when you invest in a professional book edit and the cost of a professional book editor.
Thanks so much for reading and happy writing!