| Clients' needs can vary greatly. Perhaps you need someone to go through your manuscript to check for simple grammatical mistakes and typographical errors (light editing). Or maybe you need more substantive editing, a thorough grammatical edit to be sure that each sentence is syntactically correct and a word check to be sure that you've made proper and meaningful choices. Or perhaps you really need a heavy edit, help with re-writing unclear sentences, improving organization, and developing argument structure to best convey your ideas. |
| If you submit part of your project for a sample edit, I would be happy to quote you a "per word" rate. If you send me the entire project, I can give you an exact quote. |
| For the vast majority of projects, I charge on a "per word" basis.* In other words, once I set a rate for your project, the fee will be calculated by multiplying the "per word" rate by the total number of words in your project. |
| I determine the "per word" rate by figuring the level of work required. Once we agree on the fee (word rate x no. of words) that fee does not change unless you change your project. Therefore, with the per word rate you know up front exactly how much your editing will cost. |
| * Note: In some cases it is necessary to charge a flat hourly fee. For example, you may need to have something almost entirely re-written. Or, perhaps I've edited a work for you that you have revised: It's perhaps not necessary for me to re-edit the work from scratch, so an hourly fee makes more sense. Also, I tend to charge an hourly fee when formatting a complex bibliography. I will let you know up front if I feel that an hourly fee is most appropriate. My hourly rate is $32. |
| Rates |
| Arranging Payment |
| Once we have agreed to work together, I will require one-half of our arranged fee before commencing your project. If yours is a relatively short project (less than 40 pages), I require the entire fee up front. Submitting this fee guarantees you a spot in my schedule as we've negotiated. (See below under "Scheduling.") If we've communicated about your project but I haven't received your down payment, I can't hold your "place" if someone else needs me to work for him or her. |
| If you have paid one-half of the fee up front, I will return that half of the work to you when I have completed it. I then would need to receive the second half of payment before completing the remainder of your work. |
| The easiest, most reliable way to submit payment is through paypal.com. Paypal will enable you to send the fee to me (using my email address) with a major credit card. Until Paypal verifies your address, it limits your spending to $250, something to keep in mind if you have a large project, especially if you need the work completed quickly. I also accept money orders and bank cashier's checks (no personal checks) and money sent through Western Union. |
| Scheduling |
| When you send your fee, I will tell you an exact time when you can expect your completed work to be returned to you. I am very prompt and always allow for unexpected events when I schedule a project. My ability to schedule work quickly varies qui?te a bit. Sometimes I am scheduled 3 or 4 weeks in advance, and other times I have a spot available within a few days. Try to contact me a couple of weeks before your deadline whenever possible. Now that I have been doing this work for several years, I have been trying to work a regular 5-day-a-week schedule and take week-ends off. |
| Communicating with the Editor |
| I generally prefer to communicate via email. I am online most of the time and easiest to reach that way. Also, communicating via email enables me to work on projects with minimal interruptions. However, if you have a complicated project or issues that would be more efficient to discuss in "real time," I am happy to arrange a phone appointment.. |
| A Final Note on Fees |
| Quality editing can be expensive. I do realize that there are many editors, especially with the advent of the internet, who charge 1 or 2 dollars a page. However, good editing takes time and, in my opinion, it is an intensive intellectual activity. Editors truly vary in their capacities, and therefore I strongly suggest that you "shop around." Request samples from different people and see whose "style" suits you best. |
 |
| Fee Information |
 |