Extremely Detailed Price Guide
Know what to expect to spend and how I will calculate final costs. I love a good mystery or plot twist in my books, but not with how much I will be charged for a service. If you agree, we’ll get along fine—read on!
-
FOR FICTION ONLY
Manuscript Evaluation (also sometimes known as an editorial assessment): $250-500+ depending on project length and scope
Developmental Edit: $0.022 per word
Line Edit: $0.027 per word
Copy Edit: $0.017 per word
Proofread: $0.01 per word
Ghostwriting may be specially requested and price discussed.
-
FOR NONFICTION TEXTS ONLY
Manuscript (or text) Evaluation: $250-500+ depending on project length and scope
Developmental Edit: $0.03
Line Edit: $0.04
Copy Edit: $0.037
Proofread: $0.02
-
While I completely understand and respect most editor’s preference for keeping their pricing methods and reasoning to themselves, I also understand the need for full transparency in today’s market. Some of us prefer to not make a decision to invest in something without full understanding the cost breakdown. In so saying, read on ONLY if it matters to you how and why I price my services the way I do. Otherwise, trust that I am incredibly talented and that my prices are developed with care and thoughtfulness for both my authors and myself.
First off, I charge based on an overall word count, rounded up to the nearest hundredth. For example, if the word count at the beginning of the service is 97,376, then the number I will base the project cost on is 97,400. I do so because word count CHANGES as editing occurs, in every step. I also hate the potential in charging hourly prices that a client leaves, feeling “nickel-and-dimed” because I used more hours on a project than planned. Sometimes I use fewer hours for a project and sometimes I use more—it depends on many life, health, and project-based factors which are consistently unpredictable. By charging a whole package price, I can always leave some room for flexibility and no one is ever surprised by costs down the line. This way, my authors know what they’ll pay and when they’ll pay it so they can plan accordingly.
While I know myself to be an incredibly talented editor with a strong eye for what makes a manuscript good, it is not always fair to price things based on talent alone. Instead, I base my prices off of how much I can edit in an hour and my level of experience using a 30-35 dollars an hour range. It is hard to predict exactly how many hours will go into a project and exactly how many pages I will be able to edit, consistently, in an hour because every project, and every page, is different. It is only right that at this stage of my career (over one year and counting), I price my services with respect to my level of experience as well as each author’s need regarding experience in their editor and their budget for editing. This way, I hope to edit for both up and coming authors and already established authors who know true talent in an editor when they see it!
Because I am continually educating myself and gaining in both knowledge and experience, my prices are subject to change when my mentors and I feel that I have progressed beyond a certain price range. Thank you for supporting me and for being a part of my journey!
-Katherine
-
Full cost for manuscript evaluations will be charged and expected up-front before any work begins. I will NOT begin my evaluation until payment has been received.
For all other editing:
As soon as a contract is signed, the first 20% of the over-all price of all agreed-upon services is expected so that appropriate time may be blocked off of my schedule. Editing will NOT begin until the downpayment has been received. This is out of respect both for my time and for the other texts I have on my desk at any point.
At the agreed-upon halfway point of the timeline, the next 40% will be expected in order for me to continue to reserve my time and finish the project on time. A sample of my work thus-far may be requested, but the whole manuscript will not be returned at this stage—further editing or editing revisions may yet occur to whatever has already been edited at this point, especially during developmental editing.
When the editing is complete, the final 40% (of the cost for that phase of editing) will be expected. The final document with all edits will NOT be sent until I have received the final payment.
Payment methods: Venmo and PayPal are the current methods I use to charge clients. However, if neither of these methods works for you, we may be able to use a different option very soon, so please discuss your options with me during your consultation.
Note: if this breakdown of payments does not suit you (20%, 40%, 40%), please discuss your preferred payment schedule with me. I will do no less then 20% up-front, but am happy to do 50% up-front, 50% at the end or a similar plan based on an author's needs.
Note: if using PayPal as your preferred payment method, you may be able to pay over time in more installments than I offer. If that is the case, you may want to pay all up-front using a PayPal plan and keep payment management between you and PayPal.
-
First off, this is dependent upon just how expedited the service needs to be—and whether or not I can manage said need. However, expedited fees begin at an extra 20% of overall project costs.
-
For all fiction, academic, and general nonfiction texts.
If you know you need more than one service and you are ready to commit to me as your editor for multiple services, any two or more services may be combined for a discount. However, I require a manuscript evaluation to be completed first. IF more services are booked after the evaluation based on my recommendations (ie., I recommend all editing services or only a copy edit or proofread), then the discount will be applied to subsequent services.
Discounts may be applied if more than one service is booked as a bundle and reserved with a reservation fee of 20% of the overall cost—which includes each service for which time is being reserved. Manuscript evaluations are not included.
Bundles:
15% off of any 2 options purchased together
20% off of any 3 options purchased together
25% off of any 4 options purchased together
Note: some authors or books require an editing service to be performed twice—this is relatively common, especially with new authors or very difficult, multi-layered books. It would mean purchasing two of the same services, not expecting a second full round of editing included in the selected service. Each round of editing usually (though it depends on the editor) includes 2 "passes" of the book to ensure everything that can or should be edited in that round has been marked. However, it is NOT two full edits.
Note: each service is calculated separately according to my pricing guide and the discount is applied to each service, including the 20% downpayment of overall cost.
Note: Each phase of editing has a different timeline. Thus, the 40% halfway and 40% at the end will be paid during each individual service. There will be an agreed upon 1-4+ week period between each phase of editing to ensure that the author has ample time to review changes and make revisions. When the next phase of editing occurs, the next respective payments begin.
Extremely Detailed Timeline Guide
So that you know what to expect and when!
-
It depends! I, editor Katherine Suzette, tend to take on only one book editing project at a time so that I can give the work my full attention. I allocate ~20 hours a week so that my mind and eyes are as fresh and accurate as possible as consistently as possible. If I'm burning the midnight oil, so to speak, then chances are higher that I will miss something.
If for some reason I need to take multiple books on at once (for example, I take on an expedited timeline, but already have a project on my desk or I have a life event that I need to pay for), then the hours I dedicate to working will increase; however, I will still do my best to provide fresh eyes to each project, and maintain the agreed upon timelines, by not working more than 4-6 hours at a time on one particular piece. I will take breaks, sleep well, and switch between projects to consistently ensure that I am providing the highest quality of work possible for every author I work with.
-
I, editor Katherine Suzette, do not, unless for special time-sensitive cases (for which there is an extra fee) allocate more time than 20 hours to a particular book per week because I need to respect the material enough to give it fresh eyes as much as possible.
If expedited work is necessary, and agreed upon, prices begin at an extra 20% of overall project cost.
-
IN GENERAL, most editors—including myself, can reasonably edit 2-6 pages an hour, depending on the type of editing. Sometimes I can edit more pages, sometimes less, depending on the genre, gravity of the material, and density of mistakes.
This means, that for an editor who has ~20 hours/week available to edit your book, for an 80k word book, it will take 6 weeks (plus or minus a couple) to receive your completed edit from the time work begins on it (not necessarily from the time a contract is signed). Timeline will be discussed during your free consultation.
If you are in a time crunch, then for an extra fee (starting at 20% of the original, overall cost depending on timeline, genre, and intensity of work required), a shortened time-frame may be agreed upon.
-
First off, this is dependent upon just how expedited the service needs to be—and whether or not I can manage said need. However, expedited fees begin at an extra 20% of overall project costs.
-
If an extension of the agreed upon timeline becomes necessary, I will reach out at some point during the project when I realize it is warranted for any reason (project scope is changed, more editing needs to occur, I caught Covid, a family member passed, etcetera) and request the extension. The same price will be expected.
Therefore, yes, some flexibility may be required; however, I will do my best to avoid such a necessity or make authors aware of such a need as soon as it becomes apparent.
-
If your editor is more introverted and less likely to reach out on their own, don't shy away from reaching out yourself! They are here to help and most often feel happy when they know they've been helpful. Be gracious with your words and offer thanks when appropriate!
That said, it depends on the editor as to how they prefer to be in contact. Some choose email, some choose texts. Some choose phone calls, and some choose regularly scheduled video calls. Some send an update every week, some send an update with each milestone (such as "It has begun!"; "We're halfway!"; and "The end is in sight—expect your copy by the end of the week."). If you have a preferred method of contact, please communicate it with your editor so that they can do their best to accommodate your needs.
Personally, I tend to be the editor who is in touch with every milestone (usually when the next payment is expected) at minimum, but likely more if I have a question regarding the book in some way (a character arc, world-build detail, etc.). I may request a video or phone call to discuss. An email is my usual method of contact.
-
I’ve heard it before from people who’ve had their manuscripts edited by someone else, or myself, and I’ll hear it again, I’m sure: “… my manuscript still has errors…”. Yes, well, no human is perfect (nor are computers or AI). Even the best, most world-famous authors, with plenty of resources at their disposal to hire the best-known editors, still have the occasional typo, grammatical mistake, repetitive word, or incorrect something or other. IT HAPPENS.
That does NOT mean that you shouldn’t hire the best! Or that you should hire mediocre editors because, “Hey, if it doesn’t matter anyway, then what’s the big deal?” No. Hire the best editor for YOU, your budget, and your book. AND understand that the industry standard for an acceptable rate of errors is 10%. It sounds like a big number, yes. Some editors will catch 99% of errors, and some will catch 85%. However, the industry standard accepts that about 1 in 100 mistakes gets missed. We will all survive.
For academic texts it is much more important to ensure accuracy as close to 99-100% as possible, however. In this case, I suggest using multiple, excellent proofreaders after copyediting AND after formatting.
Extremely Detailed Contract Guide
Some authors, especially if they’re new to the market or they like to read terms and conditions every time they sign up for something, want to know what will be covered in their contract before signing.
-
Before any work begins, as soon as we have agreed to work together, a contract, clarifying the service chosen, cost agreed to, and any other expectations, will be signed and the non-refundable 20% downpayment will be expected in order to reserve a manuscript's place in my schedule. The remaining 80% will be expected in two parts—halfway and at the end of the project. This means that if I am booked solid for the next nine months, then the non-refundable 20% will still be expected at the time we sign the contract and the time for your book to be edited will be reserved for nine months hence. When the work begins, you will be notified so that a current draft of your work may be provided. Halfway through the project the next 40% will be expected and upon completion of the work, the final 40% will be expected. Reminder: the full edited text will NOT be returned until final payment is received. Note: Manuscript evaluations are charged in full—work will not begin until full payment is received.
-
NDAs are not necessary because your unique work will already be protected under the copyright laws in the United States. In the case of fiction, and most nonfiction work, I reserve the right to decline signing an NDA, although if you have one and want to discuss it with me, by all means, let’s discuss it (I'm not generally opposed if it eases any anxiety regarding the protection of your work). However, in the case of academics, if an author wishes an NDA to be signed, I will, in general, be happy to do so.
-
Full cost for manuscript evaluations will be charged and expected up-front before any work begins. I will NOT begin my evaluation until payment has been received.
For all other editing:
As soon as a contract is signed, the first 20% of the over-all price of all agreed-upon services is expected so that appropriate time may be clocked off of my schedule. Editing will NOT begin until the downpayment has been received. This is out of respect both for my time and for the other texts I have on my desk at any point.
At the agreed-upon halfway point of the timeline, the next 40% will be expected in order for me to continue to reserve my time and finish the project on time. A sample of my work thus-far may be requested, but the whole manuscript will not be returned at this stage—further editing or editing revisions may yet occur to whatever has already been edited at this point, especially for developmental editing.
When the editing is complete, the final 40% (of the cost for that phase of editing) will be expected. The final copy of the editing will NOT be sent until I have received the final payment.
Payment methods: Venmo and Paypal are the current methods I use to charge clients. However, if neither of these methods works for you, we may be able to use a different option very soon, so please discuss your options with me during your consultation.
Note: if this breakdown of payments does not suit you (20%, 40%, 40%), please discuss your preferred payment schedule with me. I will do no less then 20% up-front, but am happy to do 50% up-front, 50% at the end or something similar.
Note: if using Paypal as your preferred payment method, you may be able to pay over time in more installments than I offer. If that is the case, you may want to pay everything up-front and keep payment management between you and Paypal.
-
If a bundle is purchased, then either the editor or author prefer to not continue with a subsequent service, or to add another service, costs will be recalculated and accurate payments will be expected.
For example: 4 services are agreed upon after a manuscript evaluation, then the author decides to hire a different proofreader. There are two options: the author uses both editors at different stages, ie. pre- and post-formatting, or they eliminate said service from their current contract, bringing services agreed upon down to 3. At such time, the discount for the services applied goes down and a slightly higher fee will be requested, and expected, in order to reflect accurate pricing.
If some services have already been completed and paid for, the change in price for services rendered and the downpayment will be expected immediately. For any services remaining, the accurate price will be reflected upon future payments.
-
If an extension of the agreed upon timeline becomes necessary, I will reach out at some point during the project when I realize it is warranted for any reason (project scope is changed, more editing needs to occur, I caught Covid, a family member passed, etcetera) and request the extension. The same price will be expected.
Therefore, yes, some flexibility may be required; however, I will do my best to avoid such a necessity or make authors aware of such a need as soon as it becomes apparent.
-
If the scope of the project, expectations, or desires, changes during the current project, then first and foremost, we authors and editors must communicate respectfully, immediately, and clearly. Work will pause and next steps, and the contract will be revisited, and if necessary, revised. For example, you, the author, become inspired to take your story in a different direction, write a new ending, or add a chapter. The work will pause, I will move on to a different project until you have completed whatever you were inspired to do. Then we will resume work together when my schedule allows and maintain the original contract with an adjustment to the price if necessary.
If, heaven forbid, something occurs which challenges the boundaries of the contract we both sign upon entering into work together (price isn’t paid, work is not completed, extraordinary rudeness or disrespect is used, etcetera), then a mutually agreed upon end to our work together must be established. Sometimes this will mean the author still has to pay the rest of the project costs for the work completed, and sometimes they will receive the partially completed work and not pay the remaining costs. While I hope to never encounter a case in which I must involve the law, please be aware that I will if I feel the situation has progressed outside of the limits of my knowledge and ability to protect myself or my business.