Today we’re going to explore the often-asked question: How do freelance editors set their rates? Fair warning: on this journey, there will be uncertainty. There will be lists and, possibly, charts. There might even be…math. (The horror!)
Ready? Let’s dive in.
Where you live directly impacts how much you pay for goods and services. We’ve all experienced this in one way or another. For example, here in the US, a few states don’t charge sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, Montana, and Oregon. The other states do, although some of them have exemptions for clothing, food, and certain types of professional services. And while I pay income taxes every year in Virginia, one of my friends who lives in Tennessee doesn’t.
Editors must consider the costs of goods and services needed for their business when setting their rates. Not only that, but they must also consider how much they need to earn to cover their monthly personal expenses. After all, their business must be profitable so they can earn a living.
To illustrate the impact an editor’s place of residence has on their costs—and, by extension, their rates—let’s consider a real-world example using monthly housing costs for the comparison. (Fair market rent data presented below are from HUDuser, a website run by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s research and policy arm and are current as of March 2024.)
I live in southwestern Virginia, surrounded by the picturesque Appalachian Mountains. One of my cousins lives in Los Angeles, California, surrounded by palm trees, celebrities, and the existential crisis-inducing traffic of the 405.
Here are the 2024 fair market rents for my area of Virginia:
| Efficiency | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four-Bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $811/month | $894/month | $1,088/month | $1,513/month | $1,760/month |
And here are the 2024 fair market rents for Los Angeles:
| Efficiency | One-Bedroom | Two-Bedroom | Three-Bedroom | Four-Bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,777/month | $2,0006/month | $2,544/month | $3,263/month | $3,600/month |
It’s quite something when you see the difference in writing, isn’t it? Broadly speaking, monthly rents in Los Angeles are twice as expensive as those where I live in Virginia. And you can bet that difference in cost will be reflected in the rates charged by editors who live in those locations.
A brief story: Many years ago, at a prior job, I often had to attend conferences and special trainings. Being an introverted soul and worn out from a full day of workshop attendance, I would usually skip the cocktail hours or meet-and-greets that took place. One time, however, I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and attend.
About 30 minutes in, I found myself at a bar table, chatting with young man who wasn’t much older than I was at the time (early twenties). The conversation turned toward our jobs, as conversations at such conferences usually do. He asked me what I did for a living.
“I’m an editor,” I replied.
He asked what it entailed, so I gave him a couple of examples. Then, a little bewildered, he said, “Can’t they just read their own stuff? Why do they need you to do it for them?”
I’m not entirely sure what the look on my face was, but he excused himself shortly thereafter to refill his drink.
Why do they need you to do it for them? Oof. That one hurt. To be fair to that young man, though, he was genuinely perplexed and not trying to be a jerk.
When people ask me why they should hire an editor, I usually ask them to think about why they’d call an electrician to rewire their house or visit a neurosurgeon if they need brain surgery. After thinking about it for a moment or two, they usually say some version of the same thing: I’d hire them because of their expertise and knowledge of the thing I need help with/the problem I’m trying to solve.
Precisely.
And there we have the second point: editors are skilled professionals. And like any skilled professional, reputable editors put a lot of work into becoming (and remaining) good at that they do.
I’ll use myself as an example. I have a B.A. in English literature and an M.A. in art history, which means that I read and wrote a lot during my post-secondary education. (So many papers…) I’ve worked as an editorial assistant at a nonprofit educational foundation and at an art museum. I spent 18 years at a nonprofit anti-poverty agency doing grant writing and communications work; for ten of those years, I was a senior-level executive, and I ran the department responsible for that work. Editing the grants and communications material was a huge part of what I did. I hold certificates of merit and distinction, respectively, from Knowadays for their Becoming an Editor and Becoming a Proofreader courses.
In short, I’ve been doing some kind of writing or editorial work for over 20 years, and I have specialist knowledge of the nonprofit sector and in the subject of art history. The rates I charge reflect my experience and the specialized knowledge I can bring to bear on a project (when it’s applicable). Any experienced or specialist editor will say much the same thing.
When I told people I was thinking of starting my own business, their responses generally fell into two categories:
There are kernels of truth in both these reactions. It’s nice to set your own schedule. It’s exciting to be your own boss. It’s also terrifying because the inescapable fact is you’re in charge of everything. And you’re responsible for paying for everything. All those benefits your prior job covered (if your workplace offered them) —health insurance, retirement plans, vacation time—you now pay for. All those admin functions your old job had departments for (e.g., finance, marketing, IT), you now do. If you’re a one-person shop like I am, you’re CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, Grand High Muckety-Muck of Marketing…you get the picture.
(And for the record, I don’t wear my pajamas all day. Nor do I sit around eating bonbons. Or dive into fat stacks of cash like Scrooge McDuck.)
The list of business expenses an editor has will vary based on how their business is structured. Here’s the list I made during the planning and budgeting phase for my business:
You might be thinking, Holiday time and sick time? Non-billable time? What’s all that about? The first one is easy to explain. As a freelancer, if I’m not working, I’m not getting paid. As a human being, I’d like a break from work every now and then. And I do occasionally get sick. To make sure I can afford to take time off when I need to (illness) or when I want to (vacation), I need to set my rates to ensure I’ve earned enough to make that time off possible.
Administrative time is time not spent on work for clients but that’s necessary for business operations. In my experience, a lot of folks forget to include this when they’re developing their business plan and setting their rates. All businesses incur these administrative costs, which include everything from mundane tasks like ordering supplies to crucial activities like preparing quotes, sending invoices, answering emails, and marketing. If an editor forgets to include this time in their planning, they don’t have a complete picture of their business operations, which results in an inadequate billing rate.
The items I’ve covered so far mostly pertain to the editor—where they live, what their experience is, and what their business costs are. Now let’s look at things related to the documents or jobs themselves that will affect how an editor prices your project.
No matter what method they use to determine project cost, most editors use the word count as the starting point for their calculations. Some editors charge a fixed rate for a certain number of words (e.g., $20 per 1,000 words). Others will charge an hourly rate or a flat project fee; however, the word count is still part of their calculation. Most editors I know track their time when working on projects. Doing so helps them determine the average number of words they can edit per hour, which in turn helps them estimate how many hours a project will take them.
These days, most editing work is done in MS Word using the Track Changes and Commenting functions. Working in a format outside of Word (e.g., a Google Doc, PDF, or hard copy) usually takes more time; consequently, the fee for those jobs may be higher.
Do you need someone who knows the difference between the gastrocnemius, the soleus, and the plantaris, and can describe what they do? Or maybe you need someone familiar with the phenomenon of column-swallowers in medieval churches? Are you writing about constitutional law? In these scenarios, you’d want an editor who’s a subject-area expert, and you’ll likely pay more for their specialized knowledge.
Many freelance editors have projects scheduled months in advance. That doesn’t necessarily mean that an editor won’t be able to accommodate your project’s tight deadline. But they’ll charge you more than their normal fee since taking on your project may mean working overtime to complete it by your deadline.
By this, I mean is it an early draft or has it been edited already (whether professionally or by the author)? How much work does it need? If you send an editor a 250-page, single-spaced first draft that you haven’t reviewed since you finished it last week, well…they’ll likely charge you more to work on that than they would a draft that you’ve revised at least once and formatted so it’s easier to read. An editor may ask to see a representative sample of your work before giving you a quote so they can assess its stage and get a feeling for how much intervention it may need.
The number of editorial passes you want an editor to do—that is, the number of times they read a manuscript—will impact your cost. Be sure to ask how many passes an editor’s quote includes. Some editors’ fixed project fees include multiple passes, while others include only one pass.
There are several different types of editing services available, and different editors provide different combinations of these services. The important thing to remember is each one of these services is distinct, and the time they take to complete (and, therefore, the cost associated with them) varies.
I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is there isn’t one. Sure, there are excellent professional societies out there like the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) and the Chartered Institute for Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) that present useful information about median prices and suggested minimum rates. But even they take pains to mention that rates can vary widely:
“Each job is different and the price is influenced by various factors, such as what needs to be done with the text, how quickly, the subject, format and publishing sector, and how experienced the editor is.” -CEIP
“Individual members’ rates vary considerably depending on the nature of the work, the time frame of the assignment, the degree of special expertise required, the member’s experience, and other factors.” -EFA
So, where does that leave you? If there is no fair or average rate, how can you know if someone is trying to fleece you?
Editors consider a lot of factors when setting their rates, just as you will consider a lot of factors in choosing an editor who’s right for your project. Finding someone you’re comfortable with may take time. But in the end, being clear on your priorities for the project and understanding the value an editor can bring to it will help you make a decision you’re comfortable with. And that’s really the most important thing.