 Photo by Fabian Blank on Unsplash Have you ever balked at a quote that seemed way overpriced? Did you seek to understand the complexity of the services you were being quoted for? Or did you simply reject the idea in lieu of a cheaper alternative? I'm not talking about a budget. Everyone has a budget they need to work within, and that's understandable. I'm talking about value. And value is subjective. The value you place on professional editing services is based on your understanding of how it can impact not just your current story but your growth as a writer. Publishing a book may come with a cost, but when you understand the value of what you’re paying for, it can change your perspective. You begin to see your financial contribution as an investment in your long-term career. In this post, we’re going to look at the cost of each stage of editing and the value it brings to your manuscript. We’ll also talk about ways to steward your resources well so that you know the choices that you’re making for your book are the right ones for you. Is It Really Worth It? Value may be subjective, but there are some things we can all agree on. Like the fact that there are specific expectations that have to be met for a given job. For example, if you were hiring someone to lay new carpet in your living room, you would expect them to remove the old flooring, prepare and level the subfloor, and then finally install the new flooring, taking care to measure correctly and leave a professional-looking product behind when they are done. You wouldn’t even seek a professional carpet installer if you didn’t have the expectations of a professional-quality job. Instead, you would just DIY that project and call it a day. Value comes into play when you decide that the professional end-product is worth the investment you put into it financially. Editing is no different. When you recognize the value that each level of editing brings to your manuscript, you can more carefully and intentionally invest in yourself as an author, in your manuscript, and in your future career. So, what makes professional editing valuable to you?
The truth is there’s no right or wrong answer. The value is subjective to you. And it all starts with the right relationship. The Author-Editor Relationship Finding the right book editor will provide you with access to expertise and collaboration you can't get when using friends and family. They will spend countless hours poring over your manuscript, offering guidance and suggestions to enhance your story and helping you elevate it to the next level. But the right editor will also encourage, challenge, and inspire you as you undertake the revision process and grow your career as a professional author. If your goal is to publish a book for the sake of publishing, you probably don't need the services of a professional. But if writing as a career is the path you are called to, I encourage you to talk with a few professional editors. Seek to understand the value they can bring to your project. And evaluate whether the investment you make in their partnership can continue to provide you value as you pursue the career you were made for. Secrets to Finding the Perfect Book Editor can help you ensure the editor you choose is the right editor for you. Evaluating the Cost of Each Editing Phase Once you’ve determined that professional editing is a wise choice, you need to consider:
Let’s look at each one a little deeper. What Level of Editing Do You Need? Determining the level of editing you need is important to avoid wasting money and time. You don’t want to invest in a copyeditor when you have plot holes that need to be addressed first. Likewise, you don’t want to pay for a proofreader when your manuscript is in need of a thorough line or copyedit. You can read more about determining the level of manuscript editing you need in What Type of Editing Do I Need? What Value Can a Professional Editor Bring to Your Book? Confidence. Professionalism. Consistency. A professional editor will help you deliver a professional book to your readers. It will increase your opportunities with agents and publishers by helping you deliver a high-quality product that can hold its own against other well-sought-after books on the market. Hiring a professional editor is more than an expense in your writing journey. It’s an investment in a professional product from a professional author. What Is Your Overall Editing Budget Compared to Prices? This may be one of the most important aspects to consider in securing professional editing services. After all, it doesn’t matter if you see the value in hiring professionals if your budget simply doesn’t allow for it. It’s important to know what you have available to spend on each level of editing, and how does that compare to industry prices? What Can You Do to Steward Your Financial Resources Well? Alpha Readers You can reduce developmental editing costs by using alpha (often mistakenly called beta) readers before you proceed with professional editing. Writer's groups are a great source of alpha readers. Authors will exchange feedback on one another’s books at no cost, which can give you valuable feedback or questions to consider before you spend money on professional editing. Friends and family can be another source of alpha reading as long as they are able to give objective feedback. If they will only tell you what you want to hear or they are afraid to hurt your feelings, then this may not be the best option for you. Finally, Facebook groups or social media may provide you with readers to give you initial feedback for filling plot holes or correcting issues before sending it to a professional editor. Why is this helpful? First, most developmental editors aren’t going to try to correct every single issue in a manuscript. It is simply too overwhelming and improbable. Instead, they will address the biggest issues in their developmental edit. (This is why the best manuscripts go through more than one round of developmental editing; each round addresses the biggest issues until the author is left with a well-developed manuscript.) If alpha readers have already pointed out errors and allowed you to address them, your editor can tackle the next issue on the list. The more issues you uncover before sending it to your editor, the more money and time you can save during the editing process. Editing Software Programs like Word’s Editor, Grammarly, or PerfectIt can be used to help you self-edit as thoroughly as possible. If you have a strong understanding of grammar rules and know how to use the Chicago Manual of Style, you can save your editor time and save yourself money in the copyediting and proofreading phases. However, it is important to understand that these tools are not the ultimate authority on styling or formatting a manuscript. PerfectIt, in my opinion, does the best job since it will point you to areas in the Chicago Manual of Style that it is pulling its suggestions from, however, it isn’t infallible. Nothing replaces a professional editor when rooting out errors and ensuring consistency in voice and style. Why is this helpful? If you are willing to invest the time in a thorough self-edit, you may be able to skip right to proofreading. However, I wouldn’t recommend this as your money-saving tip unless you are confident in your grammar and style guide knowledge. Style Sheets Style sheets are created at the copyediting stage. And they take time to create. Lots of time. Therefore, one way to save money during the copyediting stage is to create your own style sheet. Work through your manuscript and make note of any unusual spellings, preferences in word choice or capitalization, characters and their descriptions, locations, timeline, Scripture versions, etc. Style sheets contain any information that the editor may need to look up or query. Why is this helpful? If you have devoted time to compiling a thorough style sheet to send to your copyeditor, you can significantly reduce the amount of time (and therefore money) needed at this stage of editing. You will reduce the amount of time they have to research, the time they have to log information, and the time they have to query. And time is money. You can google style sheet templates or make your own. If you’re still unsure, check out Elevate Your Story with a Style Sheet for more information. Beta Readers Finally, you can choose to use beta readers after the editing process has taken place and before you publish your book. Beta readers can identify any errors that slipped through the copyediting stage of editing, giving you ample time to correct them before publishing. Why is this helpful? You want your final product to be polished. However, it’s easy for errors to be introduced unintentionally at any point during the writing or editing journey. Beta readers can be your extra eyes before publication, and for extra-tight budgets, they may even serve in place of final proofreading services. Using the Same Editor In some cases, it is prudent to use the same editor for more than one stage of editing. This is because most editors offer a discount to authors who bundle services. If you determine that you are going to use a professional editor for the developmental stage and copyediting stage, and if you find an editor you trust and work well with, talk to them about performing both stages of edits. Why is this helpful? Editors are people too. We enjoy working with authors we connect with and have good working relationships with. If you contract us to edit your book, we are going to get to know each other beyond the edits in that one book. We’re going to build a relationship. And if it’s a positive relationship, we are happy to work with you again—often at a discount since we are already familiar with your book and your preferences. Editing Cost Breakdowns Now that we’ve talked about the value professional editing brings to your manuscript and ways to reduce your costs, let’s get to the nitty gritty. How much does editing cost? We’ll look at each phase of editing individually. Developmental Editing CostsAs with any other editing service, the length of the manuscript and the extent of the edit will impact the price. However, you can expect to pay $.03–$.04 per word for a fiction manuscript and $.04–$.05 per word for a nonfiction manuscript. This means that a 100,000-word fiction manuscript will cost between $3000–$4000 for a developmental edit. A 45,000-word nonfiction manuscript will cost between $1800–$2250 for a developmental edit. Rate charts like this one from the Editorial Freelancers Association can be helpful in planning for editing services. You can also use the EFA estimator to help you anticipate editing costs. Copyediting Costs Copyediting starts at $.02 per word for fiction (up to $.03) and can go as high as $.04 per word for nonfiction. If we use our same manuscript examples above, a 100,000-word fiction manuscript will be between $2000 and $3000. A 45,000-word nonfiction manuscript will run between $1350 and $1800. Proofreading Costs Proofreading is the least expensive option in terms of editing services. By this stage, the manuscript should be in near-perfect condition. You’re hiring a proofreader to polish the final product, and ideally, the errors and changes needed should be minimal. Proofreading will cost you between $.012–$.02 per word for fiction and $.02–$.03 for nonfiction. This would be $1200–$2000 for the fiction manuscript and $900–$1350 for nonfiction. Conclusion: Finding the Service That Fits Your Budget There’s no doubt that using professional editing services benefits authors who look to make a career out of writing. However, most authors (especially indie authors) can’t afford to pay for professional services at every level of editing. At least not in the beginning. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of a professional editor working alongside you to realize your publishing dreams. If you find that you can only afford one or two editing services, you can always utilize some of the money-saving tips above to cut costs. Begin saving for editing expenses as soon as you begin writing your book. If you’ve already begun, start saving now. Then, invest those funds into the editing level that you need the most support with. Finally, and most importantly, don’t discount God. If he has put a story on your heart, you can trust that he will help you bring it to life. Write the book. Steward your resources well. And be faithful to self-edit as thoroughly as possible, trusting God with the rest. If he gave you the dream, he will be faithful to bring it to pass. Categories
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About MeNycole Sinks is the owner and editor for Positive Proofing. With a background in business and education, she has a passion for helping authors share their stories with the world. 
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