I’m a member of many groups online, and I’m active on several social media platforms, and one of the most common questions I see asked is how on Earth authors—especially authors early in their careers—can afford editing.
This is a valid question, and it’s one that has defined my business and in fact, many of my life choices. The answer to this is question is multi-layered, but I think it becomes a lot more clear when we reframe the question.
Why the Bleep Does Editing Cost So Much in the First Place?
Many independently published authors send their books to developmental editors (also known as content editors) to confirm the story is working, the premise and hook are strong, the character arcs are well-paced and complete, the worldbuilding is authentic and consistent, and the story beats hit every necessary note for the genre.
Let’s look at the numbers. The average person can read about one page (250 words) in about two minutes. Since content editors are reading closely, and ostensibly making notes and creating an editorial memo to deliver to the client, let’s say the average editor cannot read faster than the average reader—they simply can’t do a thorough job if they read fast. That means a 90,000-word book should take the average content editor about 12 hours to read—and that’s assuming we give them no extra time to make notes, there are no places they have to stop and re-read, and so on.
But let’s say the developmental editor needs to take more time to make notes on 360-ish page book. That process could add easily another one to three minutes of time invested per page. That brings content editing time to as much as 30 hours. That’s nearly an entire week’s work. If you’re an expert content editor, most of us have overhead costs (billing and accounting software, webcams, lights, microphones, editing software costs, cloud storage, high-speed internet, and hardware investments, not to mention the other stuff like self-employment taxes, health insurance, etc.)
If your freelance content editor charges .02 (two cents) per word, according to the Editorial Freelancers Association, they are charging under-market rates for fiction. That person is already charging low rates, but they also need to set aside 30-50% of that for taxes and overhead. That means they net quite a bit less, but let’s stick with the gross numbers.
If we consider that a high-quality content editor will spend roughly 30 hours of time (and possibly far more…if the editor delivers a separate editorial memo or video, if they Zoom with the author for follow-up consultation or discussion), that single project might have to billed at $1,800 or more. After costs and taxes are deducted, let’s use the low end of the range and set aside 30% of the $1,800 your editor might charge for content edits. That leaves your editor with $1,260 in net revenue for 30 hours of work. Divide $1,260 by 30 hours, and that comes out to about $42 an hour.
But, my goodness, you might think. I’d love to make $42 an hour! Maybe. But how many clients can’t pay the full rate and negotiate discounts, are on long-term payment plans, or simply write only one book every two years? Editors have to spend time marketing, communicating with clients about projects, and maintaining the administrative side of the business. Even the rates that might cause an author sticker shock are not stable or even enough for many editors to stick with this and do this successfully year after year.
Now, many authors skip content edits, relying instead on beta readers or close critique partners. Let’s apply this same math to copyediting. Copyeditors invest the same initial close read, so they must spend that initial 12 hours just to read the book, understand the characters, and make detailed notes about the details, locations, and other details of the story that will need to be conveyed consistently throughout the book.
I would argue based on my 9+ years experience copyediting that a strong copyeditor working on a book with an average—just average, no better, no worse—book can at best copyedit 20 pages per hour. That means the 90,000-word book (or about 360 pages) will take at least 18 hours to copyedit. Those 18 hours take place after an initial read of the book that should take about 12 hours (if they read 2 pages per minute/approx 360 pages). Add in time to create a style sheet, and even a very average book (average being a good thing here!) will require a minimum of 30 hours of time, likely closer to 40, to copyedit.
I have edited books of 90,000 words that needed more than 7,000 technical corrections—things like grammar errors, verb tense errors, and incorrect use of punctuation. These are things that cannot be automated with find/replace or macros. Many issues in an author’s book require context, expertise, and a human editor to navigate. You can imagine that a book that needs a heavy copyedit could easily take a skilled, thorough copyeditor 70-80 hours to finish. To keep the math simple, let’s say the copyeditor charges the same per-word rate of two cents. That means a heavy copyedit completed over 70 hours would net the copyeditor something in the neighborhood (after 30% for taxes and overhead) of $13 per hour.
Less than minimum WHAT?
You can see why most experienced editors question the validity of editors who can charge unbelievably low flat rates. Sure, there may be editors in situations that allow them to work for under-market rates (and in some cases way under-market rates), but most of the time you get what you pay for. I’ve hired cheaper editors when I was in position to make hiring decisions, and always paid on the later side of the project in time spent re-doing insufficient or incomplete work. But the editors I’ve hired and paid competitive markets rates, allowed them sufficient time (not a rush) to do the work, and sent in a good quality finished draft (not the 7,000-corrections version)… I know the cost may be incredibly tough to understand, but I firmly believe a good editor is worth their rate...and you will get what you pay for.
How do you find editors? And do you skip steps if you’re self-publishing? What’s worked to save time and stress for you without compromising quality?