First, I don’t do edits for free. But I do think it’s very important to make sure that my approach to the editing process is in sync with the writer’s goals and needs. To do this, I ask all prospective clients to send me a writing sample. Then everyone gets a free phone consult during which I would let them know how I think I can best help, and they can express concerns, ask questions, and so on. They interview me, and I interview them, and we work out if we are a good fit.

Second, I don’t specify turn around time in a contract either. Once a writer has decide they want to work with me, and provided me with the work, they get a schedule: this is when I will deliver the work to you. My turn around time is usually much less than 90 days.

Third, I do charge by the hour, not the page, and here’s why: everyone’s pages and needs are different, and I offer a range of services to accommodate that. Some writers want line edits, and their work is extremely clean – beautiful language and sentence construction. Not too much for me to do. Naturally, I’d get through more pages per hour than I would for someone who has a much rougher manuscript. Other times, I work more in the capacity of a developmental editor. The author doesn’t need line edits at all – they need help with structure, theme, overall cohesion. Again, my reading rate and level of engagement is different in this case, and a single page-per-hour rate isn’t going to cover it. So I take each piece of work on an individual basis and always, but ALWAYS, give a firm quote upfront. The author knows what they are being charged for, and the rate. No hidden costs.

Finally, I don’t give multiple edits for a single rate, and that seems a little odd to me. How can you, when you don’t know how an author will respond to the first edits, and so how much work there will be to do? Plus, I always try and do the best and most complete edit possible the first time around, so that multiple edits are not necessary. Of course, this can vary, depending again on what kind of editing I am doing, and how experienced the writer is. And making sure the client has realistic expectations, both of me as an editor and of how much they can get done in a given time, is also part of my job: an essential part of the free initial consult.

So, that’s my two cents worth. Thank you for kicking off the discussion. Interested readers can check out my website: http://www.nancyrawlinson.com

http://www.daniellebuffardi.com