Rates and Services
Services and Fees for 2008
Introduction | Rates
and services | Resume | Testimonials
| Books I've edited
\Please read these notes carefully
before contacting me. In particular, please check to see if I do the kind
of editorial work you seek. You can then email me
to see if I am available. Please do note that in general my availability
is limited. I commit most of my work time to long-term work and maintaining
The Purple Crayon, and must schedule
other projects around these commitments. Sometimes that means I can't begin
a new project for some time, or that I can only fit it in on the weekend.
For the same reason, I often can not give firm dates of completion for a
project, as the long-term work takes precedence. In other words, if you
need someone to get started tomorrow and deliver in a couple of weeks, you
will need to look elsewhere.
Services: All forms of editing, specializing in children's books,
from project editing of a book from start to finish, through developmental
editing (editing for structure, style, and content), manuscript evaluation
and critique, rewriting, to line-editing (editing at the sentence level);
associated researching and writing tasks, including copywriting; design
and consulting for the World Wide Web. Note that although I am willing to
do copyediting and proofreading, my rates are more than double the norm,
so you would do well to look elsewhere for such services.
Fees: My fees are hourly, with a minimum total fee. My lowest hourly fee is $75 per hour, and may be higher, depending primarily on the deadline and complexity of the assignment. You can find people offering similar work for less than I charge: I set my rates at this level because with my experience and skills I believe I am worth it--and because I am not willing to cut into my limited available time for less. Generally, I charge a higher rate for more substantial editing and for rush jobs. Critiques and manuscript evaluations are $75/hour, line-editing $80/hour, substantive or "developmental" editing $85/hour, and editorial consulting at least $100/hour. For rush jobs, I charge a premium of 25 to 50%, depending on the deadline.
Whatever the project, my minimum total fee is $300; small projects can be put together towards the minimum.
For my $300 minimum you get four hours of my time to do a critique: I can critique at least 3000 words (approx. 15 double-spaced pages) in one or more manuscripts, providing a written report of at least two pages. Short novels also fall within my minimum.
For other books, more pages generally means a higher fee. As a rule of thumb, I can read and take notes on 30-40 pages of a novel per hour, and then need an additional two to three hours to write up an editorial letter. Thus a novel of 300 pages will likely take me at least 10 hours to critique, or $750. Line-editing is slower. Project editing and editorial consulting projects will vary depending on the project.
I am open to negotiating flat project fees once we establish a working relationship, but not before then.
Conditions: Because being paid to evaluate children's books could lead to a conflict of interest with my full-time work, I will work on children's book manuscripts only under certain conditions: in the short agreement I send all clients is the stipulation that you may not submit the manuscript involved to me at any publishing house (of course, you can still send it to any other editor, so this is a small loss to you.). Fees and expectations are negotiated before the job begins, and can be renegotiated by either party if circumstances change.
Getting started: Please contact me by email (see below) with a short description of your manuscript and an explanation of what you want me to do. If I am available and think that it sounds like a good match for me, I will ask you to send me the manuscript; I prefer to see the project before settling on terms. I then briefly evaluate it, and if I think I can be of help I propose terms and send a short contract to you, setting out what I will do and what I expect from you. I do not proceed until the contract has been signed, and, for new clients, a deposit has been paid.
Payment: Payment is due within 30 days of the completion of the project or at agreed-upon intermediate stages. For most projects, I also require partial payment at the beginning of the work. I will invoice: please advise of elements required by your accounting system. Payment can be made by check or money order in US dollars or UK pounds. I reluctantly accept other currencies; payment must be made in full in advance, and include an additional 10% to cover bank charges. I do not accept payment by credit card or PayPal.
Contact me by email.
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