Okay...
My novel comes out to approximately 78,000 words. I just got an estimate from someone I know. She told me it's 20 dollars an hour for (3-5 pages.)
Shouldn't she be estimating by words? I have a lot of dialouge in my book. One page could be 100 words and the next could be 250. I would go by words if if I was a proofreader. It just makes more sense.
Double-spaced my book is 360 pages. Single-spaced it's under 200. I don't know if she'll accept single-spaced.
What do you guys think? Should I find someone who charges by words?
Thanks in advance.
I use people I know, local writers, etc. and get them to proofread it once they've critiqued. Obviously I return the favour when required. Why pay? Out of ten people at least one will spot the grammar error or misplaced comma, plus you'll get a wider spectrum of feedback. That's my opinion, anyway.
According to the Editorial Freelancers Association page, the standard rate is $30 - $35 per hour for 9 - 13 pages per hour.
More info HERE.
I once hired an editor and though she recommended only copy editing since the first draft was so polished, it ended up costing somewhere around $1,000.
Though I did find her feedback helpful, I can honestly say I will never do it again. I would rather sit on the manuscript and come back to it myself with a fresh set of eyes, along with finding beta readers who pay attention to editing issues.
If you have the money and don't want to wait a long time to complete edits, I'd say go for it (especially if you're known for rough grammar) ... but otherwise, I urge you to find an alternate route. I also recommend LitReactor's Writer's Workshop on here. Though you usually have to submit only one to two chapters at a time, most people provide detailed reviews, often with line by line edits that catch poor grammar and structure. Additionally, the people there can give you important advice for free that an editor will request tons of extra cash for: plotting notes, reader preferences, effectiveness of scenes, etcetera. I submitted a whole novel one to two chapters at a time on there and am using the reviews I received to feed my entire revision process.
I second the Writers Workshop here. I've been involved in a few other writing communities and have done plenty of critique swaps but I feel like the quality of the critiques I've received here has been head and shoulders above what I've experience in other forums.
I have only once paid for an edit, and she charged by the page, not by the hour. I assumed that was the norm.
I don't think any proofreader would object to giving you a price quote based on the word count rather than the hourly rate/page count if you asked for it.
I feel it's essential to hire an editor and a proofread if you're self-publishing. Not so much if you plan to submit to publishers or agents. If accepted, the editing and proofreading will be done by the publishing staff (although some terrible companies may skip those steps). So not hiring anyone is fine as long as the book is fairly clean.
Although as an editor for a publisher, I sometimes reject good books because they require more editing than I'm willing to do. In those cases, the authors would get a lot out of hiring a freelancer.
Okay...this is good feedback. I have a lot to think about.
One more thing: How does copyright work? Can I copyright my book before it's proofread? Will that hold up in court if someone tries to steal my work? I know it's a very slim chance.
Yes you can. There's a brief explanation of US copyright here, or Google US copyright for full details. It works a little differently over here but everything I do is copyrighted at every stage, from draft to final, so if someone tried to steal it I've got proof I wrote it.
Thank you!
I don't think any proofreader would object to giving you a price quote based on the word count rather than the hourly rate/page count if you asked for it.
I feel it's essential to hire an editor and a proofread if you're self-publishing. Not so much if you plan to submit to publishers or agents. If accepted, the editing and proofreading will be done by the publishing staff (although some terrible companies may skip those steps). So not hiring anyone is fine as long as the book is fairly clean.
Although as an editor for a publisher, I sometimes reject good books because they require more editing than I'm willing to do. In those cases, the authors would get a lot out of hiring a freelancer.
I'm curious if you tell them that this is why?
I do. I'll say that it needs too much editing.
^
Do they usually come back with better grammar?
I've only gotten one resubmission, and although it was better, it was still pretty bad.
