Fees and fee structures depend on the nature of the project. Here are the basic guidelines.
For most writing and editing projects, my rate is $125/hour.
For copyediting only, my rate is $80/hour.
For coaching and material development sessions, my rate is $150/hour.
If the volume of work for an institutional or nonprofit client merits it, then I ask for a monthly retainer.
For book manuscript assessment, I charge a flat fee from $1,500-$5,000 depending on the nature of the writing and the length of the manuscript. After reading a couple chapters, or around 25 pages, to evaluate the writing and determine whether I think I can help, I will deliver a proposal that includes fee and timeline. You will ultimately receive three documents: 1.) your MS with tracked comments throughout, 2.) a chronological notes file, and 3.) a detailed report of the work’s strengths and areas for improving the storytelling.
For developmental editing of a long-form manuscript—a novel or memoir or essay collection—we’ll negotiate a flat fee apportioned over several payments linked to concrete benchmarks (typically breaking the MS into three or four parts, e.g., $6,000 split into three $2,000 payments for each third of the MS). A comprehensive developmental edit of a book-length MS is a long, time-intensive, and fascinating collaborative process, so it can cost anywhere from $5,000-$20,000 depending on too many factors to list here.
After I read a few chapters or about 25 pages of your MS to get a sense of what you’re doing and decide whether I can help, we’ll have a 30-minute phone or FaceTime call to discuss your ambitions and so I can collect some other information that I find useful in trying to be of service to you and your work. This is all gratis. If we both want to move forward, I will send you a proposal for a full collaborative revision including timelines, fees, and scopes of work. Stage One involves an assessment of the MS after my first read, including comprehensive feedback and a strategy for revision. We’ll discuss all that, and if we agree on the approach, we’ll begin a full collaborative revision as Stage Two.
**I am happy to connect you with short fiction writers, nonfiction authors, and novelists I’ve worked with so that you can get their perspective on working with me before signing on.
Beyond the obvious, my comprehensive editing work generally includes:
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Fact checking
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Doing research to widen/deepen the scope of the story
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Catching copyediting and formatting errors
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Suggesting new content where needed
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Improving language choice
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Making structural changes
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Suggesting new/better chapter titles and character names
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Drawing out themes and tying the narrative to them
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Cheerleading and humor