How much?
No doubt this is the information you’ll want to know.
What are my fees? How long is a piece of string? (Don’t we all love that old cliché?)
Rates are dependent on the type of editing, the word count, subject matter, accuracy of the spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. plus how quickly is the work required.
I charge a fixed fee for some work and by the hour for others, depending on the document. The rates recommended by the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading are the basis for my quotations. Usually, a short story, blog post, website content, would be charged at an hourly rate, but a thesis or manuscript would be a fixed fee that would also be determined by word count and extent of work required. Each year the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading publishes recommended minimum hourly rates for its members and from 1 March 2025 the rates are available on their website.
Naturally, fees would depend on how much work is needed, but as a guide a copy-edit of a manuscript between 70,000 and 100,000 words would be in the region of £900 – £1,300, or thereabouts.
Proofreading may be less, again depending on the amount of work needed, and development editing, editorial report and manuscript critique are priced according to length and what is required.
It is difficult to set a fee without talking with the author or seeing an example, and it might not be as much as you think. Please feel free to talk to me.
For a no-obligation quote please send a sample of your work, no more than 500-1,000 words, to:
Karen@the-writers-secret-helper.com
For coaching/mentoring, fees would be subject to the amount of help required, frequency of meetings and reading your work. It could, therefore, range from £25-£40 per session, and we would, of course, agree a plan before beginning.
WiSH Editing and Proofreading 