Copy Editing Rates

I refer to my services as “copy editing,” but I blend copy editing with line editing. Line editing is a more intense version of copy editing, in which an entire sentence is rearranged rather than merely tweaked. Manuscripts in rough shape may need 80% line edit, 20% copy edit, while skillfully self-edited manuscripts may need 80% copy edit, 20% line edit. Every manuscript is different, but for the time being I charge as if I’m only performing a copy edit. If I were to charge for the line editing I do, I’d have to raise my rates.

Two rounds of copy editing: $0.012 per word, or just over a penny per word.
This is below the US average of $0.02–$0.03 / word, per the Editorial Freelancers Association.

One round of copy editing: $0.01, one cent, per word. This option does not include the “spot check” round.

  • 5% discount for US veterans. I am not pro war, but my father was a veteran and POW, and I believe veteran stories need to be told. 
  • Repeat clients: Contact me for your rate, which will be close to what you last paid, if not exactly the same.

In my copy editing / line editing service, I revise grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, repetition, and wordy passages. I also note inconsistencies and plot holes, improve flow, and do minor fact checking. For long fiction—novels—I create a style sheet, which is a list of fictional character names plus any unusual style choices. I don’t include this for nonfiction like memoir or self-help.

What is not included in copy editing: developmental/content/structural editing, which means changing “big picture” issues like plot, characters, and chapter order. I recommend having a developmental edit beforehand. My services also do not include any art or design work, inserting images, formatting, or uploading to ebook.

*These rates are valid for deposits made through February 1, 2025. I am currently accepting jobs for fall 2024 and beyond.

Short diagnostic copy edit:

  • Rate: $0.01, one cent, per word. One round only, no style sheet, even for fiction
  • $50 minimum
  • If you later ask me to copy edit the full manuscript, I will deduct the word count I already edited from your total

In this service, I copy edit only two to three chapters in a single round, enough to give advice on weak writing spots at the sentence level. Many writers have a quirk, whether it’s shifting tenses, misused dialogue tags, or repetition. Others have passages they’re not sure how to fix, or just need a little feedback. This service is for those who want to identify their weak spots or see if a copy edit is worth it.

Rounds: My two-round rate includes a main round and a “spot check” round. After I return your edit and you make revisions, I’ll double check any newly added sentences to make sure the grammar is sound. I recommend this tier to writers who are not completely confident with self-editing their grammar and punctuation.

My one-round rate means that once I complete my main round, the job is done. I recommend this to seasoned writers with advanced grammar skills.

Time Limit: These rates are valid for deposits made by February 1, 2025. I am now accepting clients for fall 2024 and beyond.

Payment terms: I require a 50% deposit, with the rest to be paid upon delivery of first round, which is standard in the industry. I’m open to payment plans. I accept Zelle, PayPal, Wise, or (US clients only) personal check.

Refunds: If you cancel before editing begins, I reserve the right to keep up to 10% of the quoted total estimate, especially if I have turned down work to hold your spot. If you cancel after editing begins, I’ll give you the work that has been completed and only charge for that amount. My aim is to be fair. 

More Info About My Services

Copy Editing Samples:

I provide a free editing sample of 1000–1500 words, in a .doc or .docx file, for manuscripts over 20,000 words. Works under 20,000 words will get a shorter sample. Please take the sample from the middle of the book, or send me your whole manuscript in a .doc or .docx file, and I’ll choose the sample. I will never share your work with any third party, nor use it for my personal gain. Note that I don’t provide samples in Google Docs, Mac Pages, or PDF. 

Portfolio:

Now entering my fifth year of professional copy editing—eight if you include my first job of correcting newspaper ads and obituaries—I have copy edited over thirty full-length fiction and memoir manuscripts and dozens of essays. A word on the blurbs of books I’ve edited: they’re often written long after my work is done and haven’t been edited. But I’m happy to look over blurbs for grammar as a client courtesy, even months later, so please ask! Here are a few novels I’d copy edited by 2022. I need to update this, as I’ve now done second and third novels for some of these authors:

  • Queer Drunk Punk – a coming-of-age recovery novel with a lot of heart (plus its sequel, Nasty Grrrls)
  • Bittersweet Empathy  – a dark coming-of-age horror novel with a lot of humor
  • Fair Winds of Death  – an impeccably researched NCIS-like Navy thriller (plus its sequel, Fair Winds of Deceit, and soon the third installment)
  • God Knows Your Measure  – a spiritual guide and accompanying workbook based on the Book of Job
  • Highly Odd  – a cheeky fictionalized memoir of an Oxford alumnus and British architect living in Lebanon

I’ve also copy edited these books, which were either published privately or are still in the publication process:

  • A historic time-travel novel (which has had a full MS request from an agent)
  • Several other memoirs including that of a law professor and Korean War veteran
  • A New Orleans noir / fictionalized memoir
  • Three books about social divisions
  • Several in the YA and horror/fantasy/paranormal genres
  • Many short stories

For the next list of books, I did not copy edit the manuscripts, but I either provided a manuscript critique or I edited the agent submission package:

You can also read examples of my own writing on my blog.

My specialties: Some of my favorite projects were in subjects I never would have called a specialty. I love variety. But I have worked on enough memoirs to call that a specialty. I “know the lingo” in these areas: music (classical/rock/jazz), music education, wild birds and nature, poker, tennis and baseball, food and wine, mid-Atlantic history, the visual arts, social issues, and guinea pigs. I love to laugh and adore comedy. I was legal guardian—and currently estate executor—to a parent with mental illness and dementia, so I have knowledge and empathy on that subject. I’m now comfortable with military lingo. I’ve read extensively, and I’m familiar enough with “the tropes” in most genres to copy edit them on a sentence level. Perhaps it’s easier if I state what I don’t specialize in: science fiction, academic works, and anything with a lot of math content. 

Copy Editing process from start to finish:

Initial tasks: First we’ll agree on the level of edit, rate, and your time slot. When you accept my simple work agreement, I’ll invoice a 50% deposit, which secures your spot in my calendar. You can email your manuscript in a .doc or .docx file at any time.

Main editing round: I review manuscripts several times for accuracy, typically taking a week per 25,000 words. When finished, I’ll send you a version on which you can reject edits that don’t like. For novels, I’ll also send a style sheet listing proper nouns and unusual preferences. As 90% of work is completed in this main round, I’ll send you an invoice for the remaining half of my fee. 

Spot-check round: For those who have opted for this level—once you’ve reviewed my suggestions and have paid your balance, send me the new version for a final spot check. I will copy edit anything new that has been added. Caveat: this includes up to 1000 new words. Words in excess of 1000—say you add an entire chapter after our first round—may be billed at the rate we agreed to for the main edit. I have never had to enforce this, though.

Resources and Software: 

I edit using the latest Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, as well as several editing guides. I also edit in US, Canadian, and British English.

I copy edit and proofread using Word, so files generally need to be submitted in .doc or .docx format. I do not work in Pages (the Mac format) or PDF, and I don’t often work in Google Docs, though I consider it if the document is short. Google does not work well for editing longer documents.

Accuracy:

I have over a 99% degree of accuracy as I do several “passes,” but the best copy editors in the world don’t have a 100% catch rate. Like them, I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy. Even the Chicago Manual of Style, with dozens of proofreaders and copy editors, was published with several typos. This is a standard disclaimer, and I try my best not to leave mistakes behind.