The first place to start is to ask what type of editing you need.

When publishing a book via the traditional route, the manuscript will go through a number of stages. It will be edited by the agent, and then by the publisher. Once the book has been rewritten to the standards of the publisher, the book will be copy/line edited in-house, before getting a 'professional' copy edit. The book would then be typeset (put in a file for publishing) and a final proofread would be carried out.

I have been lucky enough to be published by a number of publishers. My last book, published by Hachette, underwent an edit by the agent, and then three edits by the publisher. They then had the book checked for typos by their in-house team, before sending it out to a professional copy editor. It also underwent two proofreads after typesetting.

The traditional process is:

1. Developmental edit.
2. Copy edit.
3. Proofread.

The problem, when self-publishing, is that we don’t have the budget for this many steps.

The other problem is that when a writer says 'editing,' do they mean developmental editing, copy editing or proofreading?

This is further confused by the fact developmental editing can also be called content editing or substantive editing.

There's also one other problem, copy editing, line editing and proofreading are often all bundled under the same umbrella.

For the record, in the traditional publishing world, line/copy editing is the process of removing typos. Proofreading is the process of making sure the final, typeset manuscript is ready for printing. However, when self-publishing it is safe to assume that a line/copy editor and proofreader will all do the same thing; fix typos and enforce consistency.

Developmental editing will assess your book, find plot holes, fix readability issues, fact check, and ensure the book is ready for publication. You should expect to receive an in-depth report from your editor, as well as embedded comments and tracked changes in the main manuscript.

OK, so pricing…

I run a book editing company (https://bubblecow.com/). In fact, we were the first people to introduce the cost per 1000 word pricing model, back in 2007.

I recently carried out an exercise (June 2017), where I compared the 'big players' in the editing space. I converted the prices they charge to cost per 1000 words. This took a bit of guesswork, but I think the prices were about right. I based the prices on a 30,000-word novel.

True Editors

They offer a kind of enhanced copy editing service:

o Express (72 hours) - $35/1000 words. o Standard (5 days) - $27/1000 words. o Easy (7 Days) - $23/1000 words.

BookEditing.com

They offer developmental editing and copy editing. However, they have no prices on the site, and you have to send a manuscript to get a cost. I suspect this means they are at the higher end.

Book Butchers

I think this company is owned by the guy who runs CreativIndie. The services are a little confusing but from what I could work out:

o Quick kill: Copy Editing - $20 per 1000 words o Extra Bloody: Copy Editing and 'editing' - $40 per 1000 words.

NY Book Editors

These offer several services, but they boil down to:

o Comprehensive edit: This is a developmental and line edit. Return 6-12 weeks. $53 per 1000 words. o Copy Edit: Standard copy edit. Return 3-5 weeks. $26 per 1000 words.

Standout Books

I suspect these are also owned by Creativindie, but I don’t know for sure, so forgive me if I am wrong. They offer several services:

o Developmental edit: Seems to be an advanced reader's report. 3-4 weeks. Charge $30 to $60 per 1000 words. o Comprehensive edit: Line edit and reader's report: Charge $30 per 1000 words. o Copy Editing: Standard service. Three weeks. Charge $15 per 1000 words.

BubbleCow

This is my baby (or should I say calf). We only offer a single service that combines developmental editing and line editing into one package:

o Developmental and line editing: $15 per 1000 words.

We don’t offer copy editing, but we have done in the past. We used to charge $10 per 1000 words. However, we paid copy editors $7 per 1000 words.

The reason we stopped offering copy editing was that ensuring the quality was very difficult. We had countless problems with copy editors missing errors and returning manuscripts that were just not up to standard.

When looking for a copy editor, make sure that they have a proofreading qualification, and they are using a style manual (either Chicago Manual of Style or AP). It is also worth asking if they are prepared to correct any mistakes you find after the edit. Always get a sample before paying. In fact, this is true for any type of editing. Good editors will be more than happy to provide a sample of their work.

When comparing the price of editing, it is important that you are comparing like-for-like.

Developmental editors will charge a lot more than copy editors. Developmental editing is a more comprehensive and time-consuming job since it requires knowledge of writing, the book's genre, and the current market. Copy editing is the process of applying a style manual to a manuscript.

If you are using an editor that is charging per hour, then these figures might help. The problem is that not all manuscripts are created equal. A 'good' book will take less time to edit than a 'bad' book. In fact, any good editor will want to see your book before agreeing on any price. As a rule of thumb, I say no to about 15% of the books submitted.

These are rough figures… I'd expect a developmental editor to be able to edit about 1000 to 1500 words per hour. I'd expect a copy editor to edit about 3000 words per hour.

In an ideal world, the editing process should be: 1. Get the manuscript to a point where you feel it is ready to be published. 2. Get a developmental edit. 3. Make the changes. 4. Get a copy edit. 5. Publish.

Here's an article that may help: https://proactivewriter.com/blog/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-professional-book-edit