Rates and Services
Services and Fees as of June 2025
Introduction | Rates and services | Resume | Testimonials | Books I've edited
Please read these notes carefully before contacting me. In particular, please check to see if I do the kind of editorial work you seek. You can then email me to see when I am available. In general, I must schedule work ahead of time, due to other projects and prior commitments.
Services: Consulting on children's book publishing, submissions and career strategy, and manuscript coaching; some forms of children's book editing, including developmental editing (editing for structure, style, plot, content, etc.). I generally don't do line-editing except as part of a larger project that began with developmental editing. I do not do copyediting and proofreading.
To avoid conflicts of interest with a future publishing job, authors who I work with must understand that they may not submit any of their work to me at any publishing position until two years after we stop working together. Wording reflecting this appears in my agreements.
I work with both authors and publishers, and provide strict confidentiality. I will not share your work with others in any way without your permission.
Fees: My fees are hourly (see below). My minimum fee for editorial work is $500; and my minimum for consulting is $350 (or two hours); multiple manuscripts or projects can be grouped together towards the minimum, if necessary. Plenty of people offer similar work for less than I charge: I set my rates at the levels I do because I believe that they are fair, given my experience and skills. I charge a higher rate for consulting than for editing, and a surcharge for rush jobs.
Developmental editing and line-editing in specific circumstances: My rate is $150 per hour. Developmental editing gives you detailed comments in the form of an editorial letter, with specific suggestions, and on-manuscript notes and line-editing to address specific issues. Line-editing involves line-by-line close reading and editorial comments, suggestions, and questions. A full line-edit is extremely time-consuming, so as part of a developmental edit I do not do line-editing on every page, but to support my general editorial comments. I will do a full line-edit on a manuscript on which I have done a developmental edit, or with clients I have worked with before.
Consulting: For work other than on manuscripts, such as help with cover and query letters, choosing which manuscripts to submit and how to frame them, and advice on where a particular manuscript fits in the market (I do not provide "referrals" to specific agents or publishers, which would not be ethical), I charge $175 per hour; the actual consulting may be in writing, over the phone, or in person. This is subject to a two-hour minimum if a free-standing project; there is no minimum if this is included in a larger project.
Project editing: For publishers and self-publishers, I project edit books from acquired manuscript to production, performing all tasks normally done by an in-house editor. Normally, I charge a negotiated project fee for these services, payable half on signing and half on completion.
Other services: Editorial or writing work that doesn't fit in the above categories is generally subject to my $150/hour rate. Please also read my comments on the issue of recommendations and referrals.
For rush jobs, I charge a premium of 25 to 50% on top of my standard fee, depending on the deadline.
Estimated costs: I will provide a written estimate in a letter of agreement before starting work on a project. As a rule of thumb, more pages means a higher total fee, and more detailed work is slower. Developmental editing can be slow and therefore expensive work, as it may include notes on the manuscript, and my rule of thumb is that I will be able to read and take notes at a rate of no more than 30 pages per hour. I then need a few hours to write up my editorial letter. So, for example, a 180-page nonfiction project could take me 6 hours to read and 3 to write up, or 9 hours at $150, a total of $1350. Line-editing as part of a project will take more time, and so a slower rate of 10-20 pages per hour.
Consulting projects will vary depending on the project; my hourly rate is higher, but consulting may only take up an hour or two, as a free-standing job or add-on to another project.
Conditions: Because being paid to evaluate children's books could lead to a conflict of interest with a future full-time job, I work on children's book manuscripts only under certain conditions: in the short agreement I send all clients is the stipulation that authors may not submit any of their work to me in a publishing position until two years after we stop working together. Other expectations are negotiated before the job begins, and can be renegotiated by either party if circumstances change.
Getting started: Please contact me by email (see below) with a short description of your manuscript and an explanation of what you want me to do. If I am available and think that it sounds like a good match for me, I will ask you to send me the manuscript; I prefer to see the project before settling on terms. I then briefly evaluate it, and if I think I can be of help I propose terms and send a short contract to you, setting out what I will do and what I expect from you. I do not proceed until the contract has been signed, and, for new clients, a deposit has been paid.
Payment: Payment is due within 30 days of the completion of the project or at agreed-upon intermediate stages. Unless we have worked together before, I require partial payment at the beginning of the work, or payment in full for minimum fee projects. I will invoice: please advise of elements required by your accounting system. Payment can be made by via Paypal, or by check or money order in US dollars or UK pounds. I do accept other currencies, but payment must be made in full in advance, and include an additional 10% to cover bank charges.
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