"How much will it
cost?"
(And how long will it
take?)
Those are good
questions, and understandably, they are some of the
first ones we're asked by prospective clients. Of
course it wouldn't be fair, either to you or to us,
to quote an exact fee or turnaround time without
seeing the work first. Each project is unique. But we
felt it would also be unfair, to you and to us, if we
were to offer nothing more than a cagey, "Call
or email us for pricing." If we present our
price range up front, you avoid potential sticker
shock, and we all avoid a "tire kicking"
process that takes up everyone's valuable time.
The purpose of
this page is to give you a general idea of our fee
structure and turnaround times. Note that the
turnaround times listed are averages, and are based
on the assumption that we will receive timely
feedback at each stage of the project.
Hiring a
professional to help you create or finish your work
is not cheap — particularly if you are looking
for a ghostwriter — and we aren't pretending it
is. But it is a worthwhile investment if you want to
make your book as marketable as possible. If you shop
around, you will no doubt discover that we aren't the
cheapest literary collaborators you can find, but we
are far from the most expensive. (Just take a look at
some of the top "sponsored links" in
Google, and you'll see what we mean.) One thing you
can count on: we will always
give you your money's worth...and more.
All fees quoted
are in US dollars. Prices are subject to change, but
we will make every effort to keep this page updated.
Per-project
or per-page fees versus hourly rates
Our
general fee range
Manuscript
evaluation
Book
proposal
Ghostwriting
fees
Editing
fees, average
Definition
of a manuscript page
Editing
fees, substantial
Indexing
A
brief digression: How you can save time and money before
hiring an editor
Page
design and layout fees
Book
cover design fees
Shorter
works (single chapters, portions of manuscripts,
short stories, essays)
Printing
/ book production assistance
Website
design and other promotional materials
Consultation
to help you decide the direction for your your book
project(s)
Payment
methods and terms
Working
on spec (for a promise of future profits)
Why
we generally charge by the project or by the page,
rather than by the hour. For ghostwriting,
rewriting or substantial editing, as well as cover
designs, we normally charge a flat (per-project) fee
instead of an hourly rate. For basic copy editing (as
well as for page layout), our fee is generally based
on a per-page charge.
We realize
that many editors charge an hourly rate for all types
of editing. According to recent figures from Writers'
Market, these rates currently range
from $15 to $100 per hour in the US, depending upon
the type of publication and the level of editing.
Well, we have done it both ways — the hourly
rate and the flat fee or per-page rate — and
have found that, in our experience,
our way is more economical for our clients and easier
on us. (Keeping track of our "actual hours
worked" has never been our strong suit, and we
do work LONG hours.) Other editors have had the
reverse experience, and feel that charging by the
hour is easier and more fair on everyone. The truth
is that there is no single "right" way to
charge for editing. Our method just seems to work
best for us and our clients.
This doesn't
mean that we apply a "one size fits all"
mentality to our editing fee structure. The per-page
rate is really only a general reference point. We do
carefully evaluate every project before submitting a
bid. This means that we will of course charge more to
edit a roughly written, disorganized 200-page
manuscript than one that is well-written and
organized and only needs a few "tweaks."
The three
major exceptions to our "per project" or
"per page" fee practice are: consultation; intensive photo retouching; and a la carte printing/production
quality control.
Note: With
rare exceptions, we always work for an upfront
fee and do not ask for royalties or residuals.
Once the work has been completed to your
satisfaction and we have been paid, all rights
— and profits — belong to you.
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The
range of our fees: Our fees for
full-length book projects can run anywhere from $100.00
for a one-hour consultation session (or
$500.00 for a complete reading and
critique of a book-length manuscript),
up to the mid five-figure range if we do
the actual ghostwriting and research (or the bulk
thereof).
Manuscript
evaluation: Our a la carte fee
for a complete manuscript reading and critique is $500.00
— which is deductible from the total if
you hire us to complete the project. We read the
manuscript thoroughly and provide a six- to ten-page
evaluation of its strengths, weaknesses and general
marketability, as well as a short sample edit of the
text. If desired, we will also present a proposal for
editing, rewriting or whatever we feel the manuscript
needs in order to be marketable.
Note that the above applies to book-length
manuscripts. We consider a book-length manuscript to
be 125-400 pages (double-spaced,
12-point-type), or approx. 30,000 to
100,000 words. Our fee for reading and critiquing
shorter works varies depending upon the length and
complexity of the work.
Note that we do not generally charge a reading fee
for a manuscript if you approach us for editing,
rewriting or design and layout work. However, we will
not provide a detailed critique in these cases; we
will only provide, as part of our proposal, a general
recap of the strengths and weaknesses as we perceive
them.
The turnaround
time for a manuscript evaluation depends upon the
length and complexity of the manuscript, but the
average time is two weeks.
NOTE: If you're not quite ready for a manuscript
evaluation, you might consider a consultation session with us.
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Book
proposal: Our standard fee for
a book proposal/query package is $1,500.00.
However, we often include a book proposal as part of
a "package deal" with ghostwriting,
rewriting or substantial editing.
The average
turnaround time for a book proposal is one week.
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Our
ghostwriting fee generally ranges from $25,000.00-$45,000.00,
which is in the middle range of the market. (This is
for writing only; interior and cover design and other
services, if desired, are extra, although we almost
always offer an attractive "package deal"
for self-publishing authors. Alternatively, we
usually include a book proposal in the "package
deal" for authors who intend to approach an
agent or publisher.)
The lower
end of the ghostwriting fee range generally applies
to nonfiction books of 200-250 pages. If the book is
extraordinarily long and/or requires a substantial
amount of extra research, the price goes up
accordingly. Fiction is also usually a little more
expensive because the development is rarely as
straightforward as a basic nonfiction book. Travel
expenses, if applicable, are extra, but we generally
do not charge for supplies, postage, etc.
The average
turnaround time for ghostwriting is four to six
months but can be as short as two months or,
occasionally, take up to one year.
For more
information about what a ghostwriter does, and
reasons to consider hiring a ghostwriter, click here.
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The
average editing job is in the mid- to
high four-figure range, depending upon the length of
the work and the level of editing. Unlike many
editors, we do not offer a strict
"hierarchy" of editing levels (e.g.,
"light" to "heavy" copy editing,
"medium" to "heavy" content
editing, etc.). Where does "light" end and
"medium" begin? We’ve never been able
to figure that one out. If a manuscript is
essentially well written and well organized, but just
needs copy editing (for grammar, punctuation,
spelling, general flow, etc.) and minimal content
editing, we normally charge $10.00
per standard formatted manuscript page.
Again, this differs from the practice of many
editors, but we hope that after reading the
information on this page you'll understand why.
We cannot
speak for all editors, but we have found that no
matter how carefully we read a manuscript before
giving an estimate, the actual editing almost always
takes more work hours than originally estimated. We
are willing to bet that many editors who charge by
the hour have found this to be true as well. (Of
course, many hourly-charging editors take this into
account and put a little wiggle room into their bids.
Some will evaluate a work and then simply submit an
estimate that includes a maximum amount they will
charge for the project.)
Do note as
well that our standard editing package includes up to
three drafts. We have found that very often, authors
make unforeseen but substantial changes between the
first and second draft. That definitely adds to the
work hours. We could simply draw up a supplemental
contract with each draft, or bill for additional
hours, but that is laborious and generally would
still end up costing the client more than our method.
We prefer to
receive manuscripts in Microsoft Word format, as this
is the program we use for word processing. We
generally submit our edits by email, using Word's
"track changes" tool, so you can accept or
reject the changes as you wish. We usually insert our
comments and questions directly into the text, with
highlighting to differentiate them from the rest of
the text. As noted above, we will produce up to three
drafts. The finished product will be a formatted
manuscript conforming to industry standards, at which
point it will be ready for submission to a publisher
or agent, should you not choose to self-publish. If
you do want to self-publish, we also do page layout
and cover design; see below.
The average
turnaround time for editing is three months.
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How do we define a "page"?
For basic copy
editing: We base our per-page copy
editing fee on manuscript pages. A manuscript page is
an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, double-spaced, set in 12-point
Times Roman or an equivalent font, with a 1.25-inch
margin on all four sides. This amounts to roughly 250
words per page, so an easier way to figure it is $10.00
per 250 words. Note that we do not
"nickel-and-dime" (or, rather,
"dollar") our clients. For example, we
don't charge $10.00 for "editing" a title
or copyright page. And if a manuscript starts out at
200 pages but, due to changes and additions we make,
becomes 325 pages, we don't add an extra $1,250.00 to
our bill. Unless the client requests substantial
additions and changes after the final (third) draft,
we stick with our original price.
For page layout: We base
our page layout fee (which starts at $10.00
per page) on the approximate number of
finished (laid-out) pages. We can calculate the
number of finished pages if we know the page count of
the manuscript.
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Sometimes,
substantial editing or even a rewrite is needed. If the
book needs a great deal of editing or a rewrite, the
fee is generally in the high four-figure to low
five-figure range. However, we always do the minimum
amount we feel is necessary; we don't try to create
work where none is needed. And in the interests of
full disclosure we should also add that we almost
always end up doing more than we charge for. (We've
even been known to throw in some light editing when
we were hired only for page layout; when we see a
glaring error, we cannot in good conscience just let
it go. Naturally, we do inform the client so he or
she will be aware of the changes made.)
We always
strive to give you your money's worth...and more.
The average
turnaround time for substantial editing or rewrite is
three to six months.
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SKIP THE
DIGRESSION...TAKE ME DOWN TO THE "PAGE DESIGN
& LAYOUT" SECTION.
A
BRIEF DIGRESSION ~
How
you can save a little time and money
before
hiring an editor
It's
very difficult, if not impossible, to
thoroughly edit your own work —
which is the whole point of hiring a
professional to do it. But there are some
things you can do to make editing easier
and a little less costly. In our
experience, some of the most common
mistakes authors make with their
manuscripts — even authors who are
otherwise excellent writers — are
(1) redundancy; (2) lack of organization
in the manuscript; (3) redundancy; (4)
typing two spaces in between sentences
(this used to be taught in typing
classes, but, please note, it
is no longer necessary and in fact throws
off page layout); and (5)
redundancy. Oh, and the other common
mistake is repeating the same thing over
and over and over throughout the
manuscript. Recapping the same events or
facts again and again is also a common
error — as is redundancy. (Okay, we
guess we've made our point.)
We
realize that both lack of organization
and redundancy are often the result of an
author working on different parts of the
manuscript over a long period of time,
and not really having an idea of how it
reads as a cohesive whole. No doubt
you've heard the old saying that a camel
is a horse designed by committee; well,
sometimes an author with a manuscript can
be a one-person "committee."
When you sit down to write a chapter
about your grandmother's wonderful
rhubarb pie, it can be easy to forget
that you wrote about that pie in an
earlier chapter when you were working on
the manuscript five months ago. And when
you suddenly remember a story Grandma
told you about her teenage years, it may
be easier to just to tack it on to the
chapter about how she dealt with being a
widow at the age of 35 than to go back
and insert the story into the chapter
about her adolescence. Sometimes, of
course, redundancy is intentional, and
very effective. And sometimes, flashing
back and forth in time is also
intentional, and equally effective. The
trick is to have these elements actually be
intentional, and read
as if they are.
 
How to
get over the "humps" on that
camel you've created...
The very least you
can do, to save a little time and money
in editing, is to print your entire
manuscript out (if you haven't already),
and then sit down with it and read it
from beginning to end in as short a time
as possible. Instead of reading it on
your computer screen in bits and pieces,
or reviewing printouts a few pages at a
time over a period of weeks, try to
experience it as you hope the end reader
will experience it. That is precisely
what we do when we evaluate manuscripts.
It is really the only way to get an
accurate idea of how the manuscript reads
as a book.
As
you read, watch out for unintentional
redundancies and eliminate them. It's a
lot easier to spot them if you run across
them over a period of hours rather than
months. And if you find a segment of text
towards the end of the manuscript that
would really fit more logically into an
earlier section, don't be afraid to cut
and paste!
If
you find your attention wandering when
you read some portions, whether because
the writing is unclear or because it
bores you to tears — well, first you
have to be honest with yourself. Admit
that you're confused or bored. Then
consider rewriting or perhaps eliminating
those parts altogether. Do not be afraid
to "murder your darlings," as
the old maxim goes. Don't be so attached
to every little piece that you compromise
the whole. If you're put off by the
writing, your readers most likely will be
too. Trim the fat now, and you'll save us
the effort of trimming it (or suggesting
that it be trimmed) later.
Of
course, if you have been working on the
manuscript nonstop for two years and are
so sick of looking at it that you can't
stand to read it again until it is
edited...we understand. We also
understand if you are an inexperienced
writer and it was a huge effort even to
get your thoughts down on paper (or
entered into the computer). But do
realize that your work will most likely
require more than simple copy editing.
Now,
as for typing two spaces between
sentences...Gen X and younger people
don't tend to do this, probably because
most of them never had to take typing
lessons on a typewriter. But as for
everyone else...please
unlearn that rule about the extra space
between sentences. The
existence of proportional fonts (such as
this one, which is a variant of Times
Roman) has made that extra-space rule
obsolete. When you use a proportional
font, a small extra space is
automatically inserted after a period or
other ending punctuation mark. The
presence of an extra hard space between
sentences will throw off layout, and this
is a concern whether or not you intend to
self-publish or submit your manuscript to
a traditional publisher.
If
you have already typed a 500-page
manuscript with two spaces between every
sentence, it's easy to undo it. Use the
"find and replace" tool in your
word processing program. Under
"find" hit the
"space" bar twice. Under
"replace" hit the space bar
once. That generally takes care of the
problem.
By
the way, if you haven't done so already,
do take a look at our Author
Questionnaire. It might help
you make some improvements to your
manuscript that could save even more
editing.
Looking
at your work objectively is difficult. If
you're like most authors, you will go
through extremes of loving and hating it.
With practice, however, you can teach
yourself to be more critical without
tearing your work (and yourself) to
pieces. If so, you have a great head
start, and you're truly ready to have a
professional take a crack at your
manuscript.
BACK TO
BEGINNING OF "EDITING FEES"
SECTION
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|
Page
design and layout:
If an author whose book we
write, rewrite or edit intends to self-publish, we
quite often negotiate to include book layout and
design, as well as cover design, in the package. Book
design alone, depending upon length of manuscript,
amount of graphics, and whether or not we do the
cover design, generally runs in the low to mid
four-figure range. Basic layout begins at $10.00
per laid-out page. This is generally
for trade books of standard size (5.5 x 8.5 in., or 6
x 9 in). Oversized or more "artsy" books
will be slightly more. We base our fee on a very
close estimate of what the final page count will be.
(See examples of some of our page layouts.)
Page design
and layout includes typography as well as creation of
simple graphics and embellishments to enhance the
text. If a book has complex graphics that we need to
create (or re-create), the price goes up accordingly.
If you
intend for your book to have photographs, we charge $10.00
for each photo. For this we produce a
high-resolution scan and, if needed, we do light
retouching or enhancement (of background, etc.). Ron is an expert photo
retoucher, and if intensive retouching is
needed, the charge is $100.00/hour. Do note that for a
printworthy result, the photograph should be from a
quality source, preferably a professional
photographer.
Note: We often offer "package
deals," or quantity discounts on photo scans,
for clients who hire us for the whole process, i.e.,
writing/editing and cover design as well as page
layout and design.
We produce
our page layouts in PageMaker, and create error-free
files which we burn to CD for delivery to your book
manufacturer.
Once the client
has decided on a page design, turnaround time for
page layout averages from two weeks to one month. If
the book is very long and/or complex, and/or there
are numerous complex graphics or a large number of
photos (particularly photos that need extra
retouching), the process may take up to three months.
Indexing is a specialized
procedure that we normally do not do ourselves. We
can usually generate a rudimentary index (and we do
not charge extra for this), but for books that
require a highly detailed index, we subcontract to an
excellent indexer. Not every book actually needs an
index, and many are published without one. Note also
that if you are planning to approach a trade
publisher, you generally do not need to worry about
an index; the publisher will handle that. For
self-published authors, the index is usually
generated after the rest of the book's layout has
been finalized. If you have decided at the outset
that your book requires an index, we will include the
fee for this service in our bid. If do not decide you
need an index until later on in the project, we will
issue a supplemental bid and invoice. See our Links page for details on
the indexer we use and recommend. (Note: She is also
an editor.)
Indexing may add a
week or two to the average turnaround time for any
project.
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Shorter
works (single chapters, portions of manuscripts,
short stories, essays): The
vast majority of our work is with book-length
manuscripts, averaging from 30,000 to 100,000 words
(generally 125-400 pages). We also edit shorter
manuscripts — chapters, short stories, essays
and the like. We charge on a per-project basis but
the fee generally averages out to $10.00 per
manuscript page.
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Cover
design fees: Our average fee for
cover design is $1,500.00,
which includes not only graphics and type but also
scanning and placement of author photo if needed;
writing of all back cover copy; and generation of
barcode. Click here to see some of our
front-cover samples.
We produce
our cover designs in CorelDRAW, and burn the files to
CD for delivery to your book manufacturer. NOTE: Most
book manufacturers handle CorelDRAW files and
therefore can create the color separations directly
from these files. We always check with the book
manufacturer, or request that you do it, to ensure
this is the case. In the unlikely event they cannot
read the files, we can have the separations produced
at one of our local service bureaus, for an
additional $300.00 (maximum).
Turnaround time
for cover design can be very quick; if we have all of
the information we need (including spine width), we
can have a complete cover for you within a week to
ten days.
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Printing
Q.C. is an optional part of the package. We can also
coordinate the production (printing) of your book
— doing everything from getting print bids to
"holding your hand" through the process
(which involves acting as technical contact and
quality control) — thus saving you from the hard
lessons so many novice authors are forced to learn.
We will carefully review the interior and cover
proofs from the printer and, of course, will show
them to you too. (This is an important step that
allows you to see the close-to-finished product and
make absolutely necessary last-minute corrections
before going to press. So even if you don't use us
for printing Q.C., DO insist on seeing interior and
cover proofs before your book is printed. Have the
printer put the cost of doing these proofs into your
print bid.)
Normally we charge on
an hourly basis ($25.00 / hour)
for production coordination if that is all we do for
you, but we do it at no additional charge for layout
and cover design clients.
NOTE that the actual cost of printing is
extra, and payment arrangements are
strictly between you and your book manufacturer. As
noted above, we will be glad to get print bids for
you and help you choose your printer, but we do not
handle any of the financial aspects of book printing
(nor, for the record, do we receive
"kickbacks" from any printer).
Printing
turnaround time varies with the book manufacturer,
but averages about 20 days to one month. Naturally,
if we handle the printing for you we will keep you
apprised of progress.
Website
design and other promotional and marketing material: Web design costs
vary, depending upon the length and complexity of the
site, but they average between $1,250.00
and $1,500.00. For this we provide
design, all writing, assistance in finding a host and
getting your site "live", and some
technical support. In some cases we also provide a
certain number of updates, but our usual practice is
to set up the site in a way that you can easily do
your own updates. As web design is not our specialty,
if you need a more complex site than we can provide,
we will refer you to a web design specialist.
Call or
email us if you are interested in other materials
such as brochures, newsletters (print or electronic),
news releases and the like. We very often work out
attractive "package deals" for our book
clients; just ask! Click here for a few examples
of some of our promotional material.
Turnaround time
for websites and other promotional material varies.
Consultation
session to help you decide the direction for your
book project(s): Are you completely
undecided about the direction you want to go? You
could hire us for a manuscript evaluation...but perhaps you're
not even that far along in the process. We will be
glad to sit down with you, look at your material, and
go over your options. If an in-person session is not
practical for you, we can work by phone and email
too. Our consultation fee is $100.00 an
hour, with a one-hour minimum.
Call or email us
for an appointment.
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Payment
methods and terms
We accept personal and
business checks, money orders and cashier's checks,
in US funds drawn on a US bank. (Sorry, Nigeria!)
Currently we do not accept credit card payments, but
may do so in the future.
For
jobs totaling $10,000.00 or less, with
an estimated turnaround time of two
months or less, we generally require a
50% nonrefundable deposit upon signing the contract,
with the balance due when the final product is
delivered, or as specified in the contract. If the
estimated turnaround time is longer than two months,
we generally require a 50% nonrefundable deposit,
with the balance divided out into monthly payments.
The amount and number of the payments are dependent
upon the estimated turnaround time. If the project
takes longer than the original estimate, final
payment can be withheld until completion.
For
higher-dollar jobs that take longer,
the amount of the nonrefundable deposit varies,
depending upon the job. Subsequent payments are due
at intervals, generally monthly, with the number and
amount of payments being dependent upon the estimated
time frame of the project. If the project takes
longer than the original estimate, final payment can
be withheld until completion.
NOTE:
Consultation fees
are due at the time of the session if it is an
in-person session, and within one week of the session
if it is a phone session.
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And
finally...
We're sorry, but
we cannot work on spec.
As much as we sympathize with
the plight of a struggling author, it is our policy
to not work on speculation — that is, for a
promise of future profits instead of an up-front fee.
Very few professional literary collaborators work on
spec.
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Okay...if we
haven't scared you away, give us a call at (713)
463-9263!
FOR MORE ABOUT WHAT TO
EXPECT FROM WORKING WITH A LITERARY COLLABORATOR,
CLICK HERE.
TO RETURN OR GO TO THE
"WHAT WE DO" PAGE CLICK
HERE.
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