Quotes for editing the same book can differ by a wide margin, and the reason is rarely that one editor is dishonest. Editing is priced on the work involved, and two editors may be quoting for two different jobs under the same name. Knowing what moves the price lets you compare quotes fairly and avoid paying for the wrong thing.
The five things that set the price
Almost every editing quote is built from the same few factors. Understanding them is more useful than any average price, because averages hide exactly the differences that matter.
- Length: more words means more hours. Most editors price per word, per page or per project for that reason.
- Type of edit: a developmental edit, a line edit, a copy edit and a proofread are different jobs with different depth, so they are priced differently.
- The state of the manuscript: a clean, well-revised draft takes less time than one that needs heavy correction on every page.
- Subject and style: technical material, heavy research, dialect or a lot of specialist terms take longer to check.
- Speed: a short deadline means an editor rearranges other work to fit you, and that is usually reflected in the price.
How editors charge
You will meet four models. A per-word rate is the most common and the easiest to compare. A per-page rate works the same way but depends on how a page is defined, so ask whether it means a standard page of a set number of words. An hourly rate is harder to predict, because you are trusting an estimate of hours. A flat project fee is simple, as long as it states the word count it covers.
At Marlowe, editing and proofreading are priced by word count, and the order form shows your exact total before you pay. Each service page lists its packages and starting prices.
Why the type of edit matters most
The biggest source of confusion is asking for "an edit" without saying which. A developmental edit looks at structure, pacing, character and argument. A copy edit corrects grammar, punctuation, consistency and facts. A proofread is a final check for typos after the book is laid out. These come in order, and a quote for one is not a quote for another. If you are unsure which you need, our guide to the difference between the three explains it in plain language.
How to compare quotes fairly
Put the quotes side by side and check that they describe the same job. A lower price may simply cover less.
- Which type of edit is it, in the editor's own words?
- What word count does the price cover, and what happens if your final count differs?
- What do you get back: a marked-up file with tracked changes, a style sheet, an editorial summary or letter?
- How many rounds of questions or follow-up are included?
- When will the work start, and when will it be delivered?
Ways to spend your money well
Revise your own draft as far as you can before editing, because editors charge for the time they spend, and fixing what you could have fixed yourself is the most expensive way to polish a sentence. Do the stages in order, so you are not paying to polish text you later cut. Be honest about the state of the manuscript when you ask for a quote; a surprise discovered halfway through helps nobody.
If you are unsure what level of editing your book needs, a short sample is an inexpensive way to find out. Marlowe offers a free sample edit of the first 1,000 words, so you can see what an editor does to your writing before you decide.
A note on very cheap and very expensive
Neither end proves anything by itself. A very low price can mean a lighter pass than you expected, and a high price does not mean a better one. The safest signal is clarity: a quote that says exactly what is included, for how many words, by when, is one you can trust more than a vague one at any price.