Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemurion
So what would you consider a fair hourly rate for a copyeditor? I don't like per-book rates because they really don't reflect the amount of work involved. Hourly's the way to go, that way those who produce better manuscripts get the benefits, and the editor doesn't have to worry about explaining variable rates to clients.
Also, what about developmental editing?
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For what it's worth, I prefer a project or per-page rate for copyediting (developmental editing is a different matter and an hourly rate is more appropriate). In fact, I haven't accepted copyediting work on an hourly basis in 22 years.
Which is better is somewhat of a Catch-22. The advantage to the client of a project or per-page rate is that the client knows upfront what it will cost. The advantage to the editor is that the more efficiently the editor works the higher the editor's effective hourly rate.
The disadvantage to the client is that some editors will take shortcuts in order to increase the effective hourly rate. Another disadvantage to the client can be that the client overpays, although I have never found this to be the case with my work. The disadvantage to the editor is that the fee is set regardless of the problems encountered. Sometimes, and this has happened to me several times in my career, the editor takes a bath on a project -- I had one where I ended up earning the equivalent of about $2.50 an hour.
But hourly fees also are Catch-22 fees. The advantage to the client is that the client pays what the client considers an acceptable rate. The disadvantage is that there is no way to know in advance how many hours will be involved. Granted a limit can be set, but that limit may mean the project is not fully edited. The advantage to the editor is that the editor knows what the hourly return will be and can accept or reject the job based on whether the compensation is sufficient. The disadvantage is that the most the editor can earn is that hourly rate, which is likely to be closer to minimum wage than to a skill wage. The other disadvantage is that clients often have budget limits that they do not disclose in advance, which leads to disharmonious relations between client and editor when that limit is exceeded.