There has genuinely never been a better time to be a freelance publishing professional. Not only has the remote working revolution made it possible to work for Big Five publishers without paying rent in New York, demand from self-publishing authors has opened up whole new avenues of income for editors and designers.
If you’re like most freelancers who have “making ends meet” high up on their priority list, you first need to know how much money you can expect from each job. The good news is that Reedsy has now revealed new data to answer that very question.
Reedsy is the world’s top marketplace for freelance book talent. Over the past few years, we’ve facilitated thousands of collaborations for professional editors and designers — most of whom have strong experience in traditional publishing. Based on the data we’ve collected, we can now give you an insight into how much book editors and designers make on an average gig.
How much do book editors make?
There is no industry-wide rate card for editorial work. There is also no ‘standard book’ as some manuscripts could be short and impeccably written, while others might be the size of Melville’s Moby Dick with a whale of a structural issue. However, in this section, we’ll be looking at the average value of editorial jobs to give us insight into what freelancers can expect.
Developmental Editing
As it’s understood by most Reedsy professionals, a developmental edit will involve detailed edits and annotations of the author’s manuscript along with a lengthy editorial document. The aim here is to provide both top-level critiques and specific suggestions for improvement.
The following graph represents three years of developmental editing collaborations on the Reedsy Marketplace.
Median rate for freelance developmental editing: $989
Developmental edits exceeding $2,000 mostly involve extra-long manuscripts. Quotes are often based around word count, so editing a 150,000 word book will reasonably cost twice as much as a 75,000 word manuscript.
Revealed! How much do #freelancers make on an average developmental edit?
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Editorial Assessment
In place of a full developmental edit, many indie authors prefer to get broad editorial assessment. The type of feedback is similar but the professional will not directly edit the manuscript. This option demands less of an editor’s time and should, accordingly, be more affordable for the client/author.
Median rate for freelance editorial assessment: $674
In this chart, many transactions with values way above the average are for editorial assessments that evolved into full-blown edits. Authors often seek an assessment as a way of testing the waters, so it’s not unusual for these editorial partnerships to continue beyond the initial manuscript report.
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Copy Editing
Strictly speaking, copy editing is about the nuts-and-bolts of the manuscript: making sure the grammar and spelling is up to snuff while eradicating consistency issues and factual errors. We found that when working with indie authors, most copy editors will also go above and beyond, providing substantial editing of language where needed.
The following chart shows the distribution of copy editing collaborations on the Reedsy Marketplace since late 2014.
Median rate for freelance copyediting: $703
The outliers on this graph (quotes over $1,000) mostly correspond to collaborations where the manuscript is unusually long, or when the copy editor provides additional editing, along the lines of a development edit.
The rates here also vary between types of books. Non-fiction editors, for example, will charge more to cover extensive fact-checking. That’s something that doesn’t happen as much when working on a contemporary romance novel.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage of the editorial process, where all the I’s are dotted and the final T’s get crossed. In recent years, we’ve seen increased demand for proofreaders amongst self-publishing authors, as more of them have started to see the benefits of putting out professional-grade books.
Median rate for freelance proofreading services: $513
Just over $500 seems to be a standard rate for most indie books of under 80,000 words. In the instances where the transaction value is higher, either 1. manuscripts have been significantly longer, or 2. the proofreader has also been the copyeditor, which has skewed our distribution graph.
Now that we’ve covered the most popular services offered by freelance editors, let’s take a look at the professionals who work outside the manuscript: book designers!
Discover the average proofreading rate for an 80k manuscript on @ReedsyHQ
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How much do cover designers make?
Just as no two editing jobs are the same, few freelance book designers have the same process or criteria when they’re sending proposals for jobs. Earlier this year, Reedsy ran an in-depth survey of our cover designers to know what goes into their fee decisions.
The graph below represents the range of book cover design collaborations on Reedsy since December 2014.
Median rate for professional cover design: $586
When a designer charges significantly more than the average, it is usually because of factors like the need for mechanical covers: a good chunk of indie authors only require an ebook cover, which doesn’t need a spine or back cover to be designed.
Where bespoke photography or original illustrations are needed, the price will also go up. Most indie book designs are based around stock images, which require less time and can be produced at a lower cost.
How much do #freelance book cover designers charge per job? @ReedsyHQ reveals... #selfpub
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Then there’s the matter of experience. Freelance designers with multiple global bestsellers to their name can command a higher fee. Award-winning, former creative directors won’t get out of bed for less than a grand. These designers still tend to work on contract with traditional publishers, and as a result, will be more selective with the indie work they take on.
Average rates for freelance publishing work
To summarize, here are the median rates for each of the services mentioned above (as well as a few more we didn’t mention).
- Developmental Editing: $989
- Editorial Assessment: $674
- Copyediting: $703
- Indexing: $500
- Query Letter Review: $325
- Proofreading: $513
- Book Cover Design: $586
One last thought on freelance opportunities
The rise of self-publishing authors has opened up many opportunities for freelancers to spread their wings, be their own boss, and work on a variety of projects that pique their interest. However, working in the indie publishing world has its own unique challenges.
Most indie authors are relatively new to the field and will be paying for editorial and design work out of their own pocket. It’s only natural that they will find it hard to resist the freelancer with the lowest quote. This is not to say that you should always bid low — it’s important to remember that when communicating with prospective clients, the onus is on you to convince them of the value you can add to their project; a higher price can often be perceived as better quality. Let your authors understand how your skills and experience will improve their book and bring them closer to their career goals.
It’s still a brave new world for book professionals. With the right approach, you can find professional fulfilment on your own terms. We wish you the best of luck!
If you're an editor, designer, marketer, or ghostwriter with traditional publishing experience, drop us an email and request an invitation to join the Reedsy Marketplace.
The post Uncovered: How much do freelance book editors and designers make? appeared first on The Reedsy Blog.