Quoting for editing services

You’ve written your book manuscript or document and you want to have it published. The first step is to have it professionally edited. But how much will it cost?
Before sending an email or making a phone call to potential editors, think about these three questions.
  1. Who is your intended audience?
  2. What is your reason for publishing?
  3. Do you want to find a traditional publisher or try self-publishing? (in the case of a book manuscript)
Ideally, you will have already worked out who your audience is before you started writing.  Editors need to gauge whether a publication’s text has the right tone, uses appropriate language and is structured correctly for its readers. If not, there might be some significant rewriting to do.
If you are self-publishing a book for commercial reasons, a comprehensive edit is best, taking in all levels of editing – structural, copy editing and proofreading. But if you are producing a memoir or family history, it might only need a light edit as it is for family and friends’ eyes only.
If pursuing a traditional book publisher, the editing process might be more collaborative between editor and author, to make sure the plot and characters are well developed, the text is free of repetition, redundancies, and grammatical and punctuation errors. You might also need help writing a synopsis or a cover letter.
So keep these tips in mind when seeking quotes from editors. By sharing as much information as possible, your editor is better equipped to give you a more accurate quote.