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 first seeing your project and
discussing it with you. 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, "Contact 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 least expensive literary
collaborators (or, for that matter,
book designers) 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.
Ultimately
it is up to you to decide how much of
an investment you are able or willing
to make in your book project. The
manipulative, subtly coercive
sales-strategy thing for us to do
would be to frame the issue of
affordability in the question,
"How can you afford NOT
to...?" But we don't work that
way. If you honestly cannot spare the
money to have us write and/or design
your book, we would never engage in
hard-sell tactics or pressure you to
try to find a way to come up with the
funds. We have actually turned away
some prospective clients who really
wanted to hire us but implied that
they were going to have to dip into
very limited life savings, or beg or
borrow from family or friends, in
order to cover our fees. In our view,
no book project is worth seriously
risking your financial well-being or
your most important relationships.
But perhaps there are ways you can
avail yourself of our expertise
without breaking the bank or
alienating Aunt Martha. Take a look
at our entire menu of services on
this page. For that matter, look
around our site, and you might get
some information you need for free.
Publishing
a book is always a risk, and there
are no guarantees that your book will
be successful, no matter how
professionally it is presented or how
hard you (and/or your publisher, if
you get picked up by a trade
publisher) work to market it —
and, quite frankly, no matter how
much or how little you spend to get
it marketable. But we guarantee that
we will do everything we can to help
you give your book the best fighting
chance possible. And the value of
that is...well, priceless (to evoke a
famous credit card commercial).
So
enough of this prelude already. Let's
get down to the numbers...
All
fees quoted are in US dollars. Prices
are subject to change, but we will
make every effort to keep this page
updated.
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.
These rates can range from $15 to
$150 per hour in the US, depending
upon the type of publication, the
level of editing, and the editor's
experience (and, in some cases, his
or her formal credentials such as
educational degrees or membership in
professional organizations).
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 or
coaching; 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
$750.00 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 $750.00
— 50% ($375.00) of
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.
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 or
longer. As with just about every
service we provide, much is dependent
upon timely feedback from you.
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 a
standard-length nonfiction book is
three months.
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How
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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A
BRIEF DIGRESSION ~
How
you can save a little time
and money
before
hiring
an editor
SKIP
THE DIGRESSION...
TAKE ME DOWN TO THE
"PAGE DESIGN &
LAYOUT" SECTION.
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: Please
unlearn that old rule,
left over from the old
days of typesetting and
typewriters.
The existence of
proportional fonts (such
as this one) 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 Adobe InDesign, and
create error-free files which we
either burn to CD for delivery to
your book manufacturer, along with
printouts to be used for soft proofs,
or we can send the files
electronically if required.
Turnaround
time for page layout varies. Once you
have decided on a page design,
turnaround time 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. Again, much is
dependent upon timely feedback from
you.
Indexing is a specialized
procedure that we normally do not do
ourselves (though this may change in
the near future). 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 have subcontracted
to a professional 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.
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 minimum 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; and
generation of barcode. And that's not
all we do. Unlike some cover
designers who are strictly designers
(some of whom charge at least twice
the minimum price that we do), we are
also professional copywriters. That
means we can write all of your back
cover copy and/or jacket flap copy as
needed. All of this is included in
our cover design fee. (Note:
Although we are designers, we are not
illustrators. If a custom
illustration is needed for the cover,
that will cost extra, depending upon
the extent of the work.) Click here to see some of
our front-cover samples; we will have
an expanded gallery soon.
We normally
produce our cover designs in
CorelDRAW (call us iconoclasts, but
we love Corel), and we burn the files
to CD for delivery to your book
manufacturer. NOTE: Most book
manufacturers handle CorelDRAW files
and therefore can work directly from
these files. We always check with the
book manufacturer, or request that
you do it, to ensure this is the
case. If not, we will convert the
file to a suitable format.
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
quality control is an optional part
of a design 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 clients for whom we do
layout and cover design.
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" or referral
fees from any printer at this time.
We will advise you if this changes.)
NOTE
ALSO that we generally deal directly
with specific book manufacturers, but
sometimes, depending upon the
complexity of the project, a print
broker might be able to get you a
better price. We have
frequently worked with a terrific
print broker who knows the business
inside and out, and if we think your
needs would be better served by going
that route, we will put you in
contact with her. But we'll still be
with you every step of the way to
deal with technical issues, to help
you review the proofs, and to offer
expert support as you prepare to
launch your new book.
Printing
turnaround time varies with the book
manufacturer, but averages about four
to six weeks, except in traditionally
busier seasons (e.g., the last three
months of the year, when printers are
overwhelmed with books for the
holiday market). 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 $2,500.00. For this
we provide not just design but
(unlike many web site designers), we
also create original content, e.g.,
all graphics as needed, custom
backgrounds, and all writing (and/or
careful editing of your writing). We
also provide as much assistance as
you need in finding a host and
getting your site "live",
and we offer 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. Frankly, web design is
not our specialty, so if you need a
more complex site than we can
provide, we will refer you to a web
design specialist if you wish.
Call or email us
if you are interested in other
materials such as brochures,
newsletters (print or electronic),
news releases and the like —
including setup and maintenance of
social media such as a Twitter or
Facebook page, or a blog. We very
often work out attractive
"package deals" for our
book clients; just ask! Click here for a link to
some examples of some of our
promotional work.
Turnaround
time for websites and other
promotional material varies but these
are usually relatively quick
turnaround times; e.g., weeks rather
than months.
Consultation
session or longer-term coaching 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
phone or Skype consultation fee is $100.00
per hour, with a one-hour minimum. Consultations at
client sites in the Houston, Texas
metro area are billed at the rate of $100.00
per hour, with a two-hour minimum,
which includes travel time one way.
Prices for out-of-area consultations
will be determined on a per-case
basis.
Email
us for an appointment or to set up a
schedule.
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Payment
methods and terms
We
accept Paypal (our preferred method),
which means you can safely use your
credit or debit card.
We also accept
personal and business checks, money
orders and cashier's checks, in US
funds drawn on a US bank. (Sorry,
Nigeria!)
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
or coaching fees are
due at the time of the session if it
is an in-person session, and in
advance 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 upfront fee.
Very few professional literary
collaborators work on spec.
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