The Cost of Editing & How to Stay in Your Budget

Authors often lament about the cost of editing on social media. And I don’t blame them; editing isn’t cheap.

I get how tempting it can be to find the cheap editors charging rock-bottom rates.

But you get what you paid for. Those rates most likely won’t get you quality editing.

It helps if you understand why many editors charge what they do. They aren’t ripping you off, like it might seem when compared to those editors charging rock-bottom rates. They are good editors who need to actually make a living.

But in the end, you need to decide if that investment is worth it and feasible for you. If it isn’t, I have also included tips on how to stay in your budget.

Why Editing Is Expensive

1. Specialized skill

Contrary to popular belief, editing is a specialized skill. Good editors take training courses and spend time and money learning how to edit well.

No, not anyone who has passed a college English class can be an editor.  Oh, you are good at spotting typos? Good for you; that still doesn’t mean you can be an editor.

First, editing is more than just finding typos and punctuation and grammar errors. But even if that were all it entailed, English classes do not go into depth on grammar and punctuation. So I promise you aren’t as good at spotting and fixing mistakes as you think you are.

I know this because I used to be an English teacher. Other English teachers came to me for questions on grammar and punctuation, and I still didn’t know all I needed to know to edit well until I took some editing training. You don’t know what you don’t know.

Then as mentioned, editing is more than just punctuation and grammar. Editors also edit your prose to ensure it is fluid, clear, and pleasurable to read, fine-tuning word choice and sentence structure. And the style of prose changes based on the genre, so editors also study that.

For big-picture editing, editors study story craft for fiction and organizational and content strategies for nonfiction.

Just as you would pay a doctor, a lawyer, a plumber, a carpenter, etc. for their specialized skill, an editor should be paid for their specialized skills.

2. Time it takes

On average, editors can edit four to ten pages an hour, depending on the type of editing, the type of material, the state of the original, and the speed of the person in general. (Note: a page is defined as 250 words.)

That adds up to a lot of time spent editing one manuscript.

Additionally, since editing is a cognitively demanding task, editors  can only spend about four or five hours a day on actual editing. The rest of their work day is spent on tasks they may or may not be billing you for.

Some editors do bill for admin time, such as email communications, invoicing, bookkeeping, etc. But even if they bill for that, they won’t bill you for time spent learning their craft, marketing to find clients, and maintaining a website or a blog (see the hourly rate broken down chart after the next section). All editors have non-billable hours.

3. Freelancers have other expenses

If your editor is a freelancer, they have to pay for their computer, editing proficiency software, subscriptions to style manuals and dictionaries, invoicing software, website domain, and more.

Then whether or not they are freelance or employed, they did pay for or are still paying for editing classes, editing craft books, and editing conferences.

Additionally, if they don’t have a spouse who works at a company providing insurance, they have to pay for their own insurance.

So they have to charge in such a way that ensures they still make a profit after paying for their expenses (see the hourly rate broken down chart below).

Hourly Rate Broken Down

*Quick note: While many editors charge per word (I do) or per page so the total is known ahead of time, most configure the estimate for each project based on what they want to make hourly.

When I first starting editing, I thought charging more than $30 an hour was ridiculous. Even $30 sounded ridiculous, but that’s what I charged when I was first starting, per some recommendations. But who needs to make more than that in one hour? It’s just an hour. Or so I thought.

Well, freelancers are not pocketing their full hourly rate because of time spent on non-billable tasks and money spent on business expenses.

I polled some editors to get accurate averages.

• • 22 percent of their work day = non-billable tasks

(For me, since I have only been doing this for three years, I am closer to 34 percent as I’m spending more time on marketing and business learning than those who have been in the business longer.)

• • 30 percent of their income = business expenses and taxes

(For me, I am at 41 percent as I am still spending money on editing courses.)

Ranges for all 4 levels of editing

How to stay within your budget if it’s limited

Okay, so now that you understand that paying something like $200 or $500 for 50k words for one editing service is not a living wage, and isn’t even minimum wage, and the average prices of the levels look more like the chart above, let’s talk about your budget. You may not be able to afford the fairer prices.

You have some options if you are working on a limited budget.

1. Go all-in on self-editing first

Self-editing can go a long way toward saving money on a professional editor. The more self-editing you do (with guidance from books like mine and other helpful resources), the clearer, stronger, and more polished your manuscript will be—and the less time and effort an editor will need to spend editing it. 

Less editing time = lower editing rate

Check out my Self-Editing Essentials books that help you do just that.

2. Leverage beta readers and critique partners

Beta readers are people in your network who get to read your book pre-publication in return for giving you their honest feedback. (Some authors pay their beta readers a small amount, but this isn’t mandatory.) 

Some experienced beta readers can often flag some big-picture issues for a lot less money. But this isn’t guaranteed, and beta readers can also create confusion sometimes when multiple readers give conflicting feedback. 

To get the most out of beta readers, do three things:

• Ask other readers and fans of your topic/genre, not just friends and family
• Give them specific questions to answer, not just “what did you think?” or “did you like it?”
• Look for patterns in their answers rather than focusing on what one or two people said

Critique partners work similarly to beta readers, but with one important difference: They are experienced writers who have studied writing craft, so they can potentially give more in-depth feedback. Many authors find critique partners in writing groups (online or in person) specifically designed for this purpose. Make sure you find the right ones for you. 

3. Find editors charging starting-out rates

When I first started editing, I charged $30 an hour to gain experience and build a portfolio.

Starting editors lack extensive experience, but if they’re not charging rock-bottom rates and have some training, they understand that editing is specialized work and take it seriously. 

Alternatively, see if an editor would be open to a trade! Perhaps you offer a service that would be valuable for them…anything from cooking and childcare to coaching and digital marketing could be something they’d be willing to trade their services for.

Verify that they have some training (can be informal training like studying craft books) and aren’t just someone who put up their shingle and called themselves an editor.

4. Lighten the scope of work

This means you hire an editor for a given service, but you don’t include every part of it.

A few ideas:

• Get a level 2 edit and drop the editorial letter and just get the in-text feedback
• Have level-2 editor edit for specific big-picture issues—plot holes and major characters issues, say—and ignore other issues
• Ask your level-3-stylistic editor not to make any changes in the manuscript and instead just flag issues
• Reduce the number of rounds included in the service

5. Don’t get all levels of editing

I list various options below for changing the scope of work.

You need to know your audience and your weaknesses to know which option is best for you. As a reader, I can forgive word- and sentence-level issues more than I can big-picture issues.

If your story has underdeveloped characters, plot holes, odd dialogue, too much info dumping, etc., then I will not finish it. If it has more errors than a published book should have, I will still read it if the story is good.

Same with nonfiction: I can’t get through it if the ideas are disorganized and the content is repetitive or not well explained.

So if I were your audience, paying for the big-picture editing would be more important.

But I don’t speak for all readers. So know your audience.

Option 1: Use beta readers/critique partners and study writing craft to cover level 1 & 2 and stylistic level 3 on your own, hire an editor for error-fixing level 3, use AI* for level 4

If you can’t afford both a big-picture edit and a word- and sentence-level edit, then get free beta readers and/or join a critique group to give you some big-picture feedback, read craft books to help with all levels except the final error-fixing.

Hire a level 3 error-fixing editor, then use AI for level 4.

Option 2: Hire a level 1 editor, use beta readers/critique partners and study writing craft for level 2 and stylistic level 3, hire an editor for error-fixing level 3, use AI* for level 4

Hire a level 1 editor to suggest how to fix some of the issues in a manuscript; a beta read will not. While the editor will not point out the issues in the text as they occur (remember, this service doesn’t include any markings in the actual text or margin of the text), the letter should be detailed enough for you to find those areas yourself. If your manuscript just has some big-picture issues but you feel confident in your content and organization or your story and characters overall, this would be a good route to go to save money.

After the manuscript assessment, use beta readers/critique partners to help with level 2 and stylistic level 3.

Hire an editor for error-fixing level 3. While the editor won’t fix wordy or awkward sentences or other infelicities, they will fix actual errors. So at least your published manuscript won’t be riddled with errors

Use AI for level 4.

Option 3:  Hire a level 1 editor, use beta readers/critique partners and study writing craft for level 2, hire an editor to do both level 3s combined, use AI* for level 4

This is the same as option 2, but now you hire a level 3 editor to do both types of level 3: stylistic word- and sentence-level changes and error fixing.

Option 4: Skip level 1, hire an editor for level 2, use AI and other programs for level 3 and 4

Get full level 2 editing to ensure the content is strong.

Then, skimp on the copyediting; just using programs and other readers to help you spot errors.

I have included this option because I know this seems to be a popular way to cut costs, but I want you to go into this option with eyes wide open and do it the best way you possibly can.

AI and some programs out there, like Grammarly and ProWritingAid, can help spot some errors. These programs do not replace an actual editor. Many times they suggest changes that are wrong. Seriously, I reject nearly 70% of the suggestions from these programs.

You could also enlist friends and family, but be warned they don’t know the rules like they think they do. Many people think things are incorrect when they are correct, and correct when they are incorrect. There are a lot of grammar misconceptions out there.

These programs and your friends and family will never replace a professional editor, but if you are needing to save money, they can spot some of the more embarrassing errors.

So if you go this route:

• Only accept changes from programs and/or friends and family that you know for a fact are right (or your friend can prove to you is right). This might mean you miss out on accepting suggestions that were actually right, but better that than introducing a ton of errors because you accepted everything.
• Use the programs only with the idea that you are trying to fix the most embarrassing errors that readers may easily spot. Don’t use them thinking your manuscript will be close to error free.
• Make sure your manuscript is really strong (you got good quality editors for the big-picture editing) so your audience can be more forgiving of the grammar and spelling mistakes
• Consider stating in an author’s note or other front matter that the book wasn’t professionally edited for grammar and spelling, but you plan on relaunching it once you can afford the full copyediting.

It is a great idea to use the profits to then pay for a full copyediting service, so your next version of the book is better.

Again, if I were your audience, I would be quite forgiving of errors as long as the content was strong. But do know that reviewers love to slam books that have errors because it is low-hanging fruit. They know, or think they know, how to criticize spelling and grammar more than they may know how to criticize story. So you do risk getting low ratings.

Option 5: Skip level 1, get a combined package for level 2 and both level 3s in one round, use AI* for level 4

For this option, the one editor you hire will need to offer level 2 and full level 3 in one combined service.

This means you get both big-picture editing and word- and sentence-level editing in one round. However, since the editor is doing both types at the same time, the quality does go down.

This is the a more-exptions option, but it’s still a budget option, as you’re reducing the number of rounds you have to pay for.

The advantage of this option is you get professional eyes on your manuscript for all types of editing. You aren’t relying solely on a program, a friend, a critique partner, a beta reader, craft books, or self-editing for any level of edit.

However, it’s impossible for that editor to give you the same quality as they could if they were doing each service in a separate round.

My combined package is by far my most popular service, and if the author uses a proofreader afterward, which I always recommend regardless of the amount of editing rounds), then this will reduce the amount of errors further.

Option 6: Skip level 1, get a level 2 editor, hire an editor for stylistic level 3 editing, then use AI* for rest of level 3 and 4

This is the most-expensive option listed.

Hire a level-2 editor

Hire a level-3 stylistic editor (often called line editing)

Use AI for error-fixing level 3 and proofreading

6. Last resort: skip on all editng

Many successful self-publishing authors have done this. They just get free beta reading to get some readers’ feedback, but no real big-picture editing. And they use friends and family or programs to catch as many grammar and punctuation issues as possible.

Some have even included notes to the reader to let them know this book has not been edited by a professional yet.

After they get some sales, they then use that money to pay for a real editor, and they republish the new and improved book.

I don’t recommend this route. Not only is it impossible to guarantee that book sales alone will bring in enough to fund full editing, publishing an unedited book actively works against your book’s quality and thus its ROI. If you truly can’t afford any professional editing, I’d recommend pausing the book for six months and using that time to bring in money for an editor over publishing unedited. 

But I can’t make that decision for you. 

If you do go this route, invest in craft books, courses, and webinars and attend critique groups to give yourself the best possible shot without professional editing.

Conclusion

If you have the money, I would pay a trained editor for full big-picture editing and word- and sentence-level editing in different rounds, especially if you are a first-time or beginning author.

It takes money to make money. So look at it like an investment!

But if you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money. And I’d hate to see your book go unpublished.

So do what you gotta do. Just make your decision with eyes wide open.