Okay, I'm done my novel (113 000 words). I'm ready to hire a professional editor so I can turn it into an ebook. Where do I start? What's a common going rate for that many words. I'm open-minded about plot criticisms but really I want to make sure the grammar is acceptable and maybe trim some fat so its a faster read. Can anyone point me in a good direction or doesn't anyone have good experience with some of the more commercial editing services? I could maybe shell out $2000 and maybe $1000 more to format into an ebook. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on where to look? My novel is a dark comedy about a teenager's struggle through high school from being the worst (but almost justified) conceptual human being to becoming the most beloved and popular kid in school. Thanks for checking out my thread!
As a professional in the field both working at a publishing house and a freelancer myself, it rather depends on what sort of editing you are looking to get. Developmental editing (looking at big macro ideas) can cost upwards of $5/250 word page and looks for things like continuity errors and characterization problems, etc.... Line/content editing is $15+ an hour for a rate of about 4-8 250 word pages an hour+ depending on complexity, and proofreading and light formatting is anywhere from $14+ an hour for a rate of 10 pages+ an hour (again, depending on the amount of work and skill of the one doing the editing). Ebook layout depends on if you need additional things like pictures added, special formatting, etc. but if you wanted a general budget, you'd want a minimum of about $6/25o word page to go the professional freelance route, with proofreading included. Of course everyone charges something different, just that this is my experience so if you have a budget of an overall 3,000, should be very doable! Best wishes!
I won't post the link here but take a look at bloodriteshorror . com - not offering all the services that a traditional editor might but there's certainly some packages there worth a look, all for a very decent budget. Hope this helps!
I was curious so I took a look at that site; while the budget does seem good on the surface, the package services look rather unclear, and those wait times are a bit excessive (OP would be waiting anywhere from 2-4 months for some services!) in my opinion; when it comes to this sort of thing, you truly do get what you pay for, both in terms of quality and speedy turnaround when looking for professionals. The rates I posted would be for freelancers who would provide a 1 month turnaround tops for a 113,000 word draft, but that's because they are the kinds of people who have dedicated to making this sort of work their full-time occupation. Of course if someone wants to take the time and wait, it's perfectly feasible to find someone willing to do the work cheaper, but I would hesitate to hand off a document and wait so long to potentially get back something that's not to my liking.
This site has a good list of editors, some provide their rates right on the page https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/good-book-editor/
