Frequently Asked Questions

There is no standard fee for editing; each editor charges what they believe is the right amount for them and their situation, their service, their clientele and so on. There are some guidelines from the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd), available here, but these are guides only.

For me, the cost primarily depends on the service you would like and the length of your document. A full edit, that is, formatting, reference editing and language editing, costs the most and is based on the word count (per 1000 words). Reference editing and formatting on their own are generally calculated per day. Weekend or rushed work will attract a higher fee. The more in-depth the edit needs to be, and the more expertise the task requires, the more it will cost per 1000 words. So, a structural edit will cost more than a copyedit, and a manuscript assessment will cost more than a proofread.

Keeping all of this in mind, here is an actual number: generally speaking, a full edit will usually fall between A$40 to A$70 per 1000 words. There are exceptions to these limits, so this may not reflect your actual quote.

If you feel this is a big number, that is a reasonable response to have. But, as you will read in the next FAQ answer, the editing process takes a long time, and it requires a lot of formal training and expertise. I also have over 10 years of experience and very specialised knowledge of academic and technical copy. Add to this that freelance editors have to simultaneously manage all the other aspects and expenses of running a business and don’t have the benefits of a steady salary.

If you are working with a limited budget, let me know and we can figure out something that works for you.

As you might expect, this depends on the length of the document and the service you have asked for. Referencing and formatting tasks are generally measured per day, and a language edit (or the full package) is measured in weeks.

For a full service, generally speaking, a document around 10,000 words takes about a week, 30,000 to 60,000 words takes two to three weeks, and 80,000 to 100,000 words (which is a full-length thesis) takes a month or more. These times vary considerably, so your quoted time may be different.

For a summary of the different levels of editing, please click here. Student documents are limited to copyediting only; everyone else is not limited.

The best resource for describing the different levels of editing, particularly in Australia, is the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd)’s Standards for Editing Practice, available on the IPEd website here. I follow the IPEd’s Guidelines for Editing Theses, available here, for all student work. The Guidelines frequently appear in university policies regarding professional editing and proofreading, so I recommend you read them thoroughly.

Of course not! I am happy to take on work from any author. I take a very personalised approach to each edit, so no matter what kind of manuscript you have, we can find something right for you.

I am happy to take on work of any length. Generally speaking, the longer the document is, the further in advance you should book to secure the time you would like.

I do have the capacity to take on urgent work, but this does cost more. More details coming soon.

Yes, for a fee: generally $50 per 1000 words. If we go ahead with the edit, this fee will be subtracted from the final amount. The sample should be at least 1000 words or one major section for shorter documents.

The more of the document you can send, the more accurate the quote will be. A good start is at least a chapter or major section, but I would prefer to see the whole document if possible. If you feel that the current draft does not reflect what the quality of the final document will be, don’t worry. I factor this in to the price and time estimate.

If those parts of the document are being included in the service (format, reference edit or language edit), they must be added to the word count.

I have a strict privacy policy, so confidential and embargoed manuscripts are covered by these. I can add a non-disclosure clause in the agreement document as part of the edit or sign an independent non-disclosure agreement if it is required (or both).

I am happy to take on any type of document if you are willing, and I do have experience with fiction, but non-fiction is my speciality. If you are looking for a fiction specialist, especially for developmental editing, I suggest heading to the IPEd’s member’s directory to find your perfect match.

While it is more efficient to do one edit, we can figure something out if you are still drafting when the booking time comes around. I have policies regarding cancellations, delays and rescheduling, so please read these.

Of course not! Each document is assessed independently, and the price is determined by the complexity of the formatting, the general state of the references (if any) and the depth of the language edit required. These are not necessarily affected by language expertise.

There are several reasons why you might want to choose an individual freelancer over a company that has editors contracted to them. I worked for one such company for several years in the early 2020s, so I have an insider’s perspective. There is a forthcoming blog post about this topic, but I can give a brief overview here.

Essentially, you are paying for non-editor employees with your fee, you miss out on having a relationship with your editor, and based on some simple calculations, the editors are not typically receiving good remuneration for their expertise. You can use the price calculators available on their websites and compare them to the national minimum wage. Even if the editor is receiving 100% of the fee, they are usually not receiving much more than this minimum. This is legal because they are usually independent contractors rather than employees.

Ultimately, freelancers are able to set fair rates for their situation and work according to their own needs, not the needs of a company. If you find an experienced freelancer with robust policies and a good reputation for customer service and quality work, you will experience all the benefits of working with a company without these drawbacks.

This is a complicated question, and there are several reasons why large language models (LLMs) are not always good editors. There is a forthcoming blog post about this topic that will explore this topic in more depth; there is almost always important and sometimes very sensitive context that only a human editor can understand and make corrections (or not) within. And, of course, LLMs only understand copy based on other published work. If you are breaking new ground or telling a unique story, then LLMs cannot properly keep up with you.

Privacy is also an issue. Any text an LLM touches is almost certainly being fed straight back into its database for training, so it is not secure. If your document is sensitive, confidential, embargoed or otherwise private in nature, using an LLM is not a good option. If you would like to read more about my privacy policy, please click here.

It is easy to understand why using an LLM is an attractive option. It is comparatively cheap (for now) and takes very little time. But, as with all things generated by AI, the human quality of your work and your unique voice will be noticeably absent. For important documents (perhaps the most important document of your life to date if you are writing a thesis), a human editor is almost always a better choice.