How much should I charge for editing/proofing?
- Thread starter TeTe
- Start date
RunninTeach
Cathlete
Hmm, I did some freelance writing in college, but not editing and proofing, specifically. I would say $25-30 for regular papers, more if it's a thesis.
[font face="heather" font color=black size=+2]~Cathy[/font]
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[font face="heather" font color=black size=+2]~Cathy[/font]
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Stephanie0523
Cathlete
Hey TeTe. I do freelance writing/newsletter design/press releases, and I think that I'd charge either by the word or by the page so that you don't wind up charging the same price for a 10-page paper and a 25-page paper. I'd not hesitate to charge $5 a page, but that's just me. Will you be editing for both content and grammar? If so, that's a lot of work that could potentially save the student's grade and teach them a lot of useful tools for future writing. Look at it this way, they may only need your services once or twice to get the hang of it themselves. You'd be almost a tutor to them, so I'd not sell yourself short!
Good points, Stephanie.
I've done some freelance proofing/editing for newsletters before, but never for academic pieces. I am concerned about going too far (at what point does the editing stop and the rewriting begin?). I've done most of my business writing for architects, engineers, and interior designers, so I'm sure I'll be familiar with the content, but I don't want to get so carried away (which I tend to do when editing!) that I do a rewrite. For me, that's just getting into ethical issues.
As far as teaching them useful tools, I would hope so, but I've worked with people who never really looked at the stuff that I edited for them. Needless to say, they continued to make the same mistakes. I guess I'll have to figure out whether I should give them a red-pencil edition or a clean version (maybe both?).
Thanks, Stephanie.
I've done some freelance proofing/editing for newsletters before, but never for academic pieces. I am concerned about going too far (at what point does the editing stop and the rewriting begin?). I've done most of my business writing for architects, engineers, and interior designers, so I'm sure I'll be familiar with the content, but I don't want to get so carried away (which I tend to do when editing!) that I do a rewrite. For me, that's just getting into ethical issues.
As far as teaching them useful tools, I would hope so, but I've worked with people who never really looked at the stuff that I edited for them. Needless to say, they continued to make the same mistakes. I guess I'll have to figure out whether I should give them a red-pencil edition or a clean version (maybe both?).
Thanks, Stephanie.
Stephanie0523
Cathlete
I'd do a red-pencil edition, and if it's content that needs tweaking, I'd just ask open-ended questions that you want answered in the piece. Like if something needs further explanation, I'd just write, "What are some specific examples?" Or, "Can I have more explanation?" etc. That way, you're not giving it to them, you're making them do further research and apply themselves. I'd give them grammar edits in red-pencil format so that it would be up to them whether to do it. Just my opinion. I agree that rewriting wouldn't do them any good. If you do it in red-pencil format then they are forced to go back and interpret your marks and learn something from it ...
ETA: Maybe have a sit-down conversation with them too when you're done going over it point by point so they also learn from it...
ETA: Maybe have a sit-down conversation with them too when you're done going over it point by point so they also learn from it...