Common editorial rates—regardless of whether a project is flat-rate or hourly—tend to fall within the ranges indicated below. These should be used only as a rough guideline; rates vary considerably depending on the nature of the work, the time frame of the assignment, the degree of special expertise required, and other factors. The industry standard for a manuscript page, however, is a firm 250 words.
EDITING
Editing, basic copyediting: 5-10 ms pgs/hr: $30-40/hr
Editing, heavy copyediting: 2-5 ms pgs/hr: $40-50/hr
Editing, website copyediting: $40-50/hr
Editing, substantive or line: 1-6 ms pgs/hr: $40-60/hr
FACT CHECKING: $30-40/hr
MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION: $45-55/hr
PROOFREADING: 9-13 ms pgs/hr: $30-35/hr
TRANSCRIBING: 300-500 wds/hr: $40-50/hr
WRITING: 1-3 ms pgs/hr
Writing, ghostwriting: $50-60/hr; 26¢-50¢/wd
Writing, grants/proposals/sales/PR: $50-60/hr; 30¢-95¢/wd
Writing, journalism: $40-50/hr; 26¢-50¢/wd
Writing, nonspecified: $40-100/hr; 20¢-$2/wd