FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I charge $18 per hour for proofreading, $25 per hour for a copyedit, and $30 per hour for content editing and writing. I see from the way jobs are posted that some customers don't know the difference. In proofreading you compare the copy with an original and make sure it corresponds; you don't change anything. In a copyedit, you check for mechanics of English: grammar, spelling, capitalization, completeness of sentences, etc., and consistency. In a content edit or "deep edit," you review whether material is in the right place, whether it advances the author's theme, whether the author has supplied enough background, and you suggest alternatives. In writing, you create a text based on the customer's theme, and although this is at the same hourly rate as deep editing, it of course takes much longer because of the thinking and research involved.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Writer for my high school newspaper; college courses in journalism; newspaper reporter and photographer; law review editor and writer; 20+ years in technical writing; 15+ years doing legal writing; editor for 2 novels and a World War II memoir, member of Society for Technical Communications and judge in their annual awards competition.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I'm the 4th generation in a family of printers and was put to work at 15 by my father as a proofreader in his shop. I found that I liked it. I guess it's in my genes.