The following question may seem to be redundant to some readers: Do you know that the editing process is multi-fold?
Over the extensive period of time I have spent in the field, the writers’ point of curiosity has been (largely) the same: “What is your editing fee?” My answer always comes in the form of a question: “What type of editing do you seek?”
Copyediting, also called Surface Editing, is exactly what an editor applies to a manuscript (once the corresponding contract is signed by the involved parties, of course): Reviewing a draft work for surface errors; e.g. Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (basic rules). This type of editing does not include any content adjustments and / or modifications on the designated manuscript. Content Editing, also called Substantive Editing, however, is a process in which the editor incorporates adjustments and / or modifications to the core of the draft work. Depending on the literary genre with which the manuscript is to be associated, each editing type then undergoes other steps of adjustments / modifications.
Hence, a writer’s question to an editor, “What is your editing fee?” leaves much room for clarification when both parties are concerned.
Should you be interested in approaching an editor for your draft work of any literary genre, please always bear in mind that you, the author, must be succinct in expressing the specifics as to how you envision the final version of your book manuscript’s (or poem’s, or short story’s).
