Proofers & Editors (Docs), How do you price your gigs?

[gina_riley2]

I’m curious to know how you priced your gigs? In other platforms, they typically do price per word.

Proofing is slightly cheaper than line editing, beta reading is slightly cheaper than proofing, etc.

You can’t really price per word here, so what factors did you use?

• Some sites place ESL at much higher (2× or more). I don’t know anyone on 5r that does ESL.
• Typically, nonfiction, including articles, are more expensive than fiction.

Most proofreaders here don’t distinguish between the two above.

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As a side note, I wish there were more Male beta readers here. Sometimes, it’s good to get a guy’s opinion on a fiction because they have a different perspective.

[vickiespencer]

I’m curious to know how you priced your gigs? In other platforms, they typically do price per word.

Proofing is slightly cheaper than line editing, beta reading is slightly cheaper than proofing, etc.

You can’t really price per word here, so what factors did you use?

• Some sites place ESL at much higher (2× or more). I don’t know anyone on 5r that does ESL.
• Typically, nonfiction, including articles, are more expensive than fiction.

Most proofreaders here don’t distinguish between the two above.

---

As a side note, I wish there were more Male beta readers here. Sometimes, it’s good to get a guy’s opinion on a fiction because they have a different perspective.

I’m curious to know how you priced your gigs?

I charge by the total number of words.

Proofing is slightly cheaper than line editing

I do not offer that service.

*I don’t know anyone on 5r that does ESL.

I do, but I will not do anything that is translated by an app. Once, I get the order if it looks like an app translation, I cancel the order.

Some sites place ESL at much higher (2× or more).

Really? I charge the same. I charged slightly more in the past, but when I raised my other proofreading gig prices, I did not raise my ESL proofing gig prices. Hmm, maybe I should? :thinking:

• Typically, nonfiction, including articles, are more expensive than fiction.

I charge less in my book gig, but only to give the buyer a break in the cost because they are ordering a larger quantity of words.

Good to see you here, Gina.

[maddy216]

I charge by total word count regardless of the genre, and sometimes, if they’re ordering something a little more complex (such as a beta read and proof) then I charge more.

[gina_riley2]

But on 5r, you can’t charge by word.

Minimum is $5 and typically goes up by increments of 5.

So if I had 250 words vs 251 words . . .

[vickiespencer]

But on 5r, you can’t charge by word.

Minimum is $5 and typically goes up by increments of 5.

So if I had 250 words vs 251 words . . .

So if I had 250 words vs 251 words . . .

My gig says “up to” 900 words for $10. If you said 901 I would still charge you $10.

Most of the buyers who have a word count that does not fit into any of my packages ask for a custom offer. Then I can offer to proof 950 words for $11.00.

[maddy216]

But on 5r, you can’t charge by word.

Minimum is $5 and typically goes up by increments of 5.

So if I had 250 words vs 251 words . . .

Precisely as @vickiespencer puts it. It’s just a matter of rounding up or down. 🙂 When you’ve got several orders under your belt, it gets easier to figure out what sounds fair for the amount of work the order requires.

[imagination7413]

I don’t really qualify, since I only do Beta, but I also go by the word-count. I severely undercharge, currently, but was waiting for analytics to come back before making changes. Now that they are, I plan on updating my gigs once my queue is empty.

[freelanceplus1]

But on 5r, you can’t charge by word.

Minimum is $5 and typically goes up by increments of 5.

So if I had 250 words vs 251 words . . .

Unless it is a custom order request.

[freelanceplus1]

I’m curious to know how you priced your gigs? In other platforms, they typically do price per word.

Proofing is slightly cheaper than line editing, beta reading is slightly cheaper than proofing, etc.

You can’t really price per word here, so what factors did you use?

• Some sites place ESL at much higher (2× or more). I don’t know anyone on 5r that does ESL.
• Typically, nonfiction, including articles, are more expensive than fiction.

Most proofreaders here don’t distinguish between the two above.

---

As a side note, I wish there were more Male beta readers here. Sometimes, it’s good to get a guy’s opinion on a fiction because they have a different perspective.

I charge by total word count. Price is the same for proofreading, copy editing, and line editing. It is common to see buyers say it only needs proofreading since it has been edited, only for you to look at it and find many errors not supposed to be in a book that has been “edited.”

However, I price developmental editing higher than others. A lot of editors don’t like to take it on.

[sphinxediting]

Hi!

I charge by total word count, and make it to where it matches my rates that I have per 1000 words, which I find is the easiest way to do it anyway. I do proofreading for $5 per 3000 words, but for light copyediting, it’s $2 per 1k, heavy copyediting is $3 per 1k, and developmental editing is $5 per 1k. I require buyers to contact me before they place an order, so most of the time I give them custom orders depending on the words that way. For me, the prices on my gig page are merely ballpark.