The Art, Craft, and Cost of Editing

There is no degree program for editors. We’ve yet to find a reliable field manual. There is no rationale to most job titles. Most editors learn the craft in a highly personal and often idiosyncratic way. Some take classes at journalism schools or in university extension programs. Some find a mentor and learn at that person’s knee. Some just start doing it and learn as they go.

There is no licensing board, no one who sets or tracks pay rates. Fees vary vastly depending on the editors’ levels of experience, the part of the country they work in, and the kind of publishing they prefer. Some editors are trained journalists who have worked in prestigious national publications. Some are not. Some editors work quickly and accurately. Some do not. Some editors are themselves writers, or have an uncanny ability to understand what a writer is going through. Some do not.

The Prose Doctors are all veteran journalists who write and report as well as edit. We have worked at top national publications and with internationally renowned authors. Each of us has worked in books, in magazines, in newspapers, and online. We work with top writers—and those who intend to become top writers—and we command top rates.

To help you understand what we do, and to give you a sense of what we charge, we put together this primer on editing. But remember—every editor would define the craft differently!

Acquisition or Assignment Editing

An acquisitions editor in books or an assignment editor in journalism is a classic connector—the person with the big Rolodex, the vast contacts among writers and agents, the lust for new ideas and sparkling writing, and the instinct for the market. In book publishing, the acquisitions editor reads proposals, makes offers to and signs contracts with authors, evaluates manuscripts, grapples with underlying themes and overarching structures, and champions a book through revisions, production, marketing, and publicity. In magazines, newspapers, and content Web sites, the assignment editor reads queries, assigns stories to authors and negotiates fees, does content and line editing on a story (see below), and shepherds it through the production process. An acquistions or assigning editor is almost always on staff at a publishing house or publication rather than freelance.

Developmental or Content Editing

A developmental editor in book publishing works closely with the author on the overall idea and arc of the book, moves sections around to improve the structure, points out holes that need filling, and trims big bulges or little lumps of fat. In journalism, the assignment editor generally performs this task, albeit on a smaller scale. Content editors may also sharpen titles (or headlines), subtitles (or decks), and subheads within the manuscript. A top freelance content editor might charge anywhere from $80 to $150 per hour.

Line Editing

In all forms of publishing, line editing refers to the process of looking at a draft sentence by sentence—and sometimes word by word—to heighten clarity, polish prose, enhance style, and bring out an author’s voice. Some content editors love line editing, while others prefer to leave it to the copy editors. Most editors combine line editing with either content editing or copy editing, so the rates range from $60 to $150 per hour.

Copy Editing

In both book publishing and journalism, copy editing refers to the process of combing through manuscripts for errors in grammar, syntax, usage, spelling, and punctuation. It also refers to the process of “applying style,” which means making sure that every word in the manuscript conforms to the house style of the publication. This might be Chicago style (for most books and magazines), A.P. style (for most newspapers and online sites), M.L.A. style (for most academic work), or the individual style of the particular publication, which might be a hybrid of these with some local or regional eccentricities thrown in. Most top copy editors charge from $40 to $60 per hour.

Managing Editing or Production Editing

Some editors interact very little with writers, but have a key role in the process. In book publishing, a managing editor takes the completely revised manuscript and gets it through copy editing, typesetting, and printing. In magazines, a managing editor is the link between the editorial, design, and production departments. The managing editor is also the deadline cop, making sure the entire magazine makes it to the printer on time. (Sometimes a production editor shares this role and works closely with the printer.) In many magazines and newspapers, the managing editor is also a top editor, reading many stories at a content level and making decisions along with the editor-in-chief and the executive editor about what stories to include in the mix, and which ones to feature most highly. Most managing or production editors work on staff at a publishing house or magazine rather than on a freelance basis.