$5,000 For Book Editing?

[Regev]

In short:

Got a website with a million annual readers, many of them fans. Worked on a book for 8 hours a day for the past six months, aiming to create something truly exceptional to sell to them (even eliminated all ads from the site to make it cleaner and attract more fans until book is done.). It took a month to write, but 5 months for me to edit and get to the final draft. My question to the experienced, established writers of you:

Is $5,000 for editing (copy and line, not developmental) a dramatic, overpriced pricing for a 150k manuscript? I'm now going to send it to an experienced editor to do a final round or two of editing of two fresh eyes.

Why do I ask? I found a bunch of editors with recommendations, some of them ask about 1.5k and one stands out and asks 5k. My tendency is to go with him, but I know it may just be my brain tricking me (perceived value). Any thoughts on book editing? I feel a strong desire to make this project amazing.

Thanks
Rock on

 

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[Mattie]

Depends on how good of editing you are and if you have references.

 

[HappyFighter]

I can't consider myself an expert writer (yet), though I blogged extensively in the past. All I did to check my work was re-read my post then check it via SpellCheckPlus. That site checks for spelling and grammar errors. If I were to write an ebook, I would to follow the same process although in a larger scale. I'm not saying that editors are not valuable, but if you're willing to put-in the work yourself you can save yourself some money.

 

[Mattie]

https://www.autocrit.com/autocrit-tour-and-features/

I don't know if this will be helpful or not.

 

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[GuestUser113]

http://lonetrout.com/services/

 

[RHL]

Based on the e-books I've seen, $5k is probably too little if he does the work of an actual editor. If he's just a reader looking for spelling and grammatical errors, maybe it's too much.

 

[Regev]

I'm not only talking about technical stuff like grammar, spelling and punctuation. I'm talking about stylistic changes like consistence, flow, transitions, tone, etc.

RHL, what have you seen?
Rauol- who's this guy and do you recommend him?

thanks buddies

 

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[EricZ]

Do you have any experience with editors at all?
Otherwise you have no past reference points.
That means you're making a total shot in the dark with your prized manuscript!!!

Do you have any smaller things that you can test the editors with?

Imho 5k is waaaay too much, but I do my own editing, so I too don't have a reference point.

A good proof reader charges anywere from 7 to 17$ PER PAGE.

That's my only hard reference.

Hope this helps

E.

 

[RHL]

RHL, what have you seen?

Probably 9 out of 10 e-books that I seriously consider buying, I close after reading the preview and never consider again. I'm a voracious reader, but just because something is $1-3 doesn't mean it should look like it was written by dogs. If there's a grammatical, spelling, or idiom (much more insidious) error in the first page, I'm not buying the book, because it's indicative that the author didn't give a rat's a$$.

I've seen it from some big names too. I won't tar anyone, but some people who have significant online followings, and will definitely make 4-5 figures off their book, have pumped out books where the QC was just absolute garbage.

I know I'm not alone on this. I've talked to a tons of people about kindle books, and they also say that it's a leading cause of their "bounce rate" from a title that had grabbed their interest.

Basically, it's like PPC. If you think your profit from the book will allow for a $5000 editor, and the $5000 editor is actually 5 times better than the $1000 editor, by all means, contract with them (check their refs though, for that price, I'd want to see actual B&M editorial experience), then do it. If you can't, default to another option.

 

[DaRK9]

https://www.autocrit.com/autocrit-tour-and-features/

I don't know if this will be helpful or not.

That looks really useful. Bookmarked.

 

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[Regev]

No, I don't have any experience with editors. And you're right, it is a complete shot in the dark.

The profits will definitely allow for this kind of editing, because there are already plenty of preorders, and that's without doing anything special. With a solid, dedicated website, a more optimized sales page, I believe the book can easily sell at least 300 copies a month consistently. Problem is, I have to find an editor quickly, and I don't have any idea how to rate them. I base my decision solely on social proof and testimonials.

 

[Vigilante]

In short:

Got a website with a million annual readers, many of them fans. Worked on a book for 8 hours a day for the past six months, aiming to create something truly exceptional to sell to them (even eliminated all ads from the site to make it cleaner and attract more fans until book is done.). It took a month to write, but 5 months for me to edit and get to the final draft. My question to the experienced, established writers of you:

Is $5,000 for editing (copy and line, not developmental) a dramatic, overpriced pricing for a 150k manuscript? I'm now going to send it to an experienced editor to do a final round or two of editing of two fresh eyes.

Why do I ask? I found a bunch of editors with recommendations, some of them ask about 1.5k and one stands out and asks 5k. My tendency is to go with him, but I know it may just be my brain tricking me (perceived value). Any thoughts on book editing? I feel a strong desire to make this project amazing.

Thanks
Rock on

Stick around for a while, and post an intro in the introductions area. You seem like you might be one of us.

 

[doncruz]

5k is way overpriced!!
There are plenty of great experienced editors on elance. Post your job and test them first.
You can great editors for much less than that.

 

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[doncruz]

Read this, Steve Scott has lots of experience on book publishing.
http://www.selfpublishingquestions.com/find-book-editor/

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Is $5,000 for editing (copy and line, not developmental) a dramatic, overpriced pricing for a 150k manuscript?

Depends on their track record and skill level. $5K sounds like a developmental edit. And I wouldn't pay that unless I was knew they'd make my manuscript 10X better. You turn it in as a 7 and get it back a 9.5.

 

[ZCP]

Crazy idea..... could you 'beta' test sections with certain members of your loyal fanbase?

Have you done due diligence on the editor? Test run with them?

 

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[Regev]

I'm sending it to beta readers (fans) in a few days. Then ill get their feedback.

I haven't tested this 5k editor. All I know is that I love his writing, and that he has personally edited a bunch of bestsellers.

 

[Mattie]

This is what I ran into as well. If you don't know there are different types of editors you may end up paying for something you don't want. Good to have references from other writers too that you know well and have used them before and their books is doing well.

 

[Regev]

Depends on their track record and skill level. $5K sounds like a developmental edit. And I wouldn't pay that unless I was knew they'd make my manuscript 10X better. You turn it in as a 7 and get it back a 9.5.

His developmental edit costs 10k. His 5k is more of an editorial polish mixed with copy and line editing. What do you think? And btw who was the editor of TMF ? Did you even use any?

 

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[ChickenHawk]

You're probably not going to want to hear this, but editing-cost aside, I've got bad news & good news for you to consider... (This is my opinion only, so take that for what it's worth.)

The Bad News - Your Book is Dangerously Long
IMO, 150K is dangerously long. Books these days are trending shorter and shorter. 150K by today's standards is seriously huge and potentially unwieldy to your readers. If you're planning to put your book into Kindle Unlimited, a reader would need to consume 15K words before you'd get paid for a borrow. Part of the reason you were quoted such a high figure for editing is that your book is twice the size of most books these days, maybe even three times the size. Any time you deviate from the norm, you're setting yourself up for challenges. I'm not trying to discourage you, but I really do think you need to look at this. What are you looking to price this at? I can't imagine the price being low, since you're offering so many words in one book. However, if your price is too high, that will likely hurt sales too. I'm just saying, you've got quite a few challenges there with a book this size.

The Good News - You've Got Lots of Words, which Equals Lots of Potential
You've got a lot of words. Yay! Is there any way you could divide this up into two or three shorter books? Maybe make them part of a series? If you're planning to sell on Amazon, this would also help you as far as also-boughts and building a fan base, because those who like one book would likely enjoy the others as well. Also, if you had three books, your editing cost per book drops significantly.

Side Note: I've self-pubbed five (adult) books. Four have hit the Amazon top 100. The fifth one didn't even come close. Why? Hard to say. But I do know that this fifth one was significantly longer (120K words) and more complicated. I do think that was a factor. If I could go back in time, I would break the book up into two parts and make each part juicier.

Good luck whichever route you go! Regardless of which way you go, writing 150K words is a seriously impressive accomplishment, and something most people only dream of. I hope you'll keep us posted.

 

[Rawr]

OP is this fiction or non fiction? If fiction, CH has some great points. Does this guy have a waiting list, or could you try to negotiate a bit?

So you're getting charged 3.3 cents per word. I think I paid 1 cent for copyediting, there was no developmental stuff and almost no plot feedback.

 

[Regev]

Unfortunately, the guy's full until next year. I'll have to find someone else.

The book is non-fiction, but in a fiction style. I mean, it's a collection of 40 high-octane travel, sex and military stories from 40 countries around the globe. But they're all told with gambits of advice to give lots of value to the reader. How did I quadruple my testosterone levels, blah blah blah, and you can do it too. How you can survive a gun robbery without losing a single dollar, and without having any weapon. How to know if you're dating a psychopath? How I got lost in a jungle full of jaguars, and remained alive, how to ... your flight attendant during a flight (I'm stoping here), etc. So it's all non-fiction, and there's plenty of how-to in there, but i've made an effort to tell it all as if you're reading a thrilling, agitating fiction book.

@ChickenHawk, thanks for the smart words. As for the book, I've already sold a good bunch of pre orders at 20$ through my site (my websites can drive sales consistently with or without the aid of Amazon). I do plan to sell on Amazon, of course, and I did think of separating it as you said into two books. But something in me just thinks, heck, when I look at all this back the day when I die, wouldn't' I prefer to leave a thick magnum-opus after me instead? Also, for the past months I've mechanically analyzed many books that I've enjoyed through the years. Books that kept me hooked. Have you ever read Steve Jobs? The Hunger Games series? Those books are MASSIVE, but you go to sleep under that spell, desperately waiting to keep reading it tomorrow. And when you're done with them, you still wish there was more.So I put more than a thousand hours trying to infuse this feeling into this book, and if I succeeded, and if people are put under that "spell", they'd surely not mind an even longer book. If I failed to do that, then I've failed period.

But i'll definitely take a closer look at it. Sound advice, many thanks for the good words and encouragement. I really appreciate it. And i'll keep you posted if the book becomes an international bestseller or fails miserably into the abyss of bad literature.

And if anybody can recommend a good editor, by all means say so. I've opened a job on elance and contacted about 15 yesterday, but one with trusted testimonials is always better.

Thanks you all,
Keep rocking in the free world.
Reg

 

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[Regev]

https://www.elance.com/job/71797942/proposals

 

[Hanalore]

A good resource for pricing professional editors, Editorial Freelancers Association http://www.the-efa.org/res/rates.php

Otherwise, check with people you know. I found that I had a boss who not only had knowledge in the area I was writing but also had professional editorial experience, and they were thrilled to be a part of my endeavor.

 

[Regev]

Thanks. So 5k does look like a normal price according to this list. But look at all those proposals I got on elance, seems tough to pick one of them.

MJ, who was the editor of TMF ? I'd love to contact him. If there was one, he seems to have done a terrific job with your masterpiece.

 

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[Regev]

update:

the 5k editor says there's a spot that might be opening in may, but it's going to cost 10k. ("t sounds like you're asking me potentially to do a fair bit of writing--on a 150k word manuscript no less. My fee for writing (ghostwriting, co-writing or punch-ups) is much higher than editing. And I don't really do grammar, punctuation work. That is for a copyeditor. I am a content editor exclusively. I only work on story, style and structure.")