Agree on Costs in Advance, and Save Editorial Energy

In a recent post, I offered insight into the mindset of copy editors. Today’s advice is on setting a budget for copy editing and proofreading assignments.

First of all, make sure both you—the publications manager—and the copy editor or proofreader are clear on terminology:

Copy editing — Making a final manuscript draft conform to predetermined rules of style as well as correcting factual errors or awkwardness in presentation.

Proofreading — Careful review of copy-edited text for errors, usually by comparing laid-out version of the file with the manuscript.

This means that, when copy editors receive a manuscript, they don’t expect to be rewriting full paragraphs. They don’t grapple with big-picture issues, but rather with text on the sentence level. They like it that way, too. Good proofreaders, meanwhile, are like flycatchers. They are prepared to zap inconsistencies small and smaller—from misspellings to a straight quote mark that should be “curled.”

Sound straightforward? Maybe on paper. But confused expectations about roles can lead to disputes on pricing. We have encountered many cases in which a client requests a “proofread” when they really mean a “revision for comprehensibility”—a much heftier, and more expensive, task.

It doesn’t matter whether publications managers and freelancers determine costs by the word, the page, or the hour. The key is to achieve clarity in advance. And be sure to account for extra time for charts, graphs, captions, and other graphic oddities.

Experienced copy editors and proofreaders know how the market values their work. (Copy editors earn roughly 20 percent more than proofers; see link above for copy editors’ costs.) They’ll appreciate that you value their work, as well, when you show a willingness to renegotiate costs if a project expands beyond its original scope.

That can be the beginning of a blissful relationship, free of surprises and unwanted drama.

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