Editorial Rates
The following chart shows the average hourly rate ranges taken from the Guild's 2018 rate survey. The results are presented here for the purposes of information and discussion. The Guild does not coordinate, recommend, or determine any rate or rate structure for use by its members. Other editing organizations likewise present the results of rate surveys, and the Guild encourages clients and members to consult those as well.
The Guild recognizes that its members
perform a diverse range of editing functions;
have a wide range of levels of experience;
serve diverse clients with varying editing needs; and
work under widely different time frames.
All of these factors will affect the actual rates charged.
Type of Service | Hourly Rate |
| Content editing | $48 - $57 |
| Copyediting | $42 - $51 |
| Developmental editing | $49 - $58 |
| E-book formatting/file prep/conversion | $40 - $49 |
| Editorial consulting (manuscript evaluation, editorial workflow) | $59 - $68 |
| Fact-checking | $39 - $48 |
| Indexing | $36 - $45 |
| Page design and layout | $46 - $54 |
| Project/managerial editing | $55 - $64 |
| Proofreading | $36 - $45 |
| Publishing consulting (book proposals & query letters and agent/publisher research) | $52 - $61 |
| Substantive editing | $48 - $57 |
| Technical editing | $53 - $62 |
| Web editing, blog editing | $43 - $52 |
| Writing coaching | $57 - $66 |