Tag: book editor

An Example of Multiple Rounds of Editing: From First Draft to Published Story

2 Comments

If you’ve never worked with a book editor before, you’re probably wondering what it’ll be like. What kind of feedback do editors give and how do they interact with your manuscript? Is all the time and money of a professional edit actually worth it?

Here I’ve included the first draft and two successive rounds of edits on a flash fiction story that I edited as part of Havok Magazine’s team. My hope is that you will see how editing can bring out the best in a manuscript, clarifying the language, character and plot, and emotional impact.

Havok is an online flash fiction magazine that publishes a 1000 word story each day of the week on the following schedule: Mystery Monday, Techno Tuesday (sci-fi), Wacky Wednesday (humor), Thriller Thursday, Fantasy Friday. I was an editor with the Mystery Monday team for a year.

I share this example of multiple rounds of editing with the permission of the author, Victoria Roberts, and Havok’s owners – Andrew Winch and Teddi Deppner.

First Draft

This is the first draft the author submitted to Havok. I, and my fellow editors, read all of the submitted stories for that month and chose which ones to acquire. There were a few reasons this story stood out to me for acceptance:

  • The character has a clear goal and transformation
  • High life and death stakes
  • The situation is emotionally and politically complex, but grounded in a simple scene and decision
  • Strong physical interactions between the characters, space, and the objects in it
  • Varied descriptions using multiple senses
  • A balanced mix of dialogue and internal reflection

Take a moment to read the original version before reviewing successive edits.

Roberts-To Break A Kingdom-First DraftDownload

First Round of Edits

These are the edits I and my team submitted to the author for review. She then had a chance to make revisions and submit a second draft. In my comments, you’ll see a combination of the three major types of editing (proofreaders were a separate team).

Developmental feedback: questions about the character’s situation and motivations and suggestions for how to improve the opening and ending.

Line edits: improving sentence structure, clarifying descriptions, and offering suggestions to maintain conciseness.

Copy edits: grammar and spelling corrections.

Roberts-To Break A Kingdom-First Round EditsDownload

Second Round of Edits

This is the stage where collaboration and clarification come into play. You’ll see that the author accepted a number of my edits as they were. In other places, she left comments explaining what her vision was and asking for further input, or made the suggested edits in her own words.

That’s the sign of an effective editor-author collaboration. Editorial suggestions are just that – suggestions. A good editor will help shape a story into the best it can be according to each author’s style. A good writer will be willing to communicate openly with their editor, standing up for their own choices where it matters, asking questions, offering various revisions and asking the editor which one they think is the clearest and most compelling choice.

Roberts-To Break A Kingdom-Second Round EditsDownload

Third Round of Edits

A third round of edits isn’t always necessary – here, you’ll see that the author fiddled with her word choice a little more and made sure her word count fell within parameters. And I assured her that she should be the one to finalize these details.

Roberts-To Break A Kingdom-Third Round EditsDownload

Final Version

If you want to read the final version of this story, you can find it on Havok’s website! They publish a story every day of the week – each story of the day is free to read, and an annual subscription of $4.99 gains readers access to their entire catalogue.

If you’re interested in submitting a flash fiction story of 1000 words or less, you can find information about Havok’s monthly themes on their website. They are such a kind and joyful team to work with, and I highly recommend them! Thank you, Andrew and Teddi, for allowing me to share about Havok’s process!

You can also follow Havok on social media.

Thank You, Victoria!

A big thank you to the Victoria Roberts, the author of “To Break a Kingdom,” for letting me share her in-progress story on my website. Many authors hate for their early drafts to ever see the light of day! But that makes it hard for other writers to understand how stories can change during the process of editing. So thank you for sharing your work so others can see ! Please check out more of Victoria’s work through the links below.

About Victoria Roberts

Victoria Roberts writes uplifting stories that radiate light. As an acquisitions and freelance editor, she loves encouraging other writers to pursue their author dreams. When she’s not penning or devouring a new tale, she spends her time adventuring with her family, spoiling her poodle Beast, or creating book-themed cross-stitch patterns.

Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.

I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing, Eschler Editing, and Havok Magazine. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!

Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…

How Much Does Professional Book Editing Cost?

Leave a comment

How much does professional book editing cost? Every book needs to be edited. It’s not optional.

Even the most famous and successful authors submit their manuscript to a book editor. In fact, I would argue that one reason these authors are successful is because they partner with an editor to maximize their story’s potential.

Depending on the expertise of your editor, the type of editing your manuscript requires, and the length and quality of your manuscript, you can expect to pay between hundreds to thousands of dollars.

To help you calculate your budget, we’ll look at:

  1. How book editors charge
  2. Median editorial rates for fiction
  3. Is a professional edit worth the cost?
  4. How to hire a book editor

How Book Editors Charge

Book editors tend to charge in one of 4 ways:

  • Per word
  • Per hour
  • Per page
  • Per project

Charging by word count is the most common method. Flat rates per project are usually only offered for smaller services like an opening chapter evaluation or a manuscript assessment.

So let’s look at how much it costs to hire a freelance book editor.

Median Editorial Rates for Fiction

The Editorial Freelancers Association conducts surveys among their members and reports the median rates charged for various editing services. These numbers represent the exact middle, meaning as many editors charge below these rates as above them. The EFA does not set or recommend rates – this data comes purely from self-reporting.

This chart represents the EFA’s median rates for fiction editing in 2024. Rates differ for nonfiction.

EDITING TYPEPER WORDPER HOURPER PAGEPAGES/HR
Developmental Editing3.0–4.0¢$50.00–60.00$7.50–10.005.0–10.0
Line Editing2.5–4.0¢ $45.00–60.00 $6.25–10.005.0–8.0
Copyediting2.0–3.0¢ $40.00–50.00 $5.00–7.50 5.0–10.0
Proofreading1.2–2.0¢ $35.00–45.00 $3.00–5.00 8.0–14.0
Manuscript Assessment1.5–1.5¢ $40.00–54.00 $855/project average11.0–17.0

The different types of editing

Traditional publishers usually complete 4 stages of editing in the following order. As you can see, the earlier stages involve more significant changes, which is why the rates are higher.

  1. Developmental editing – big picture feedback on plot, characterization, structure, pacing, and more
  2. Line (or content) editing – edits to sentence structure, word economy, clarity, and style
  3. Copyediting – grammar edits
  4. Proofreading – a final read-through to catch errors

Manuscript assessment – a detailed editorial letter offering developmental feedback without in-line edits on the manuscript (this is optional, sometimes offered instead of a developmental edit)

Example Editing Project Costs

To estimate how much it would cost to edit your project, multiply your word count by the median per word rate. Here are some examples:

Type of projectAverage word countDevelopmental Editing CostLine Editing CostCopyediting Cost
Middle grade fantasy50,000 words$1,500-$2,000$1,250-$2,000$1,000-$1,500
Young adult fantasy75,000 words$2,250-$3,000$1,875-$3,000$1,500-$2,250
Adult fantasy115,000 words$3,450-$4,600$2,875- $4,600$2,300-$3,450

Remember that since this is the median rate, you will find many editors who charge less than this, and many who charge more. But if an editor charges far below these rates, you should wonder at their proficiency, and if they charge far above them, they better have an incredible portfolio.

Is a Professional Edit Worth the Cost?

These rates might sound pretty overwhelming, so let’s pause for a moment and consider whether it’s worth it. How long does it take you to complete one editorial pass on your story? A couple weeks? A couple months? How much is your time worth?

A professional editor will have trained in 1 or more of the following ways:

  • A Bachelor’s and perhaps Master’s degree
  • A certificate in editing from a reputable organization
  • In-house training with a publisher or editing company

They should bring the following expertise to the table:

  • Mastery of creative writing and grammar
  • Understanding of industry and genre expectations
  • Pulse on demand in the publishing marketplace
  • Empathetic and clear communication

To have a successful career as an author, you need to think like a business owner – your book is your product. What business would put a product on the market without first investing the money to maximize its quality?

But will you be able to make this investment back through book sales? That’s a very important question, which deserves its own discussion. Check out my article: the most important marketing concept for authors to understand.

It is important to start thinking about your marketing strategy before you publish your novel, but one step at a time. My point is that investing in a professional edit is absolutely worth it. The better your core product is, the more success you’ll find down the road, even if it takes many years to build your readership.

How to hire a book editor

Trusted referrals are the best way to hire an editor – ask your author friends, writer groups, or local library. Some editors even offer a discount if you are referred through one of their previous clients.

There are also a number of online marketplaces where you can search for an editor:

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association has an invaluable resource called Writer’s Beware, which flags scammers and other predatory industry behavior. I encourage you to vet any individuals before hiring them.

Always ask to see a sample of their work. Most editors will provide a free sample edit on a small portion of your story.

Our offerings

If you’re interested in working with our team, we offer editing services at the following rates:

With 5 years of experience in the publishing industry, I set my rates somewhat below the industry median. I also offer payment plans to help make professional editing more attainable for indie authors.

Feel free to reach out for a personal quote so I can give you a custom answer to “how much does professional book editing cost?” And to receive a free sample edit on the first 1,000 words of your story!

Back to top.

Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.

I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!

Thanks for stopping by my website! I hope you’ve found some helpful resources about reading, writing, and publishing. If you liked this article, here’s some more free content…