Editing Cost Calculator
What Goes Into the Price
Editing is priced by the word, because words are the work. Four things move the figure: how long the document is, how deep the edit needs to go, what kind of document it is, and how quickly you need it back. The calculator below puts those four together and shows you where you stand before you talk to anybody.
Estimate your editing cost
Move the pieces around and the estimate follows. Nothing is sent anywhere — this works entirely in your browser.
This is a rough estimate, not a quote. Send us the document, or a representative sample and the total word count, and we will confirm: 1) the level and type of editing it needs, 2) the price, and 3) the delivery date before any work begins.
Choosing the Right Level
The level of editing makes the largest difference to the price, and it is the one people most often guess wrong. Paying for a heavy edit on a manuscript that is already well structured is money spent on work it does not need. Asking for a proofread on a draft with structural problems leaves those problems in place, perfectly punctuated. If you are unsure, the four levels are set out here — or send us the document and we will tell you which one it actually needs, including when the honest answer is the cheaper one.
Why This Is an Estimate
A word count tells us the size of a job but not its condition. Two 60,000-word manuscripts can need very different amounts of work, and a firm price comes from reading the document, not from measuring it. Send it over and you will get a fixed quote, the level of editing it covers, and a delivery date — before anyone starts work and with nothing owed if you decide against it.