Editorial Freelancers Association
Editorial Rates
A Note About This Chart
The median rate ranges below are based on data generated by a survey administered to EFA members in April 2020 by Venture Research Associates. The survey asked EFA members to answer questions about projects they invoiced and/or collected payments from during the 2019 calendar year.
As an association, the EFA neither sets rates nor advises members on what rates or rate structures they should choose. Individual members’ rates vary considerably depending on multiple factors, including the nature of the work, time frame of the assignment, degree of special expertise required, cost of living, and member’s experience and region of the country.
Please also note that in the time since the survey was administered, the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflation may have impacted the standard rates in your market area.
For the purposes of the EFA survey and this chart, a page is defined as 250 words, the industry standard for a manuscript page.
| Definitions | Median Rate Per Hour | Median Rate Per Word** | Median Pace of Work** | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COACHING/CONSULTING | $61–$70/hr | $.05–$.059/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| COPYEDITING | ||||||||||||
| Copyediting, fiction | $36–$40/hr | $.02–$.029/wd | 7–10 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Copyediting, nonfiction | $41–$45/hr | $.03–$.039/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Copyediting, business/sales | $46–$50/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Copyediting, medical/STEM | $46–$50/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT | $51–$60/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| DESIGN/LAYOUT/FORMATTING | ||||||||||||
| Design/layout/formatting (print) | $46–$50/hr | $.02–$.029/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Design/layout/formatting (electronic) | $46–$50/hr | $.03–$.039/wd | 7–10 pages/hr | |||||||||
| DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING | ||||||||||||
| Developmental editing, fiction | $46–$50/hr | $.03–$.039/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Developmental editing, nonfiction | $51–$60/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Developmental editing, business/sales | $51–$60/hr | $.07–$.079/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Developmental editing, medical/STEM | $61–$70/hr | $.06–$.069/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Developmental editing, book doctoring | $61–$70/hr | $.06–$.069/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| INDEXING | $36–$40/hr | $.02–$.029/wd | 7–10 pages/hr | |||||||||
| LINE EDITING | $46–$50/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| MARKETING/PROMOTION | $51–$60/hr | $.08–$.089/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| PERMISSIONS | $46–$50/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 21–25 pages/hr | |||||||||
| PROJECT MANAGEMENT | $51–$60/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| PROOFREADING | ||||||||||||
| Proofreading, fiction | $31–$35/hr | $.02–$.029/wd | 11–15 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Proofreading, nonfiction | $36–$40/hr | $.02–$.029/wd | 7–10 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Proofreading, business/sales | $41–$45/hr | $.04–$.049/wd | 7–10 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Proofreading, medical/STEM | $41–$45/hr | $.03–$.039/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| RESEARCH/FACT CHECKING | $46–$50/hr | $.05–$.059/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| SENSITIVITY/AUTHENTICITY READS | $31–$35/hr | $.01–$.019/wd | 11–15 pages/hr | |||||||||
| TRANSCRIPTION | $36–$40/hr | $.09–$.10/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| TRANSLATION | $46–$50/hr | $.11–$.15/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| WRITING (WORK-FOR-HIRE ONLY) | ||||||||||||
| Writing (work-for-hire only), ghostwriting full-length fiction | $51–$60/hr | $.09–$.10/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Writing (work-for-hire only), ghostwriting full-length nonfiction | $61–$70/hr | $.11–$.15/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Writing (work-for-hire only), business/sales | $61–$70/hr | $.16–$.20/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Writing (work-for-hire only), medical/STEM | $61–$70/hr | $.16–$.20/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Writing (work-for-hire only), journalism | $51–$60/hr | $.31–$.50/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| Writing (work-for-hire only), other | $51–$60/hr | $.21–$.30/wd | 1–3 pages/hr | |||||||||
| OTHER (based on write-in response) | $41–$45/hr | $.05–$.059/wd | 4–6 pages/hr | |||||||||
| **Per-word rates and pages per hour may or may not apply to all projects. Respondents were given the option of providing these responses or selecting “Other” or “N/A.” Data for each column in the rates chart was collected and generated independently. The columns are not dependent on or derived from each other. | ||||||||||||
EFA Members: For more information, see the Rates Survey Report and Rates Survey Information pages.