Read excerpts from the Chillibreeze editor meet where editors met up with Suneethi Rao, Vice President, Quality Assurance, and Head of the Chillibreeze Project Management Team and Vidhu Panicker, Senior Manager in our Project Management team to discuss pay scales and rates for editing and proofreading, industry standards, style guides, how to break into the field, editing projects on Chillibreeze and selection process for the Chillibreeze panel of editors. Post your comments and queries in response to this post or at the Editor Meet thread at our forums.
Do send us your ideas and suggestion for the next editor meet in January.
Q: What is the difference between an editor and writer? Can a writer be editor and vice versa?
A: Yeah, they can but not at the same time. You need some distance from the work to be able to criticise it properly
Q: How should a writer brush his/her skills to become a good editor? Is a professional course required at all?
A: Yes, I think so. I write and edit too. It all depends on what are you doing at present.
Q: I am actually looking for some guidance here. I am a budding writer who has recently started writing both online and for print. And i seriously want to take it to the next level where I can work as an editor. How do I proceed?
Suneethi R: There are various genres of writing and as many different kinds of editing.
Q: Can you share any info on how to get freelance editing opportunities? I’ve done some freelance editing work for Chillibreeze as well as for publishing houses.
Suneethi R: Publishing houses generally expect you to follow their house style guide.
Res: I actually found that easier because the parameters are set.
Res: Every house has its own style…depends on the country too…like it’s a different set of spellings for UK and US.
Suneethi R: But for general editing it’s good to become familiar with standard style guides such as the Chicago Manual of Style.
Res: Isn’t CMOS dedicated to American English only?
Res: Is there a UK equivalent for the CMOS?
Suneethi R. It is published in the US but is followed widely across the world for the general rules.
Res: You have the Oxford/Hart’s rule for UK English.
Res: I have been a freelancer for a while now and I believe it pays to work in the trenches for a while – as in be associated full time with an organization as an editor – learn the ropes, and earn that experience, before you step into freelancing. Any potential employer would always want to know if you have had professional experience before they get to the stage of having you do a sample edit, assess your skills and then contract you for the work.
Suneethi R: True, but it can work the other way too. If you have proven yourself on freelance contracts, you can quote that as experience when you apply for a regular job. I feel it’s better to work in-house before going into freelance
Q: What’s the average rate applicable for this work?
Q: I have been there and done that. But my problem now is that I obviously cannot charge my clients a salary! And I am not aware of what freelance editors in India charge for various editing jobs. Is there a standard followed?
Vidhu P: The industry standards are around Rs 0. 50 per word for editing and o.25 per word for proofreading. If it’s substantive editing: where you check accuracy of facts along with language, structure etc then it’s around 0.75 per word. Of course the rates vary according to publishing Companies and clients
Q: Proofreading I assume is making the content more relevant?
Vidhu P: Proofreading would be purely a check for errors
Res: About the question of rates. I generally charge per word – as that way, the client is aware of the exact rate of editing. The challenge however lies in editing graphics – how does one work around that. Do we average each graphic out at 10 words? Does anyone have any other thoughts on the same?
Q: What about developmental editing?
Suneethi R: Proofreading usually includes checking for typos, spelling errors, grammatical errors, punctuation, unnecessary or inconsistent use of numbers and capital letters, checking numbering of contents, tables and figures.
Vidhu P: Spellings, grammar, typos.
Vidhu P: Dev editing would be a kind of substantive editing.
Q: There is a small gray here. Some clients say proof reading means identifying errors only? They do not want us to correct errors.
Q: What is copy editing?
Vidhu P: Copy editing would involve the mechanics of editing and would be very style sheet oriented.
Suneethi R: Mechanics as well as language correction.
Q: What is meant by style sheet oriented?
Vidhu P: Different publishing companies follow different rules.
Suneethi R: Mechanics including consistency of style and fonts used.
Res: Oh, I understood it differently then – I thought developmental editing involved a consultation with the writer before the manuscript was created. At least that’s what I did in editorial full-time job, so assumed it to be the same here… No?
Res: it’s a concise version of an in-house style guide if I’m not wrong.
Vidhu P: Eg, spelling out numbers till 10 and then using digits. That’s one common rule in most company style sheets. Sort of a refined, customized version of AP< Chicago etc
Suneethi R: If you work at an editorial of a publishing house that works with authors of books, you would take the book right from manuscript stage to the printing stage. That would include discussions with the author and artist, typesetter etc. That’s a form of developmental editing.
Vidhu.P: As the word would suggest, you’re helping hone the book, and with any book consultations with the writer would be inevitable
Q: For the budding writers, they have to stick to some source of earning before they can establish themselves as editors….so are there clients/companies who accept part time writers/editors?
Vidhu P: Many companies do appoint content editors on a part time basis
Q: Can anyone suggest ways to optimise the search for freelance assignments?
Res: Twitter is a great resource
Q:. Can you share a little of how to use social media for it?
Res: To answer your question about finding freelance assignments, try asiawrites.com – they have a bunch of projects up, and they have updates on Twitter.
Res: You just go to search in twitter and type in #copyedits jobs or whatever you’re looking for with the hash tag. I feel spoilt for choice on twitter.
Q: The point is – clients would give a chance to freelance writers, but not to new editors. They generally want some experienced ones before selecting one. How does one starts working as an editor and build credibility?
Res: Clients also approach me through my blog, so if you have one, you may want to have a contact form on there as well.
Q: Here is a question on rates. I generally charge per word – as that way, the client is aware of the exact rate of editing. The challenge however lies in editing graphics – how does one work around that. Do we average each graphic out at 10 words? Does anyone have any other thoughts on the same? On a related note, what does one charge on an hourly basis – regular copyediting of training material?
Suneethi R: If you want to establish yourself “offline”, you could walk into a publishing house with a resume and offer them your services. Big publishing houses do sometimes need freelancers. This could lead to a job opportunity with them later. You might need to take a test though!
Vidhu.P: Also, most publishing houses conduct training for freelancers. That also helps establish your skills.
Res: Sometimes the publishing houses ties up with the local universities and conduct workshops for writers/editors/publishers
Vidhu P: I would say it makes sense to use an average like that for graphics. But you’d need to discuss it with the client and get their approval though
Q: About rates – generally how much are the per word rates for text – and when the work gets voluminous, how does one charge?
Q: What are your thoughts on hourly rates – I often find it challenging to quote an hourly one, coz one page could take me 20 minutes or a breezy 2 mins. So what would you charge per hour?
Q: Can you name some publishing houses who train freelancers?
Vidhu P: Orient Longman does. Of course they give you a test first.
Q: I find it rather difficult to sell the hourly rate concept here in India – the per word strategy works better. Anyone else feel the same or differently?
Res: That’s an interesting thought – a per hour rate. Most people still stick to the per word rate.
Q: When do quotes become negotiable?
Res: Of late I have been getting queries on hourly rates, and I certainly don’t want to undersell myself or seem too ambitious. So does anyone have a formula/method to work on hourly rates?
Suneethi .R: It’s difficult to set an hourly rate. Besides, each of us has a different pace of work!
Vidhu P: I think per hour rates are tricky for editing. It really depends on your pace
Res: Exactly! That’s why I am looking for some ballpark figures here.
Res: I think the average if you are editing non-fiction is about 6 to 8 pgs an hour.
Res: I think hourly rates work best if you’re confident that the certain amt of work will take a certain amt of time if done by any editor in any part of the world.
Res: If you opt for pages per hour, you have to get into specifics like how many words a page.
Res: That’s what I hit upon. Charges per word; converted to per page; number of pages per hour. Industry standard is 250 words per page.
Suneethi R: Subject matter is critical. You would skim through fiction quicker than you could an academic paper for peer reviewed journals.
Vidhu P: I think it could be around 400-500 words per page in a regular font.
Suneethi.R: 11-12 points times/calibri, single spaced. Web pages even go down to 300 words.
Q: How can we optimise our chances of getting projects with CB? What do u look for?
Suneethi. R: We typically match your credentials and work ex with that required for the client. If you’ve been on projects with CB before, we already have an assessment of your work and will invite you on for other projects.
Q: Suneethi, does CB have only editing projects as well?
Suneethi .R : Yes, we do get someSuneethi R. and we also offer express editing services. The turnaround time for this is tight as the name suggests.
Q: I have not found any project for editing in DIY projects in Forum.
Res: No editing projects yet. We will keep you posted if there is one.
Q: Would you advise taking up projects posted by clients on the forums – does negotiating terms, getting briefs, sending updates and other such (which is otherwise managed by the project manager) take up a lot of time?
Res: The writer should include that in their deadlines when they negotiate with the client on DIY projects.
Q: How do I get those then? Do I need a certification from CB through one of their tests?
Suneethi R: You would need to qualify on our editing assessment so we can include you on our panel of editors.
Q: Suneethi, to add me to the panel of editors, do I take the new Editing Course or the one that was already up or will the editing test work as standalone appraisal?
Suneethi R: The course units that are already up will help you refresh your language skills. The editing assessment is the one to qualify on. But you will need to score at least 75- to get on the panel. 75-80 percent.
Q: How do you track a writer’s progress and measure it? (considering you’re working with them for longer than a few weeks)
Vidhu P: We have assessments and evaluations on all writers working with us.
Suneethi R: Regular assessments are done by managers on each project the writer is assigned to.
Q: But as writers, we are not involved in this assessment process?
Vidhu P: These assessments are updated after every project and are internal and confidential. They review everything from quality of work, attitude, adherence to deadlines,
Q: So I will never know how I’m doing at CB?!
Vidhu P: You know how well you’re doing when you get called back for more projects.
Q: So once we have qualified in the assessment test, how does work flow? Are we approached by CB, or do we need to approach listed projects?
Res: Sometimes it does, but the good part is, once you do a couple, you know how to handle the rest.
Q: – I feel it would be helpful if we could have an annual appraisal and feedback on our work, like in any other business – at least for the writers and editors who work with Chillibreeze on a regular basis.
Suneethi R: Good feedback from a client is definitely passed on.
Q: Another thing I wanted to know: How does one reason with defensive, overbearing and overconfident writers when attempting to take a stand on the edits you’ve made?
Vidhu P: You can try explaining why the edits would work better.
Res: I think the way you phrase your comments could help to make them more palatable.
Vidhu P: You can say you are an objective reader as well and a reader would have trouble understanding/digesting that part and yes, be very polite and sensitive it’s their baby after all.
Res: Somewhere along the line the writers have to feel that you are a team trying to get out the best possible end result and that you are not just trying to cut them down.
Suneethi R: The idea is to retain the author’s voice in the end – not to make it your own!
Q: Since editing is such a vast topic it would be nice if you could break it up to tackle different topics. I would be keen to get advice about editorial resources for fiction writing.
Priya: Great! Please post all your suggestions at the forums and we’ll plan the editor meets based on that
Suneethi R: Thank you all very much for sharing your views today. Have a great New Year!
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- Ask Chillibreeze – Your Questions on Writing, Editing and Freelance Careers answered!
Comments:
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Surely a mistake here (did you mean 7.50 and not .75? –
Vidhu P: The industry standards are around Rs.5 per word for editing and .25 per word for proofreading. If it’s substantive editing: where you check accuracy of facts along with language, structure etc then it’s around .75 per word. Of course the rates vary according to publishing Companies and clients
Hi Madhu
I’m afraid there’s no mistake there, though Rs 7.5 per word sounds good! These are the average rates offered by most publishing companies in India — Rs 0.75 for substantive editing/ 0.50 per word for copy editing/ 0.25 for proofreading.
Companies abroad may offer better rates, especially since they pay in dollars.