Help!
Ay mios dio. My boss' wife is writing a book on Latinization. Apparently he has mentioned to her that I'm a person with a good deal of writerly experience and that she might want me to take a look at the mss. & proofread/edit for her.
My problemo: I have NO CLUE what to charge. I alluded to the fact that I'd only previously done this in an academic (read: not professional) context, and thus would need to research to see what would be fair. I think I sounded a bit like a numbskull when she called me (not to mention WAY overestimated the time I would need to look at the thing), but I'd rather be honest now than sorry later. Especially since this is the BOSS' wife.
SO: any of you with experience in publishing (I know you're out there somewhere), 13,000 word mss. - to me by Jan. 11th, due Jan. 19th; me: no professional experience whatsoever. How much should I charge? I don't want to charge nothing, because then I'll look like a total amateur (which I am, but this is beside the point), but I definitely do not want to overcharge the boss' wife. Me look bad. Very, very bad me look.
Also, I think she may be deluded OR I am very ill-informed about how mss. word counts translate into book page lengths. She says that 13,000 should be something close to 100 pages. Perhaps she said 113,000 words and I misheard? Or I know no math. I reveal my utter ignorance. Please, someone be gracious to the tragically ambitious.
PLEASE.
Muchas gracias.
My problemo: I have NO CLUE what to charge. I alluded to the fact that I'd only previously done this in an academic (read: not professional) context, and thus would need to research to see what would be fair. I think I sounded a bit like a numbskull when she called me (not to mention WAY overestimated the time I would need to look at the thing), but I'd rather be honest now than sorry later. Especially since this is the BOSS' wife.
SO: any of you with experience in publishing (I know you're out there somewhere), 13,000 word mss. - to me by Jan. 11th, due Jan. 19th; me: no professional experience whatsoever. How much should I charge? I don't want to charge nothing, because then I'll look like a total amateur (which I am, but this is beside the point), but I definitely do not want to overcharge the boss' wife. Me look bad. Very, very bad me look.
Also, I think she may be deluded OR I am very ill-informed about how mss. word counts translate into book page lengths. She says that 13,000 should be something close to 100 pages. Perhaps she said 113,000 words and I misheard? Or I know no math. I reveal my utter ignorance. Please, someone be gracious to the tragically ambitious.
PLEASE.
Muchas gracias.
Comments
Probably your boss's wife's MS is more than 13,000 words. A properly formatted manuscript (i.e., 12-pt Courier, double-spaced, etc.) should estimate at 250 words per page. This makes a 13,000-word MS approx 50-55 pages. Not much of a book there. A 113,000-word MS estimates out at 450 or so pages, and is, as you can see, a world of difference.
The company I work for (which probably should remain nameless) freelances copyediting for $5-$7 per page. If I were you, I'd offer my services for $2 per page as a matter of kindness. For a 13,000-word MS, you'd get a little over a hundred dollars; for a 113,000 word MS, slightly under a grand. This would probably be acceptable for all parties.
On the other hand, I once edited a friend's 70,000-word novel for the princely sum of $250, and he complained for weeks about the overcharging. So, I guess, caveat emptor.
Nonetheless -- and here I move onto other concerns -- I did quite enjoy your poems in BLOCK CLOCK. Know where I can find others?
Thank you also for reading (and enjoying!) my work. I have a few other pieces published here and there - one apiece in the last two editions of Columbia Poetry Review, and a few in online zines: 27 rue de fleurs, Wicked Alice, and 21 Stars, all of which are linked in the sidebar of this blog. I hope to have other work published very soon - be sure and check back here if you're interested - I always post when I publish.
Thanks again!
Lindsay