How much should you charge for proofreading? The jury's still out...

I let this particular poll run for a couple of extra days because every time I looked at it the results were split equally three ways, and I wanted to be able to give you some kind of definitive "answer", if such a thing exists (I suspect it doesn't). Well, close but no cigar: when I finally closed the poll today we'd lost the three-way-slot, but were left with a two-way tie instead. It seems that most of you would charge anything between $30 - $100 to proofread a 500-word page of text, with 17.9% opting for $10 or less.

(Note: 3.6% of you also said you'd charge $300 or more, but the image was too long to fit that result in the space!)

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this result. I had expected it to reveal proofreading as one of the poorest-paid freelance writing jobs, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Of course, I was basing that assumption on the sheer number of emails I receive from people telling me that they're "really good at spelling" and "always notice mistakes in the newspaper", and who have decided that they'd make excellent proofreaders.

Of course, I'm not saying that they wouldn't. But having attended professional proofreading training, I know that proofreading is a far more time-consuming job than many people seem to think, and it requires a considerable amount of skill and patience. In addition to the emails from would-be proofreaders, I've also had my fair share from would-be clients asking me to proofread text, either for free or for close to free, because "it's only a couple of pages, it'll take you five minutes." Er, no. It won't. Or not if I do it properly, anyway...

This week we're taking a break from our What to Charge polls and you'll find a completely different poll in the right hand sidebar, so please go ahead and place your vote!

Comments

[Dawn Baird]

This is a really useful article.

It is often the case that people expect editors/proofreaders to work for nothing or next to nothing (most recent madness, $6 for 250 words). Like you say, it can't be done in five minutes.

Don't do it. Think what you want to earn per hour. Remember what is reasonable to expect in your industry. Then, charge for your time.

The person who emails asking for work done for free is best ignored.