While being able to proofread solely for the joy of finding and fixing errors would be amazing, the end goal of any job or side hustle is to get paid. This means knowing how to set proofreading rates and prices appropriately.
On the one hand, you do not want to undervalue your time and services, because you will end up working for less money than you could be making. On the other hand, you don’t want to set such a high rate that you price yourself out of the market.
The key to setting the right proofreading rate is finding the right balance in which you are paid fairly and yet still able to compete for jobs and clients.
Understanding the market for freelance proofreading
Freelancers often get caught in a race to the bottom. They bid lower rates just to land the job. In many fields, there is international competition for jobs. For example, a lot of entrepreneurs and businesses make use of virtual assistants (VAs) to perform administrative tasks. This means there are potentially many VA jobs available.
It is also a job people all over the world can do, including those living in countries where the cost of living is much lower. A US-based freelancer charging $25 per hour will have a hard time finding a VA role when an international freelancer is willing to do the same work for $10 per hour.
However, being a proofreader is different. This job requires a command of the English language that is very hard to attain, even for native speakers. The competition for proofreading jobs is mostly coming from English-speaking countries, which results in a fairer playing field when it comes to rates.
Starting small and working your way up
Much like any other career, when you enter the proofreading field, you often have to start at the bottom rung.
When you are new to professional proofreading, you are handicapped by a smaller amount of experience to show potential clients that you can do the job. In turn, this lowers your market value.
The full market rate for proofreading and editing work in the US is between $20 and $40 per hour. While you can start in this range, you may need to adjust your prices downward to secure your first clients. As time passes and your freelancing grows, you will be able to raise your rates.
Starting with the end goal in mind
When considering how to set proofreading rates, you should have an end goal in mind.
How much money do you want to be charging in six months? A year? Two years? Do you want to be at the lower or higher end of what the market will bear?
Setting rate goals and working toward them will help you push through the low-paying jobs and determine when to think about raising your rates.
Factoring in your costs
When you think about your pay goals, be sure to factor in your costs—the expenses you have to pay for out of your earnings.
Necessary tools and resources
As a freelance proofreader, you should know that your clients will not provide you with any of the tools and resources that you’ll need. You will have to use your own computer, for instance. If it breaks or needs to be replaced, you will have to shoulder all of the costs.
You’ll also need Microsoft Office, which is now a subscription-based service. You will want to buy certain reference books like a quality dictionary–such as one from Merriam-Webster–and a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style. These can be used on mobile devices as well. Then there are office supplies to purchase, cups of coffee to drink, fees and taxes to pay, etc.
Billable hours vs. working hours
When you are deciding on an acceptable rate, it’s good to consider factors beyond a desire to pay the bills. For one, you will, almost certainly, not be able to charge 40 hours of billable time each week. A billable hour is one in which you are doing work directly for a client: proofreading a blog post, editing a white paper, and so forth.
Proofreading and editing is hard work. As such, both require constant and intense concentration. Although everyone’s ability to work differs, it’s reasonable to expect that you will be able to bill at most six hours per day on average. Exceeding that will likely cause the quality of your work to deteriorate.
In addition, billable hours do not include the time spent looking for new clients or managing the affairs of your business. Those necessary tasks eat into your time as well.
All of this put together means a full-time freelance proofreader is likely to end up with 20-25 hours of billable time each week. When you do the math to determine your rate goal, be sure to include these factors. You don’t want to be 50 percent off in your estimate because you assumed 40 billable hours per week was realistic.
Setting an uncomfortably high rate
Psychologically speaking, we all tend to undervalue our work. This makes us charge too little for our services. Given the above costs of doing business, it is not a good strategy!
Because of this, it’s critical to learn to set uncomfortably high rates.
When you are first starting out, you might need to work for less money in order to establish a history of satisfied clients. As you grow, it is important to lean into your rates.
When opportunities to work with clients arise, think about the highest rate you are comfortable charging them. What is the rate that seems right and doesn’t give you any pause? Now, take that rate and add 25%-50% to it.
This should make you nervous, and you may even doubt the client will say yes, but this is the rate you should propose because it takes into account the money you subconsciously subtract by undervaluing yourself–money that can be used for necessary costs.
Understanding the different types of contracts
There are three types of contracts you will potentially encounter as a freelance proofreader: hourly, per word, and per project. It’s important to understand the distinctions between them as you consider how to set proofreading rates for your business.
Hourly contracts
Hourly contracts pay a set rate for the number of hours worked. If you work five hours for a client, you charge them for five hours of labor.
In essence, an hourly contract is no different from most other jobs. You clock in, you clock out, and you get money. This can be a great process, especially if you have a client who consistently gives you a lot of work.
The downside to having an hourly contract is you are effectively punishing yourself for becoming more efficient. As you become better at proofreading, your speed tends to increase. When this happens in an hourly contract, the number of hours you work will gradually go down, which means you will end up making less money while completing the same amount of work unless you can negotiate to raise your rates.
Project-based contracts
Project-based contracts are paid in a lump sum for all the work that is performed, often at the end of the job.
The upside to a project-based contract is that, unlike an hourly contract, it does reward efficiency.
Imagine you commit to editing five 1,000-word blog posts per week for a set fee. At first, it may take you upwards of four hours of work each week, since you will need to familiarize yourself with the author’s style, client expectations and communication, and so forth.
But as time goes on, you find that you can get the week’s work done in two-and-a-half hours. Because you are being paid a flat rate, by being more efficient you’ve virtually given yourself a pay raise and potentially made room in your schedule for a new client.
Of course, the downside with project-based contracts is, sometimes, you will run into tough assignments that take more time than you estimated. This can lower your hourly rate.
Negotiating a project rate can also be difficult since you won’t always be completely sure what the project will entail. Will the copy be fairly crisp with only minimal editing required, or will massive rewrites be necessary? It’s not always clear.
Per-word contracts
In per-word contracts, you charge the client based on how many words you proofread. A good per-word rate is in the $0.01-$0.02 range.
Per-word contracts are a blend of hourly and project-based contracts. With per-word contracts, you’re still charging based on the effort you put into the work (similar to hourly). But you won’t penalize yourself by becoming more efficient (like project-based agreements).
The downside of per-word editing contracts is that the pay tends to be, on average, a little lower than either hourly or per-project contracts.
There is really no right or wrong answer to which type of contract is best. In general, project-based contracts tend to pay the most, followed by hourly, and per-word coming in third, but there are plenty of outliers.
Summing it up: How to set proofreading rates
Understanding how to set proofreading rates as a freelancer is the key to reaching your earnings potential. You neither want to set your rates too low and leave money on the table, nor set your prices too high and miss out on landing new clients.
When setting your proofreading prices, it’s necessary to understand the market; start small when needed and work your way up; think about your long-term end goals; factor in your costs; set an uncomfortably high rate; and consider what types of contracts you want to pursue.