My rates vary according to the type of work you require. Please use my rates as a general guideline until I have seen a copy of your work (if it’s editing or proofreading) or you have briefed me on the scope of your project (if I am going to be ghostwriting for you), and I am in a better position to determine the amount of work required.
All rates are in South African rands (ZAR), so please use them as a guide if you are visiting my website from outside South Africa. I work with clients all over the world, from the UK to the USA to Africa to Europe to Australia to New Zealand and beyond, so please feel free to use a currency converter if you would like to gauge an approximate cost for your particular project.
Your manuscript/article/thesis/blog (etc.) is good to go and has already been professionally edited and requires a final check for minor typos before publishing:
– Proofreading Magazines: 40 to 45c per word (ZAR)
– Proofreading Fiction: 40 to 45c per word (ZAR)
– Proofreading Nonfiction, Textbooks and Technical Documentation: 45 to 50c per word (ZAR)
– All work to be submitted in electronic format
For a rough cost estimate of what it might cost you in South African Rands (ZAR) to have your manuscript proofread, drag the slider below to the right (or, if you're on a desktop, press on your right arrow key) until it matches your manuscript's word count.
Estimated Cost: ZAR 0.00
Your manuscript/article/thesis/blog (etc.) is well-written and complete but requires a thorough review to check for grammatical errors, unnecessary verbosity, spelling errors, punctuation issues, and general flow and readability before being submitted to a proofreader for a final proofread:
– General documents: 65c to 80c per word (ZAR)
– Fiction: 65c to 80c per word (ZAR)
– Website copy: 65c to 80c per word (ZAR)
– Nonfiction, Textbooks and Technical Documents: 75c to 90c per word (ZAR)
– Children’s books under 6000 words: R750 per hour
– All work to be submitted in electronic format
For a rough cost estimate of what it might cost you in South African Rands (ZAR) to have your manuscript copy-edited, drag the slider below to the right (or, if you're on a desktop, press on your right arrow key) until it matches your manuscript's word count.
Estimated Cost: ZAR 0.00
Your manuscript/article/thesis/blog (etc.) requires an in-depth review, proofread, and possibly even a full or partial rewrite (on either your part or mine), especially when it does not read well, the use of the English language is questionable, or there are obvious errors in terms of your plot or use of characterisation, before being submitted to a copy-editor or proofreader for final checks.
– From 85c – 105c per word (ZAR)
– Children’s books under 6000 words: R850 per hour
– All work to be submitted in electronic format
For a rough cost estimate of what it might cost you in South African Rands (ZAR) to have a substantive (content) edit done on your manuscript, drag the slider below to the right (or, if you're on a desktop, press on your right arrow key) until it matches your manuscript's word count. Please note that this estimate presumes substantial work and rewriting on my part (and on your behalf) and is therefore calculated at the higher end of my pricing scale (at 105c per word). Your manuscript might possibly come in at a lower rate once I've taken a look at it.
Estimated Cost: ZAR 0.00
The Investment
I would suggest budgeting a bare minimum of R300,000 for a completed 220-page, 45,000-word manuscript. That’s if everything goes smoothly. To date, most of the books I’ve worked on have come in between R350,000 and R450,000, with several coming in significantly higher than this. My suggestion is always to budget high. If I can come in lower than your budgeted amount, I most certainly will, but a realistic budget linked to a fair energy exchange definitely helps manage expectations from both sides.
What Goes Into That
My basic ghostwriting rate (excluding editing, proofreading, publishing, cover design and typesetting) starts at R800 per hour but will vary according to the nature of the content, and if long-distance travel is required. My rates are subject to annual review and adjustment, so projects booked in advance will be quoted at the rate applicable at the time work commences.
AT MINIMUM, the entire process, from start to finish, can take in the region of between 250 and 320 hours for a 220-page book (with 200 to 220 words per page). If additional research is required, or a longer interview time is necessary, or if the content is complex to work with, the hours can increase exponentially. This is often the case with anything that isn’t biographical in nature.
The Process
Our information gathering sessions are a critical part of the ghostwriting process, so it is important that you have all your ducks in a row. From a budgeting perspective, the more prepared you are, and the less you stray from the topic, the better. My recommendation is to set aside a minimum of 20-30 hours of recording time, bearing in mind that our time together can increase significantly depending on the nature of the material being covered.
Audio transcription is handled by an external transcriber and billed separately at R35 per recorded audio minute (2026 rates). This is not included in my hourly ghostwriting rate.
Billing
In terms of my billing cycles, I will invoice you in advance for the first 40 hours’ work, and then bill you in advance for every subsequent 40 to 60 hours, based on your budget. This will give you full control over the amount of work that is being done at any one time and ensure that you keep within your budgeted amount.
Worked Example: 280-Hour Memoir Project
Let’s say we’re working on your memoir and the project breaks down like this:
Total investment: R287,000
This would give you a completed manuscript ready for editing and proofreading (which would be quoted separately). This assumes the content doesn’t require extensive untangling and you’re well prepared, with no need to go back for additional interview sessions. Most projects end up requiring a bit more time once we’re into the detail of it all, which is why I recommend budgeting closer to R350,000 to give yourself breathing room.
Before I can work with you to get your book published and internationally listed in e-book and/or paperback format, your book must be print ready – in other words, it must have passed through the editing and proofreading phase and been professionally typeset (in PDF format for your paperback and ePub for your e-book). It must also be accompanied with a full-wrap cover (front cover, spine, and back cover), or just a front cover, if you’re only going the e-book route.
My fee to list and self-publish your book (complete with extensive keyword and genre research and competitor analysis) ranges from R2250 to R3900, depending on which platforms you would like to publish on, in which formats you would like to publish (e.g. e-book, paperback, or both), and how wide you want your reach to be. For example, you might only want to make your paperback and e-book available to Amazon customers, or you might want to make your book available on as many platforms as possible – or you might want to sit somewhere in the middle. My advice is to go as wide as possible (Publishing Package #10), but if your budget is limited, I would suggest Publishing Package #3 (Amazon only).
These are the different publishing packages I have on offer:
If you’re feeling your way around and you’re not sure where to begin (or you’re stuck somewhere in the process and require guidance to get you over the finish line), we can set up an online consultation session to discuss your project in more detail. If being in front of the camera is not your thing, I’d be happy to chat over the phone using WhatsApp.
My consulting rate is R850 per 40-minute session.