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.
2023 RATES
PROOFREADING
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: 20c – 25c per word (ZAR)
– Proofreading Fiction: 20c – 25c per word (ZAR)
– Proofreading Nonfiction, Textbooks and Technical Documentation: R40 – R45 per page (ZAR)
– All work to be submitted in electronic format
COPY-EDITING
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: 35c – 45c per word (ZAR)
– Fiction: 40c – 45c per word (ZAR)
– Government documents: 40c – 45c per word (ZAR)
– Website copy: 40c – 50c per word (ZAR)
– Nonfiction, Textbooks and Technical Documents: 45c – 50c per word (ZAR)
– Academic theses/dissertations and related documents (excluding reference checking): 45c – 50c per word (ZAR)
– Children’s books under 6000 words: R450 per hour
– All work to be submitted in electronic format
SUBSTANTIVE (CONTENT) EDITING
Your manuscript/ article/ thesis/ blog (etc.) is in its first draft stage and requires an in-depth review, proofread, and possibly even a full or partial rewrite (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 50c – 55c per word (ZAR)
– Children’s books under 6000 words: R550 per hour
– All work to be submitted in electronic format
GHOSTWRITING
My basic ghostwriting rate (excluding editing, proofreading, publishing, cover design and typesetting) starts at R600.00 (ZAR) per hour but will vary according to the type of work involved and if long-distance travel is required.
Our information gathering sessions is a critical part of the ghostwriting process, so it is important that you have all your ducks in a row. The more prepared you are, and the less you stray from the topic, the better. The interviewing process can take anything from 20 hours upwards. Transcribing the audio recordings to text is time-hungry and can take up to 5 hours per 1 hour of recorded interview time.
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 250 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.
You would, therefore, need to budget a bare minimum of between ZAR150,000 and ZAR200,000 for a completed 220-page, 45 000-word manuscript, if that’s the size book you’re aiming for.
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.
INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING
Before I can work with you to get your book independently 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 independently 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 and in which formats you would like to publish.
CONSULTING
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 a Zoom 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 via WhatsApp.
My consulting rate is R650 per hour or part thereof.