Rates and Pricing Policies
Hourly Rates
Our hourly rate for a standard turnaround time ranges from $60 to $70, depending on editor seniority.
Standard Turnaround Time
Once you’ve confirmed that you want us to proceed with the edit, for jobs under 10,000 words, we usually guarantee that the edited paper will be returned in 5 to 6 days. However, for a specific editor, it may not be possible owing to their schedule. If you cannot wait for that editor, we can usually identify another editor.
Per-Word Rates
If you prefer to receive a firm quote going into the process, we assess your paper using a diagnostic sample edit and a per-word formula that matches our hourly rates.
For standard academic manuscripts, using our per-word formula, the cost ranges from 3.5 to 20 cents per word (roughly $8.75 to $50 per page, based on 250 words per page, double spaced.)
For proofreading, which is the final step in the process, that is, after all editing and copyediting have been done, we charge between 2.5 cents and 3 cents per word. If we’ve already edited the paper, and it’s truly proofreading, we edit by the hour.
Please note that while many clients refer to copyediting and editing as proofreading, for editors, proofreading is not equivalent to copyediting or editing.
Rush Jobs
If you require a turnaround faster than 5 business days, we can often accommodate such rush jobs. We charge the following surcharges for rush deliveries:
Within four days: Surcharge of 30%
Within three days: Surcharge of 40%
Within two days: Surcharge of 50%
Within one day: Make inquiry
Please note that a one-day turnaround is rarely possible, particularly if you are in a distant time zone.
Minimum Job Fee
We accept small jobs but have a minimum order fee of $65 for papers that are 1,000 words or less.
Student Discount
We offer a student discount to graduate and doctoral students.
Payment-Processing Fee
There is a 3 percent payment-processing fee for all payments made via credit card or PayPal. For wire payments (international bank transfer), there is a flat $30 fee.
Second Editing Pass Rate
For a paper we’ve just edited, that is, the second editing pass with the same editor who just edited your paper in the first editing round, the second pass (proofreading) rate is $5 lower than the initial hourly rate, and the first 30 minutes are complimentary. The work is limited to text you revised or wrote in response to the edit. This offer is good for three months following your initial edit.
Specific Tasks
Application and promotion materials
This category includes resumes, curriculum vita, cover letters, teaching philosophy statements, research statements, graduate program applications, tenure review materials and any other application or promotion materials that need copyediting. The hourly rate for application and promotion materials is $70.
Formatting
If we format your document only, that is align the manuscript with publishing formatting standards, such as APA 7 — without editing — we charge $60 per hour. We can provide you with an estimate for formatting jobs.
Cite Checking
While we can check the accuracy of your citations, this work is usually very time consuming. We charge $65/hour. Because this work is open-ended, we find it impossible to provide a firm quote for this work, which involves searching for missing information. For this reason, most authors prefer to handle this work themselves.
Indexing
Please inquire.
Developmental Editing
In a developmental edit, the editor will read through the paper, not necessarily edit it, and make structural comments and suggestions that will help to improve the flow and organization of your paper. The hourly rate is $65.
The Editor Determines the Editing Level
The editor determines the level of the edit. If you request a light edit, but the editor thinks that the text needs a medium or heavy edit, the edit must be at the level the editor determines, or we won’t be able to edit the paper. The editor cannot under-edit, which would be a disservice. The editor will also not make edits that they don’t think are necessary.
Factors Affecting the Editing Cost
Several factors affect the cost of editing your paper. In addition to the number of words, editors take into account the volume of grammatical or wording problems in the lines. Typically, a light edit (copyedit) is limited to editing on the word and sentence level and doesn’t involve much or any substantive rewriting.
Editors also take into account the extent of “structural” editing, that is, the analysis and solutions the editor provides in the comments on the logic, flow, or overall organization of the paper, as well as any actual restructuring, which can involve moving sentences or or paragraphs and proposing rewrites of sentences (which your editor would ask you to review to ensure that the sense is in tact).
Structural editing is much more time-consuming than a light edit. A medium edit can include more structural issues on the sentence and paragraph level than a light edit. A heavy edit can include all of the above plus structural issues on the document level, such as the reordering of paragraphs or cutting of redundant text, which calls for a more nuanced and in-depth understanding of the text.
All changes are tracked (in a different font color) so that you can readily find them. We find that Microsoft Word offers the best vehicle for tracking changes and commenting. We cannot edit a .pdf.
Extensive Cutting of the Word Count is Costly
Generally speaking, extensive cutting is the work of the author, not the editor, and if it can be done, it’s costly. While shortening text is usually a byproduct of the editing process as editors typically strive to make the text more concise, if the amount that needs to be cut is extensive (say to meet a journal word limit), it can be difficult for the editor to do that work. Searching for places to cut can take a lot of time and so usually adds significantly to the cost. We also cannot guarantee to cut as much text as is necessary because it is impossible for the editor to achieve the author’s level of knowledge of the content.
Oxford Editing Offers Competitive Pricing
Oxford Editing makes an effort to be competitive in our pricing. Because we are a small firm, we are able to work with clients to offer them the best value. Therefore, we are willing to consider matching or beating a competitor’s price. Please inquire.
Payment Methods
The payment methods we accept for international clients are Visa, MasterCard, Payoneer, PayPal and wire transfers. For clients with a US bank account we can offer bank-to-bank transfers, referred to as mobile or email transfers, with some banks in addition to Zelle. Please let us know in advance if you would like to pay with a wire transfer. Zelle is our preferred payment method for US-based clients.
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Payment Page
To pay for your editing job using a credit card, please go to the Oxford Editing Payment page.