Elliott Editorial Online

Time and Cost Estimates

For most jobs, the managing editor can work up time and cost estimates if you provide some basic information:

Number of words in document or number of double-spaced document pages

The kind of the document (book, dissertation, manual, report, newsletter, etc.—see Services and Rates.

The topic of the document

Time constraints

For a firm cost estimate, however, the managing editor will need to see the entire project.

Our time estimates usually fall into these ranges:

Developmental and Substantive editing: 250 to 1,000 words per hour.

Manuscript evaluation: 250 to 1,000 words per hour.

Copyediting: using hard copy and Post-It™ Notes: 750 to 1,500 words per hour.

Copyediting: using MS Word™ Track Changes and comment panes: 1,000 to 2,000 words per hour.

Proofreading: 2,000 to 2750 words per hour.

Indexing: 2,000 to 2,500 words of manuscript pages per hour.

Writing: the number of words per hour depends on the kind of document you want us to create, as well as on the quantity/quality of your notes. (A cost estimate will be given to you before we begin any writing project.)

File Formats

Most of our Writing/Editing is done in Microsoft Word™ for Windows™. We do some work in WordPerfect™. Occasionally we do work in HTML, PowerPoint™, and Excel™. For designing newsletters and brochures, we use the latest version of Microsoft Publisher™, as well as the latest versions of Adobe™ desktop publishing programs—for example, Adobe PageMaker™ and Adobe InDesign™.

One advantage of using Microsoft Word™ for editing is that changes can be shown using the revisions, or track changes, feature. This shows deleted material and added material in different formats and colors. The track changes feature offers several ways for you to review and accept (or reject) changes. MS Word also has the comment panes feature, which allows our editors to query you about an unclear passage or to make a suggested revision. See Work Examples page and the subhead, “Copyediting LEXINGTON BARBECUE Using MS Word’s Track Changes.”

For proofreading of laid-out documents, clients often send us page proofs as an Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF file—either as an e-mail attachment or by fax or in hard copy through the Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx. We print the PDF page proofs, mark them up by hand (having compared them with the copyedited document), and then return the page proofs as an e-mail attachment, by fax, or through the Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx. Clients then need to make the changes in their laid-out document.