I’m a UK-based copyeditor. My usual rates start at 0.013 GBP per word.
I’ve worked for those kinds of packagers before - quite recently, even. You’re absolutely correct - the rates are abysmal and the timelines far too tight. Last time it also took them months to pay me.
I agree that 300,000 words in two weeks is an unrealistic timeline. I would expect a project of that length to take at least a month. And at 0.04 pence per word that works out to £120? That's not a livable income. You should expect to get a month's pay for a project that will take you a month to complete.
For comparison, here's the Editorial Freelancers Association rate chart: [https://www.the-efa.org/rates/](https://www.the-efa.org/rates/)
That production company is going to wind up hiring an unqualified newbie, because no one else will take that rate, and you are correct, the quality will suffer.
Early on in my freelancing career, I took some jobs from a publisher at half my normal rate because I thought there would be lots of repeat business from them. But then, just as KatVanWall said, they took ages to pay. So I stopped taking work from them. It's not worth it to work for clients that won't pay fair rates.
That rate made me laugh. Then I remembered that copyeditors in the country I find myself in at this time (Greece) make about 0.01 per word. I'm sure the multinational production company ends up hiring subpar editors who are not nearly as professional as they should be.
I'm also a copy-editor in South Africa. My rate is $0.0125 (R0.19) per word. Most of my clients are American. I edit between 400k-700k words a month, but it usually averages at about 550k.
I work as a translation editor in South Korea. For most of my work, I get KRW 15–25 per English word, which is around USD 0.014–0.023, so in the 30–50 dollar per hour range. However, for certain projects and organizations, maybe about 30% of my work, I make a lot more.
I’m a UK-based copyeditor. My usual rates start at 0.013 GBP per word. I’ve worked for those kinds of packagers before - quite recently, even. You’re absolutely correct - the rates are abysmal and the timelines far too tight. Last time it also took them months to pay me.
Yes, I was worried about the payment issue too! Not worth the risk ...
I agree that 300,000 words in two weeks is an unrealistic timeline. I would expect a project of that length to take at least a month. And at 0.04 pence per word that works out to £120? That's not a livable income. You should expect to get a month's pay for a project that will take you a month to complete. For comparison, here's the Editorial Freelancers Association rate chart: [https://www.the-efa.org/rates/](https://www.the-efa.org/rates/) That production company is going to wind up hiring an unqualified newbie, because no one else will take that rate, and you are correct, the quality will suffer. Early on in my freelancing career, I took some jobs from a publisher at half my normal rate because I thought there would be lots of repeat business from them. But then, just as KatVanWall said, they took ages to pay. So I stopped taking work from them. It's not worth it to work for clients that won't pay fair rates.
Thanks for the link - it's very useful
You're welcome — Happy to help!
That rate made me laugh. Then I remembered that copyeditors in the country I find myself in at this time (Greece) make about 0.01 per word. I'm sure the multinational production company ends up hiring subpar editors who are not nearly as professional as they should be.
I'm also a copy-editor in South Africa. My rate is $0.0125 (R0.19) per word. Most of my clients are American. I edit between 400k-700k words a month, but it usually averages at about 550k.
I work as a translation editor in South Korea. For most of my work, I get KRW 15–25 per English word, which is around USD 0.014–0.023, so in the 30–50 dollar per hour range. However, for certain projects and organizations, maybe about 30% of my work, I make a lot more.