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Proofreading rates
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scottie1113



Joined: 25 Oct 2004
Posts: 375
Location: Gdansk

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 2:05 pm    Post subject: Proofreading rates Reply with quote

I've been approached by some students about proofreading their masters theses. What's a fair price to ask per page?
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simon_porter00



Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 505
Location: Warsaw, Poland

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whatever rate you do it for it'll end up costing them loads. You might consider agreeing an amount beforehand i.e. 2000zł/whatever based on the amount of pages or at the end (which of course carries an inherent risk that they might not cough up).

As a favour to very very very few people (and most of my work is proof reading) I do it for my hourly rate x however many hours I've worked. This always ends up being a fraction of what the actual cost will be.
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Infinite



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can also go by the standard rates - 1800 characters with spaces included = to a single page of text.
Based on that, you can come up with a rate which could fit the bill. Don't sell yourself short however.
When it comes to translations for example, 50zl / page NET is the lowest that I'd go.
Proof reading, just like translations vary on what it is that you're working on.
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the_roads_of_poland



Joined: 22 Oct 2012
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I copyedit quite a bit. My standard rate is 25zl per 1800 characters with spaces (A4 page) in PL, which is then subject to a somewhat haphazard pricing policy of +/- 50% dependent on the client, what they want, the deadline, the subject matter and the level of English.

I would say the most important aspect here is to assess what the client really wants. Proofreading? Editing? Revision? A rewrite? A "language consultation"? Do they want feedback, i.e., you'll spend half your time sending emails back and forth? In addition, it also depends on how professional you are and what you think what work is necessary to produce a good text.

Oh yea, proofreading is something very very specific. Double check if that's what your client wants.

Anything machine translated and shot my way for "editing" as a way to save money is charged as my translation rate x2. Some individuals (not just Poles) really do try to do this.
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Master Shake



Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I totally agree with the_roades.

It all depends on what the client wants.

The Easiest Way: Decide on an hourly rate and proofread/edit/rewrite a sample (whatever they want). Record how long this took you and be realistic. Send it back to the client and let them decide if they want you to do more.

I've charged 80zl/60 min. gross for this kind of service but I'd drop it for poor, starving students.


Last edited by Master Shake on Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:44 pm; edited 1 time in total
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scottie1113



Joined: 25 Oct 2004
Posts: 375
Location: Gdansk

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks guys. Your suggestions are pretty much in line with what I had in mind but I wanted to bounce it off you first.

I've done some of this in the past, mostly gratis for friends or long time students and I'm OK with that because the texts weren't lengthy and didn't take me much time to finish. This time it's a different ballgame because they're a lot longer.

The next step is to talk to them about rates and see how serious they are about actually having me do the work.

Thanks again.
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Infinite



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235

PostPosted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

scottie1113 wrote:
Thanks guys. Your suggestions are pretty much in line with what I had in mind but I wanted to bounce it off you first.

I've done some of this in the past, mostly gratis for friends or long time students and I'm OK with that because the texts weren't lengthy and didn't take me much time to finish. This time it's a different ballgame because they're a lot longer.

The next step is to talk to them about rates and see how serious they are about actually having me do the work.

Thanks again.


What I usually do with my steady students/clients, I asked them to name the price. It's been working out great for me thus far.
In such cases it usually won't work on a page to page basis but they'll give you a price for the entire job... you can then figure out if that's worth your time or not.
For example - I'm doing a movie script at the moment and getting an X amount for proofing of 30 pages. People have a budget planned before undertaking these projects and know what they can afford. He's been a client of mine for years so I don't mind keeping him happy. Plus, just as it is in any service based job - if you're efficient... the word travels fast.

Good luck!
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Infinite



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 235

PostPosted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

simon_porter00 wrote:


As a favour to very very very few people (and most of my work is proof reading) I do it for my hourly rate x however many hours I've worked. This always ends up being a fraction of what the actual cost will be.


That's a bit risky isn't it? I'd think that even as a favor it could sometimes backfire.
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Richfilth



Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 225
Location: Warszawa

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Let's resuscitate this topic:

I proofread a friend-of-a-friend's essay, and used the lowest price from the option of character count, word count or hourly rate. The price came to about 700zl for a 70-page doc.

That client was very happy with the price, and referred a friend who's just offered her own thesis for proofing. The kicker is, it's 400 pages (100,000 words). Even at my cheapest rate with a friend-of-a-friend discount it would be near the 4000zl mark, which no student could afford.

So how would you price that job? Or just not bother?
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ecocks



Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Really, I'd leave it.

Four hundred pages is a book. When I proof I do roughly 3-4 pages an hour so that price seems fair, even discounted about 30%.

Anyone who writes 100,000 words either wants it REALLY proofed at that price or just wants someone to scan it for glaring mistakes.

How many pages do you estimate you can do per hour?
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Master Shake



Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wouldn't bother. Probably not even worth it to do at your discounted rate, don't you think?

You can fill your time with something more profitable.

Might be a nice gig to have over the summer, when most work dries up. Just take your laptop to the beach and skim away.
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ecocks



Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 9:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The thing about proofing is it fills downtime (like the afternoon periods) assuming of course that it isn't due next week.

I only take them if there is adequate lead-time and make it clear the student has to meet schedules on re-writes. If it's staying up until 4AM sort of stuff, then Heck NO!
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Janek



Joined: 25 Sep 2006
Posts: 79
Location: Krakow, Poland

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

xxx

Last edited by Janek on Mon Feb 02, 2015 9:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Richfilth



Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 225
Location: Warszawa

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I sent out an offer for less than 3000, and the student has said "they'll need time to consider" which will probably mean no. In an earlier email they expected the price to be below 1000...

Doing this in my downtime is the plan, and with feria coming up it's worth having extra work lined up for the inevitable round of cancellations. I do read faster than ecock's rate (this is proofing, not editing) but it will still take a month to do two full reads, regardless of the level of correction required.
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ecocks



Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Posts: 899
Location: Gdansk, Poland

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Richfilth wrote:
I sent out an offer for less than 3000, and the student has said "they'll need time to consider" which will probably mean no. In an earlier email they expected the price to be below 1000...

Doing this in my downtime is the plan, and with feria coming up it's worth having extra work lined up for the inevitable round of cancellations. I do read faster than ecock's rate (this is proofing, not editing) but it will still take a month to do two full reads, regardless of the level of correction required.


So how many hours will you spend on the 400-page document?
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