Karolyn R. Kuehner
Academic Editing
Services
Sample Cost
Estimates
*College Essays and Applications
*Speeches and Proposals
*Research Papers
*Master's Theses
*Doctoral Dissertations
Throughout the course of my work as an editor, I have helped eager and reticent writers alike navigate the creative– but sometimes daunting– process of academic writing. Because I am a seasoned writer and am familiar with primary academic editing styles, I am able to efficiently help my clients produce properly formatted and content-rich final drafts that meet all departmental requirements.
The following scenarios offer insight into standard charges for various types of writing projects. If your project does not fit comfortably into one of these scenarios, I can certainly offer you a cost analysis based upon your project’s parameters. Please refer to the FAQs page for more details.
Academic editing costs are based on per-page estimates which can vary significantly, depending upon the needs of the writer. The following chart provides a general guide to dissertation, thesis, and journal article editing. Estimates are based on a 1-2 hour review and sample edit of your document.
Initial Consultation: 30-60 minutes
Technical Editing:
Readability, flow, organization, academic voice, 20-60 minutes per page
word choice (mpp)
Copyediting:
Style adherence, formatting, grammar, 10-20 mpp
punctuation
General formatting:
Margins, pagination, headings, block quotes, 1-3 hours
references
Preparation of front pages: 1-3 hours
Title page, signature page, acknowledgements,
dedication, table of contents, list of tables/figures,
abstract
Production of the final hard copy: 1-2 hours
Tables (per table): 10 minutes to 1 hour
A few possible scenarios:
Example 1: A 350-650 word college admissions application essay, scholarship proposal, or speech
A document such as this will likely require multiple editing sessions. The initial session will take approximately 60-90 minutes for a thorough overview of content and mechanics. After the initial edits are sent to you and addressed, I strongly suggest a follow-up editing session to polish all elements. This final session will take me between 30-60 minutes. At the rate of $60.00 per hour, you can expect to pay between $90.00 - $150.00 for a fully edited document.
Example 2: A well-developed 15-35 page research paper that mostly needs formatting and general copyediting but would benefit from a bit of technical editing
This project will require about 10 minutes per page for copyediting and technical editing (15 pages x 10 mpp = 150 minutes or 2.5 hours OR 35 pages x 10 mpp = 350 minutes or approximately 6 hours). Additional costs might include preparing the title page, the table of contents, and editing the reference list (0.5-2.0 hours). The total time needed for this editing project will fall between 3.0-8.0 hours. At the rate of $60.00 per hour, you can expect to pay between $180-$480 for a fully edited document.
Example 3: A 50-page thesis proposal that is in fairly good shape but needs format editing and careful proofreading
This project will take about 10 minutes per page to copyedit (50 pages x 10 mpp = 500 minutes or 8.5 hours). Additional costs might include our initial consultation (1.0 hour), preparing front pages (0.5-1.0 hour), preparing the table of contents (0.5-1.5 hours), and editing the reference list (0.5-4.0 hours). The total time needed for this editing project will fall between 11.0-16.0 hours. At the rate of $60.00 per hour, you can expect to pay between $660-$960 for a fully edited document.
Example 5: A 100-page completed dissertation that needs textual editing as well as proper style formatting
This project will likely take me 25 minutes per page for the technical editing of the narrative and 30 minutes per page for the 5-page introduction (25 mpp x 95 pages = 2,375 minutes or 40.0 hours; 30 mpp x 5 pages =150 minutes or 2.5 hours, with a total time commitment of 42.5 hours). Additional time needed may include our initial consultation, preparation of the reference list, and the formatting of tables. This may add 2.0-5.0 hours to the total time needed to complete the dissertation, bringing the total editing time needed for this editing project to 44.5-47.5 hours. At the rate of $60.00 per hour, you can expect to pay between $2,670-$2,850 for a fully edited document.
Example 4: A 100-page completed dissertation that requires style formatting and only basic mechanical and grammatical proofreading
This project will likely take me 10 minutes per page for the technical editing of the narrative and 35 minutes per page for the 5-page introduction (10 mpp x 95 pages = 950 minutes or approximately 16 hours; 35 mpp x 5 pages =175 minutes or 3 hours, with a total time commitment of 19 hours). Additional time needed may include our initial consultation, preparation of reference list, and the formatting of tables. This may add 2.0-5.0 hours to the total time needed to complete the dissertation, bringing the total editing time needed for this editing project to 19-24 hours. At the rate of $60.00 per hour, you can expect to pay between $1,140-$1,440 for a fully edited document.