Help with an acquaintance

I answered one of those email questionaires (Whats youre favorite color?  Who did you last see in concert) from someone I worked with several years ago.  I wouldnt want to become friends with this person but they were okay to maintain an email set up of just exchanging funny emails which are occasional.

One of the questions was something your good at and I included editing.

They replied that theyd written several books and one in particular theyd be interested in having me edit because she said she was had poor grammar.  She asked how much I would charge to edit.

I replied that I also had written a book but hit a wall and when I went back to reread, realized I was a much better editor because of all the corrections I had to make.  I write as I think so lots of basic mistakes like accept/ except, to/ too/ two, infer/ imply etc.

I also didnt touch the money subject instead asking how long the book was and if she had a page or two, so I knew what extent of editing would be required. 

She replied saying she had an idea.  She was really good at writing so I could email it to her and she could provide an ending which I could then edit.  I would be interested in her ideas but Im not ready to turn it over to anyone and honestly in even finishing it period.  In exchange, I could edit her story which it turns out is 300 pages!  Even though editing comes naturally to me, anything over a few pages is a job and 300 pages?! 

So Im kind of speechless.  My book is off the table for bargaining cuz Im not interested in finishing it, and only started out without every developing where I was going with it (which is NO way to write).  It was just fun and creative. 

Im confident in my editing skills, minoring in it and acting as a staff editor of my university's literary magazine but never edited for money.  I'd like to help her out but Im trying to be reasonable too.  Im not talking of the crazy high page rates ($25+) charged by those who doe this full-time, no offense to those who do.  I was thinking a flat rate under $100 which considering the time commitment involved (editing is not close timewise to just reading) which I havent really figured out.  To pull this off in one month would require editing 10 pages everyday, which isnt highly unrealistic.  Shes not in a rush so figuring 2 months editing 5 pages everyday - how do you price that as a flat rate trying to be generous.  If we were talking one time 20 pages or a close friend/ family member with 300+ pages, money wouldnt come into it.

** EDITED: Removed "and even 10cents a page is over $300" since it would only be $30, not $300.

How about $.20 a page ($1 every five pages) and the acknowlegement that you aren't capable of rushing more than.. 5-10 pages a day.

Make sure you get some sort of contract. Even if it's just an email saying "I agree to do this for you and you agree that I'm not rushing and to pay me _____."

Wish I could help but i'm one of those really rubbish people who just can't say no, I would have ended up doing it and complaining about it endlessly, so my only advice would be to make sure you really dont mind spending such large amounts of time doing it and that it wont affect your day to day life in any way. If your sure you dont mind doing it then I think hkellick's sugestion of $1 per 5 pages sounds fair to me.

DO NOT MAIL YOUR WORK THAT DOES NOT HAVE A COPYWRITE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TRUST NO ONE WITH THAT!

Get a contract and email doesnt count in court. AT ALL.

What you charge is up to you. If you want to be nice about it I would just use your basic contract and 1/2 or 1/4 the rate. Based on what you feel like. I think that would be the easiest way to do it without getting sucked into a flat fee that takes up tons of your time. If you minored in it..Theres no shame in making some cash on it.

Definitely get a few pages so you can give yourself an idea how much work is involved. Copy editing is one thing, but when you have to practically rewrite every sentence to get it to sound ok, you'll be looking at heaps of work.

It sounds like she might be wanting to get a good deal since she suggested the exchange thing, where she writes your book and you do the editing.

To me even the 20 cent a page rate sounds low. Editing may come naturally to you but it's still work. Let us know how it goes :)

Boy did I screw up that math!  300 pages at a 10cents a page is only 30.00 bucks, not $300 bucks.  Yikes!

Still thinking about the different replies

be straight up.  she's not your friend; you owe her no favours.  go through a few pages and come up with an estimate that truly reflects the value of the work.

oh - and speaking as someone who's a reader and a writer and has edited for friends before - if it's crap and it's going to be painful to read, it's not worth it at any price.  it won't make you a better writer, and you will end up thinking even less of her.  on the flip side, if it's really good, you might benefit from the work.

ps: aren't you glad you did the math for us first?

Although I was more experienced then her at work, she was helpful to others - newer folks which makes me want to help her. 

So far Im thinking ...

FREE - 1st 25 pages which I would be willing to do
  .20 -  each page (with HK's help), 5 pages a day 5days a week

Thats $10 weekly for 25 pages, which she could pay me weekly.  This way both of us have the option to stop if we choose and Im being paid as I go along.  Even offering this way, she could just take the 25 pages and not even pursue the paid pages if she wants. 

Figure - I agree, this is strictly grammatical and not for contents which could get crazy time consuming.  So spelling, punctuation, sentence sturcture, tense agreement but not storyline and I'd have to be clear about that. 

Chop - I havent done this for money before. 

The contract's just to cover your butt. You don't know her well enough to know she won't screw you. That she won't give you.. 600 pages. Or that when you're done, she won't pay. 

PG - I dont enjoy writing, I enjoy editing.  I do it naturally in my head even as I read.  I dont even forward email jokes without condensing them down because they can be very wordy, diluting the impact of the joke.  So it can be fun the first few pages, then next few pages would be a favor but after 25 pages, its definitely a job.

20 cents a page is really low.  There are people who do this sort of thing for a living... You could hunt around a bit and see what they generally charge.  (I'm not saying you should charge as much as somebody with years of copyediting experience would charge but it would give you an idea of what the going rate is...)

If you do want to do it, I agree wholeheartedly that you should have a contract or something drawn up.  If you're setting up a business relationship with this woman (which you would be doing) then you want to make sure you're both covered.

Hk I think Im more of a skeptic then you.

Not for her personally but true you never know.  Im not as trusting with a contract as with the money paid and then editing / delivering the pages as I go along in increments of say $20.

Plus Im thinking I may find at a certain point I cant continue at the rate, not in a bait and switch way, but I wouldnt want to be contracted into any rate this low.

I plan to acknowledge this is a low rate and I while I intend to finish for her, I cant commit at this rate.  If I can finish fine and if not, she can more forward with someone else at a higher rate or consider what me at an adjustment (only if I really burn out and cant justify keeping up with the original).  She certainly wouldnt have lost anything for getting the .20 rate as long as she did.

if you do it, charge the going rate.  i trust that you are confident in your ability to edit and she should pay you what you are worth.  you don't want to get stuck with a low rate.

here's a list of common rates for editing. 

for a job like this, it's reasonable for her to pay you 1/3 up front, 1/3 halfway through, and 1/3 at the end. 

and yes, get a contract.  i can't stress that enough. 

I'd do the first 25 pages free and then require a weekly payment to continue.  She can pay you electronically via paypal so it's not a pain to write a check every week or scrounge for cash.  If she doesn't pay you one week, then stop doing any work for her that week.