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Here are some comments from a freelancer's point of view:
The Editorial Freelancers Assoc. web site has some general guidelines
(in US$), including some typical work rates,
http://www.the-efa.org/res/rates.html
The Transcript tidying-up can vary hugely. Try to negotiate an hourly
rate, or if you have to give a per-word rate, base your estimate on
having edited/tidied a sample of the transcript (or the type of
transcript) in question. An editor I know who does this kind of work
says the voice-recognition transcripts can be a lot more difficult
than transcripts someone types from listening to a recording.
For technical article writing on a subject that requires research
(topics I don't already know about and need Internet and/or
literature search and/or interviews with subject matter experts), for
corporate clients I usually quote around $US 1.50/word. (Some would
say this is a high rate, but I'm a degreed engineer with experience
working in industry. My added value is in being able to understand
technologies without having to be "spoon fed" (in the words of one client).)
Usually corporate clients prefer that I invoice by the hour, up to a
pre-agreed not-to-exceed limit. So the agreement would be for
researching and writing one draft and one revision of a 1500-word
article, X hours at $Y/hour, not to exceed $2250. Note: Be sure to
specify how many revisions are covered by the cost estimate! I've
had clients go through as many as 12 revisions. After one revision, I
charge by the hour.
For ghostwriting (where I'm just recasting someone's own words) or
writing about something I don't have to research very much, usually
$US 1/word will do it.
When writing articles for trade magazines, they tell me how much they
can pay, based on their budget. I do try to bump up the rate when
possible. And sometimes can get them to reimburse some or all of my
expenses. Depending on the magazine, I've received rates of $US
0.25/word to $1/word. My breakeven rate to make the hourly pay I
need to live is $0.60/word, but sometimes it's worth doing a low-rate
piece to learn about something new, get the exposure, etc.
Not sure about the book/report summarizing. I suppose you could just
add up how long it takes to read 300 pages plus how long it takes to
write 10-12 pages. Again, I'd ask for a sample book/report and
actually time how long it takes to read/summarize 25 or 50 pages
before quoting the job.
Hope your quoting/working goes well.
Barbara
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Barbara Donohue
The engineer who writes. Turning technology into English.
978-263-4961
bdonohue -at- alum -dot- mit -dot- edu
Specializing in mechanical technologies
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