Honorary president: Judith Butcher Honorary vice-president: David Crystal OBE

SfEP suggested minimum freelance rates

Although the negotiation of fees is obviously a matter for the individual freelance and client to resolve, the SfEP does suggest minimum hourly rates as a starting point for negotiations. From 1 March 2008, these suggested minimum rates (including an extra element of 7.7% as holiday pay) are:

• Proofreading, simple indexing – £19.25
• Copy-editing, creative indexing (paper) – £20.75
• On-screen copy-editing – £22.50
• Substantial editing and rewriting – £26.00
• Project management – £28.00

For details of suggested minimum rates in other areas of freelance work, the online NUJ freelance fees guide is recommended.

It is also worthwhile checking the SfEP rate for the job in the Members' area. Here you'll find the rates actually paid for copy-editing and proofreading by various companies, submitted anonymously by SfEP members and associates. This has been modelled on the NUJ rate for the job, which can be checked for other types of editorial work.

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