Finding a book editor is a hiring decision, not a purchase. The right editor has edited books like yours, shows you exactly what they would change before you pay, and puts the scope in writing. The wrong one costs the same money and leaves the book in the same shape. Here is where editors actually are, how to vet one in an afternoon, what each kind commonly charges, and how to arrive with a draft that gets the most out of the fee.
"Book editor" covers four different jobs, and editors specialise. Ask for the wrong one and even a good editor will give you the wrong edit.
| You need | If your problem is | Commonly runs (80k-word novel) |
|---|---|---|
| Developmental editor | Structure, pacing, character arcs, stakes, the middle sagging | $1,500–$6,000+ |
| Line editor | Prose that is correct but flat, repetitive or clunky | $800–$3,500 |
| Copy editor | Errors, inconsistencies, style-guide compliance | $1,000–$3,000 |
| Proofreader | Final typos on the formatted book | $300–$1,500 |
If you genuinely do not know which you need, that is the first thing to find out — and it should not cost $2,000 to learn. A manuscript evaluation or an automated whole-book read answers it; more on that below.
Editors quote on the manuscript in front of them. A draft with a sagging middle and 400 filter words costs more to edit than the same story with those problems already fixed, and a developmental editor paid to discover problems you could have found yourself is the most expensive way to find them.
This is what an AI whole-manuscript read is for. Authors Starport's free Reader-Ready Scorecard grades the full book on nine repeatable craft metrics and tells you which kind of edit you actually need; the Developmental Critique returns the editorial-letter read — verdict, ranked problems, chapter notes anchored to your text — for a small fraction of a human developmental edit, so you fix the structure before the human fee starts. Then hire the human for the pass the book still needs, on the draft that deserves it. The self-editing checklist lays out the order.
The Reader-Ready Scorecard grades your full manuscript on nine craft metrics, benchmarks it against professionally-edited books, and tells you exactly what to fix first. Free, in minutes.
Get your free Reader-Ready Scorecard →Start with the editorial directories (EFA in the US, CIEP in the UK, Editors Canada, IPEd in Australia), the Reedsy marketplace, and the acknowledgements pages of indie books in your exact subgenre. Shortlist editors who have recently edited your kind of book, get a sample edit of the same 1,000–2,000 words from two or three of them, compare how they explain their changes, and put the scope in a written contract.
For an 80,000-word novel in 2026, a developmental edit commonly runs $1,500–$6,000+, a line edit $800–$3,500, a copy edit $1,000–$3,000 and a proofread $300–$1,500. Rates depend on the editor's experience, your genre, turnaround and how clean the manuscript is when it arrives.
Which recent books have you edited in my subgenre? Which edit type are you quoting and what exactly do I get back? Which style guide and software do you use? Can I see a sample edit of my pages? What is the deadline, the payment schedule and the policy if either of us misses a date? Can I contact a previous client?
Reedsy runs a vetted marketplace of professional editors and lets you collect several quotes from one brief, which makes comparison easy; it takes a commission that is built into the quotes. It is a reasonable place to start, alongside the professional directories and personal referrals. Whatever the source, still insist on a sample edit and a genre match.
Yes. Editors price the manuscript in front of them, and any problem you fix first is a problem you are not paying professional rates to discover. Run a whole-manuscript diagnostic such as Authors Starport's free Reader-Ready Scorecard, fix the structural and prose issues it surfaces, then hire the human editor for the pass the book still needs.