Book editing is the process of reviewing and adjusting the content aspect of a book in order to improve the plot, enhance the structure, fix any plot hole, free the story flow from any mistake, get rid of illogical points, replace inappropriate terms and jargons, fix errors and typos, etc. In many cases, book editors also provide you with advice on how to get out of places where you are stuck at, and give useful tips on developing the story following your original direction.

Book editing services can be divided into many different positions such as developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, proofreading editing, etc. Each job title will take charge of different tasks, such as the plot, characters, structure, grammar points, spelling mistakes, etc. 

The job title can now be delivered by professional freelancers, too. Freelance book editing services are trusted nowadays for they enable those who have the dream of publishing their own book, to becomecloser to them with the help of skilled and experienced book editors.

There are several types of freelance book editing services in the market, and the four below are the most popular ones:

• Developmental editing: This is the process of editing the main plot, the characters, the logical point, and the whole work for a smooth and consistent story flow. It is the most important and the first step in the book editing process. 

• Line editing: This is the process of editing sentence structure. It helps effectively deliver your ideas in words, improve the use of your voice and tone, get rid of repeated words, etc.

• Copy editing: Copy editing assists the book author on fixing grammar & typo errors, punctuation, ensuring the whole work has a consistent format or style guideline, etc.

• Proofreading book editing: This process is always the last step in the book editing cycle for it will ensure the book is completely free from minor mistakes such as typos, format, layout, and consistency.

All of the book editing types above are actually separate steps that play  different roles in the book editing process. In fact, a freelance book editor will often take charge of these four steps in one service package. However, you should also ask them first for clearance so there won’t be any misunderstanding in terms of responsibilities later.

The cost of a book editing service can vary from $1,000 to $10,000 per book depending on several different factors, such as the type/genre of the book, how complex and difficult the book is, the experience of the editor, the type of book editing, and more. 

In fact, there are factors that you can rely on to estimate book editing cost. They are:

• The type of editing: there are developmental editing, basic copy editing, and proofreading editing. The highest pay and also the hardest editing is the developmental editing, the basic copy editing will cost you less, and the last one with the most inexpensive price is the professional editing.
• The number of pages/words: Since book editing includes checking errors and minor mistakes in every word, the longer the book is, the higher the price of editing will take.
• The complexity of the genre: Editing a self-help book will need less skills and experience than an academic work with tons of data and research. Fixing a fiction novel will take less time and effort than a cyclopedia about insects.
• The deadline: The price of a book editing service will be charged by the hours or days of work, the sooner you want to have it, the higher the price one will need to pay.
• The author's experience in writing the book: The more experience the author has, the book will be written closer to the standard of a good book, and the less time and effort the book editor needs to edit it. That’s why experienced editors often charge higher than other levels.
• Other requirements from the author, if any.

Most book editors started their careers with a degree in literature, journalism, or communications, etc. Those all prove that the book editor has completed a training course in necessary fields, such as technical and creative writing, drafting, reviewing, and publishing.

However, whether you already have a qualification or not, in this highly competitive era, you still need to prove that you are qualified enough in terms of both capability and attitude in this career by: 

1. Learn more additional training courses in the related field.
2. Build your own portfolio with a practical project of book editing that you did by yourself.
3. Keep updating your portfolio and improve it continuously with the help of people around you to double-check your work.
4. Apply for editorial assistant positions 
5. Seek editorial and publishing opportunities as soon as possible.
6. Promote yourself on freelance marketplaces on the internet for even higher opportunities to get a job.

Mentioning a marketplace to look for freelancers, papmall® is one of the most trustworthy e-commerce platforms in the world that freelancers worldwide have gathered to promote themself and look for their clients. With all the policies in terms of quality, safety, and convenience, papmall® has promised to provide its buyer and seller client a professional working environment that help them thrive far in the future.  

Most book editors started their careers with a degree in literature, journalism, communications, etc. Those are all proof that you have completed a training course in necessary knowledge, such as technical and creative writing, drafting, reviving, and publishing.

That said, you don’t need to have a degree to be a book editor. However, you must equip yourself with fundamental knowledge of writing, gain strong writing and reading skills, build a logical and careful mind, practice good communication skills, and study for yourself a wide knowledge of a specific book genre to take it to your advantage.

In addition, a good book editor also needs to thoroughly understand literature, be good at building story structures, and logical hierarchy, learn how to tell a story, how to build a character and connect it to other ones, how to create the plot and how to develop the story, etc.

The answer depends on several factors including subjective and objective matters such as:

• The type of book editing: there are developmental editing, basic copy editing, proofreading editing. The most time-consuming and also the hardest editing is the developmental editing, the basic copy editing will take you less time and effort to complete, and the last one is the proofreading editing.
• The number of pages/words in the book: Since book editing includes checking errors and minor mistakes in every word, the book with more pages and words will take more time to finish.
• The complexity or the genre of the book: Editing a self-help book will need less skills and experience than academic work with tons of data and research. Fixing a fiction novel will take less time and effort than a cyclopedia about insects.
• The deadline: The time of a book editing service will be estimated by the hours or days of work.
• The author's experience in writing the book: The more experience the author has, the book will be written closer to the standard of a good book, and the less time and effort the book editor needs to edit it.
• Other requirements from the author, if any.