San Diego Professional Editors Network
Setting Rates and Bidding on Projects
Wednesday
May 21, 2008
Two challenges that editors continually face are setting (or raising) their rates and bidding on projects. At the May SD/PEN meeting, Linda Wood, owner and president of The Woods Publishing Group, and SD/PEN members Katie Spiller and Preston Hathaway will each present a scenario to help us deal with these challenges.
After a brief discussion of methods used to determine rates or prices for editing, we will break into 3 groups to examine the scenarios. Each group will determine what's involved in one of the project scenarios and devise and document a method to estimate the cost of the project. Then each group will share its approach, method, and final price with everyone at the meeting.
Linda Wood will share her approach to bidding on a different types of publishing projects. Her 20 years of experience as a project manager have taught her that each bid is unique and has its own special considerations. But there are some basic rules and formulas that apply to all types of bids, and we’ll explore those. Linda will bring along some sample bids to illustrate these ideas and will answer questions from members.
Linda’s company, founded in 1990, specializes in developing books and other educational products for the K-12, college, and professional markets. The company’s services include concept development, market research, writing, editing, fact-checking, proofreading, indexing, design, production, art and permissions research, original artwork, photography, and prepress.
Katie will take a group through the process of determining how much to bid on a combination editing/desktop publishing project for a scholarly book publisher. The group will discuss how to break out the different parts of the project, how to determine how much to bid on each part, and how to build some protection into your bid for those inevitable complications that crop up.
Raised in a family business of typesetting, printing, and scientific translations, Katie received early training in collating, stapling, proofreading, and even running a printing press (standing on a crate so she could reach). After completing an M.S. in marine biology, she ended up working in science publishing, of all things. After stints at Academic Press, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the American Journal of Roentgenology, she has been self-employed for the past 12 years, providing mostly medical editing and desktop publishing services.
Preston will describe methods for determining what to charge for technical communication projects. Payment options for these projects are usually W-2 wages, for editors who work for a temp agency or an employer, or 1099 payments, for editors who work as consultants or independent contractors. Preston will discuss and demonstrate tools to (1) help accurately estimate the time it will take to complete a task and then calculate what to charge (2) help determine hourly rates for 1099 contracts, which can be used to figure out what to charge for a project (time estimate multiplied by the hourly rate). He will create or bring some sample projects and the tools to allow participants to perform both estimates.
Preston, who has a B.S. in information technology, performed copyediting and technical communications for over 15 years with the Department of Defense and private industry. He has written and edited numerous technical reports; design, deployment, and configuration documents; communications and disaster recovery plans; and one nonfiction book. Currently, he provides documentation support to SAIC clients.
Don’t miss this opportunity to meet with expert editors and perhaps upgrade your skills in setting rates and bidding on projects.