What it costs
What editorial consultation costs — and what you're actually buying
An hour of an editor's time costs £60–£150, and it is the best-value editorial purchase per pound available — because what you are buying is judgement rather than labour. It is also the one fewest authors know they can buy.
What good looks like
- They read the material beforehand, not during
- You set the questions in advance
- A written summary afterwards, because you will not remember it
- Honesty about what they cannot tell from a partial read
A free outside view of your own pages
Send up to 5,000 words. You get back what the draft appears to be doing to somebody who wasn't there when you wrote it, the strongest thing in it named, the exact place a reader starts to drift, and three revision priorities in order.
An AI-assisted read of your own pages. Not a human edit, not a line edit, and not a scored report.
What you are actually buying
An editorial consultation is an hour with someone who has read your work and can answer specific questions about it. It is the cheapest editorial product and the most underused, because most authors ask for 'feedback' when what they want is an answer to one question.
Why it costs that
An hourly consultation is priced like any professional's time, and the range reflects experience: an editor who has acquired and sold books in your genre charges more than one who has not, and is worth it for exactly that reason. What you are buying in an hour is judgement, not labour — which is why it is the best-value editorial purchase per pound and the one fewest authors know exists.
How to spend less
Come prepared. An hour spent explaining your book is an hour you paid for and did not use. Send the material in advance, write down your three specific questions, and ask the hardest one first. Many editors will do a paid half-hour, which for a single structural question is often enough.
What good looks like
- They read the material beforehand, not during
- You set the questions in advance
- A written summary afterwards, because you will not remember it
- Honesty about what they cannot tell from a partial read
Questions to ask them
- How much will you read beforehand?
- Can I send questions in advance?
- Do I get anything in writing?
Red flags
- A consultation that is really a sales call for a bigger package
- No preparation time built into the price
- Generic advice that could apply to any book
Honestly
An editor who has sold books in your genre carries market judgement no rubric holds — which imprint is buying this year, which agent to approach. That is what an hour of their time is actually worth.
About Your Book Pro
Your Book Pro is a book-writing platform built in Britain. Start with an idea, notes, half a draft, a podcast, or a finished manuscript, and use our purpose-built AI tools for planning, feedback, editing, proofreading, cover designs, and to create print-ready files. Writing is totally free: you can type, upload or speak your book as much as you like, and use only the editing tools you need with Plus, or go unlimited with Pro.
Produce world-class drafts at the fraction of the cost of hiring a human editorial team.
Every account starts with 1,000 welcome credits, and a plain export of your own words is free.
These prices are here to be used, not to sell you something — brief a freelancer with them, sanity-check a quote, or work out what you actually need. Where Your Book Pro changes the arithmetic, the page says so; where it does not, it says that too.
An editor who has sold books in your genre carries market judgement no rubric holds — which imprint is buying this year, which agent to approach. That is what an hour of their time is actually worth.
What it costs
| What you are buying | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly, at CIEP minimum | £37.11–£42.66/hr | Copyediting to substantial editing bands |
| Typical one-hour manuscript surgery | £40–£90 | CIEP minimum to experienced practitioner |
CIEP suggested minimum rates effective 1 March 2026; Books.by; publishing.co.uk; The Ghostwriters Agency. Dated 9 September 2026.
Ask a question
Get my costed planQuestions people ask
- What can I actually ask in an hour?
- Two or three specific questions about your actual manuscript. 'Is my opening working?' is a good use of it; 'Is my book good?' is not.
- Is a consultation cheaper than an assessment?
- Yes, considerably — but it is a conversation rather than a written report, and you get much less on paper.
- How do I find an editor for a consultation?
- The CIEP directory, and referrals from authors in your genre. Many editors offer consultations without advertising them; ask.
- Should I record the call?
- Ask first, and most will agree. You will not remember half of it otherwise.