Book Royalties <OT>

[Frederick H. Bartlett]

Kragen Sitaker wrote:
> 
> I have a question.  How can a self-publisher find a decent editor and
> indexer?  Those are fairly specialized skills, and the editors and
> indexers used by most of the books I've liked in the past are
> employees of book publishers, so I don't expect that they are
> available for freelance work --- right?

Wrong. Nearly all the actual work that goes into the production of a
book is outsourced. Typesetting is done in the Far East or India;
editing and indexing are done by freelancers, usually in the US. Such
freelancers shouldn't be hard to find; I believe they advertise in
Writer's Digest and similar outlets.

STM (Scientific/Technical/Medical) publishers -- for which I've worked
as a freelancer or an employee since the late 70s -- currently pay
$1-$5/book page for editing and slightly less for indexing. It is
_extremely_ difficult to find competent copyeditors at those pay rates,
which translate to $20-30/hour.

The terms of my current employment, which I think are standard, preclude
me from doing work that aids a competitor -- but I can't imagine anyone
complaining if I helped a samizdatelnik. Not that I'm offering (sorry).

You should construct a test for any prospective editor to ensure actual
knowledge of English. Many copyeditors -- as well as most readers -- no
longer recognize such things as dangling modifiers, the proper use of
the subjunctive, or the distinctions among ensure/assure/insure. I
sometimes worry that even who/whom and me/I are on their way out. *sigh*

Fred