Giving an estimate: word count versus page count
Recently a writer I’ve worked with on a few projects was submitting a proposal and included me as an editor. When he was determining how much it would cost his client, however, he wanted me to break down my services by the page (I assume the request for proposal gave the report’s expected length in pages and not words).
While I usually estimate based on words (typically 500 to 750 words an hour, depending on the amount of work needed), some people do estimate based on the number of pages. It’s a lot harder, however, because a page could have a large graphic or be all text. When I do estimate based on the number of pages, I approximate 250 words per page, although I ask if there will be a lot of tables and figures and adjust accordingly.
Just to confuse matters, however, tables often can require more editing than text does.
Tags: Business, Editing, Page count, Word count
My writing focuses on travel and culture. I've contributed to The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Air Canada's enRoute, BlackBook, Budget Travel, Deadspin, and Louisville Magazine. I'm also the editor-in-chief of Louisville.com and BlackBook's Louisville City Editor.