Working with Publishers as a Freelance Editor
In May 2025, I celebrated a neat career milestone: turning in a project that meant I had worked with all of the Big 5 publishers, either as a copyeditor, proofreader, or authenticity reader. The Big 5 is the collective name for the largest publishers in the US: Penguin Random House, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Macmillan. After I posted about this achievement on social media, I started getting questions about working with publishers.
Some freelance editors start as interns or employees at a publishing house before becoming freelancers, but others, like me, do not. I began my editing career by working solely with indie authors and had no idea what it looked like to work with a publisher, and it always sounded intimidating to me. I decided to write this blog post to share what I’ve learned over the years.
Disclaimer: The information I provide is based on my experiences with the publishers I’ve worked with. Other people may have experiences that are different from mine, and other publishers’ processes may look different.
Getting work from a publisher
The most common question I’ve been asked is how to start working with publishers. There’s no one right answer since there are many ways to go about it, but I’ll first cover what even gets you a job in the first place.
Copyediting and proofreading
Working with a publisher as a copyeditor or proofreader is all about getting added to a roster of freelancers, which involves passing their test. Each publisher’s test is different, and they’re designed to check that you know your stuff. Can you follow the style manual? Do you know to look up spellings and the treatment of compound words in the dictionary of choice? Can you write a professional query? Do you know how to use the proofreading tools specified, either stamps or built-in markup tools? You’ll need to be mindful of overediting. Publishers want to see that your level of intervention matches what they’re looking for—they’re not hiring you to do a developmental edit or line edit. And remember: You don’t have to score perfectly, though try to do as well as possible, of course.
If you pass, congratulations! It likely means you’ll be added to the publisher’s freelancer pool and be considered for future projects. If you don’t pass, ask if you can get feedback and see if they’ll let you retest in the future.
Authenticity reading
Working with a publisher as an authenticity reader is different. While a publisher can go to virtually any copyeditor or proofreader on their roster to fulfill those needs, authenticity reading requires someone who can evaluate the specific identity or experience required for that project. Authenticity readers don’t have to pass a test. They’re offered jobs solely based on what they can read for.
Getting your foot in the door
Okay, but how do you even get in “front” of a publisher? These aren’t the only ways, but they’re starting points:
Email publishers and express interest in being added to their freelance roster. As much as possible, try to find the contact information for production editors or managing editors and reach out to them directly, as they’re the ones who oversee the hiring of freelancers. It can be hard to find their contact information since most publishers don’t list their staff on their websites, so you can try searching social media platforms for names and contact information. You likely won’t get a response if you email a publisher’s general email address, but if that’s all you have, you can address the message to “the editorial team manager,” “the production team,” or “the managing editor” and hope it gets to who it needs to.
On social media, find and follow said production editors and managing editors. I’ve occasionally seen some of them post about expanding their freelancer pools, inviting people to reach out if interested.
Ask your network whether anyone would be willing to connect you with publishers.
List yourself in whatever directories are available to you. If you’re part of a professional editing organization that has a directory of members, be sure your listing is up to date. If you’re an editor of color, you can join the Editors of Color Database. Publishers who are looking for freelance editors may search these directories to find candidates to contact.
Large publishers often have multiple imprints. If you’ve passed the publisher’s test with one imprint, you likely won’t have to retest to work with a different imprint within that publisher. Since different imprints don’t always share the same pool of freelancers, ask whether the production editor of an imprint you work with is willing to pass along your information to another imprint you’re interested in.
Here are some examples of how I’ve reached out to publishers or gotten on their lists:
Cold emailed
Saw a production editor put out a call on social media saying they were expanding their freelancer pool, DMed them, and passed their tests
Was hired to do an authenticity read, and once I turned in the project, I let the production editor know I also did copyediting and proofreading, then passed their tests
Saw that a publisher I already freelanced for launched a new imprint and asked a managing editor I worked with whether they would be overseeing that new imprint. They said no but offered to pass my contact info to the other production team.
And here are some examples of how publishers have found me:
My website
Editorial directories
On a list of authenticity readers
From another editor in my network
From another production editor within the same imprint
From another production editor at a different imprint of the same publisher
From another production editor at a different publisher
A lesson in patience
Once you’re added to the freelancer pool, it’s likely that you’ll have to wait some time before being offered your first project. If you don’t hear anything after several months, gently nudge the production editor to let them know you have availability.
Staying relevant
When you get your first project offer, try to say yes. Production editors don’t expect you to say yes to every project, but once you return your first one and it’s of good quality, you’re more likely to get future work because they’ve seen what you can do. I’m sure every publishing imprint has its own process for choosing which freelancers they offer projects to, but I assume they have their regulars, which is what you want to become if you like working with them.
As an example, I work with one publisher consistently and get regular project offers from one imprint in particular. I say yes to about 60% of them, mainly because I can’t fit them all into my schedule. I also reach out to several imprints within the same publisher when I have upcoming gaps, which almost always leads to work. On the other hand, I passed the tests for another publisher but had to say no to their first two or three project offers. I haven’t heard from them in several years, but also haven’t pursued it.
Doing the work, from start to finish
This is what the process of freelancing for a publisher generally looks like:
The production editor will email you to see if you’re interested in a project. This email contains some or all of the following information: type of service, project title and author, approximate word or page count, start and due dates, pay rate, and synopsis.
You’ll say yes or no to the project. The beauty of being a freelancer is that you can choose what you work on. I’ve said yes to things because I had space in my schedule or because I didn’t have space in my schedule but really wanted to work on the project anyway, and I’ve said no to projects because I just wasn’t interested in them or the pay wasn’t worth it.
If you say yes, you’ll receive the project files on the scheduled start date. Be sure to check that each file can be opened and isn’t missing pages. If there are any issues with the files, let the production editor know ASAP.
For a standalone or first-book-in-a-series copyedit: You’ll get the manuscript to be copyedited and the house style guide (if you don’t already have it). Some publishers don’t have a house style guide and will want you to rely solely on The Chicago Manual of Style.
For a copyedit that’s part of an ongoing series: You’ll also receive the series style sheet and the PDFs of the previous books in the series.
For a proofread: You’ll get the typeset PDF to proofread and the copyeditor’s style sheet. For a first-pass proofread, you’ll get the copyedited manuscript to check against. For a second-pass proofread/cold read, you’ll get the first-pass proofread to check against. Be sure you know whether to use PDF stamps or built-in markup tools, as every publisher’s process varies.
For an authenticity read: You’ll receive the manuscript, and possibly notes on what the publisher or author wants you to look out for.
Do the work as agreed upon. Don’t be afraid to email the production editor with any questions that come up as you work. Sometimes I feel silly asking a question, but I know it’s better to do that than leave a potential issue unaddressed or make an incorrect assumption about how I should intervene.
Return the project files and invoice by the due date. Be sure you know when the project is actually due, as in the exact time and in what time zone. You don’t want to assume something is due at midnight your time when the production editor expects to receive it by noon ET. Also, if I really enjoyed a project, I’ll say that in my email when I return it and let the production editor know that I’d love to work on future projects in the same series or on titles by the same author. It’s never guaranteed that I’ll get to work on them, but these little notes have sometimes resulted in success.
Rates and payment methods
Most publishers pay a set hourly rate for copyediting and proofreading, and copyediting normally pays more than proofreading. Over the years, I’ve seen publishers pay between $32 and $38 an hour for copyediting and between $26 and $32 an hour for proofreading. Rush projects will be at a higher rate because they have to be turned around in less time. You’re told the rate for each project, and there’s usually little to no room for negotiation. Some publishers will give you the range of pages per hour they expect you to complete so you can make sure your pace lines up with what they’re budgeting for.
The fees for authenticity reading vary greatly. Sometimes the publisher tells me their project fee, and other times they’ll ask me what I charge. I’ve found that there’s more room for negotiation with authenticity reading than there is for copyediting and proofreading.
The publisher will let you know what their invoicing process looks like. For one-off projects like authenticity reads, I sometimes get asked to invoice using my own system, which is through Wave, or I might get paid through Venmo or PayPal. Otherwise, I provide my banking information for ACH payments. Publishers pay anywhere from 15 to 90 days after you submit your invoice. The publisher I work with most averages 30 days to pay.
Working with publishers vs. indie authors
Working with publishers is very different from working with indie authors, for better or for worse. Here are some of the key differences.
Your relationship with the author
When you work directly with indie authors, you’re doing everything yourself from start to finish. There’s a lot of administrative work involved, and you’re answering all the author’s questions. When you work with a publisher, the publishing team interfaces with the author, not you. You pose all questions in manuscript queries or emails to the production editor, but you’re never interacting directly with the author. If you enjoy building relationships with authors and helping them through the editing, proofreading, or authenticity reading process, working through a publisher may not be as fulfilling.
The work itself
As mentioned above, working directly with indie authors often requires more support and explanation on your end, unless you’re working with seasoned authors or repeat clients. Working with publishers means you’re focusing on performing the service at hand—the copyediting, the proofreading, or the authenticity reading—and not also helping the author through the process. If you enjoy working with the text but not necessarily working with the author, then you may like working with publishers.
Pay
Publishers generally pay less than what freelance editors charge indie authors. Publishers do almost all the admin work, format the manuscript, and interact with the author. When you work with indie authors, you’re factoring all the time you spend on those types of tasks when you set your rates. The lower pay means you might have to take on more publisher projects to make up the difference, but your pace for publisher projects might be faster because you don't have to do the extras you need to do with indie authors. There’s also little room for negotiation on publisher rates, so that’s something to keep in mind.
Flexibility and control
As a freelancer, you have more flexibility and control when working with indie authors than you have with publishers. You get to set your rates, decide what your house style is, work with the author to figure out the level of intervention needed on their manuscript, and oversee all aspects of the process. On the other hand, publishers dictate most of the working relationship. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your goals and your working style.
Final thoughts
Working with publishers has been a lot of fun for me, and while it felt daunting at first, I quickly realized how much I enjoyed it. If your goal is to start freelancing for publishers, I wish you the best of luck and hope this information has been helpful.
