NEW YORK - Oct. 9, 2020 - The Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) has officially updated its rates chart effective September 23, 2020. The chart, which can be viewed at www.the-efa.org/rates, is one of the most visited pages on the organization's website and is widely used as a reference point by clients, members, and other freelancers.

"We are thrilled to announce that we have updated our rates chart," said EFA Board of Governors member Sangeeta Mehta, who chaired the rates survey project. "We believe this data will help all EFA members evaluate our rates and better guide our clients."

The updated chart presents median ranges of member fees for editorial, writing, and communications-related projects broken down into per-hour and per-word rates. The chart also delineates median ranges for members' rates of production for various tasks and projects. New categories include coaching and sensitivity reading.

EFA members have been looking forward to the updated report as an aid to pricing specific tasks and comparing their pace of work to that of others in their disciplines.

"The EFA's rates chart is a very useful tool," said EFA member and rates project volunteer Sheryl Holmberg. "I use it in project planning to help track where I fall within the norms of a given type of work. This helps me make sure that I am giving my clients good value for their money without giving away the store, and is particularly helpful since I work in multiple areas."

Potential clients use the rates chart, as well as a searchable database of EFA members, to help them find editorial professionals to work with and plan their budgets and timelines.

"When clients come to the EFA, their first stop is usually our rates chart," said EFA General Manager Susannah Driver-Barstow. "Both our Job List and Member Directory are free of charge to anyone who would like to hire one of our editorial professionals, who represent a broad and diverse array of skills and training."

The EFA emphasizes that the rates indicated in the rates chart are for guidance only and are not mandated or recommended rates. Individual members' fees will vary widely based on factors such as experience and scope of work, and across fields and genres.

Data for updating the EFA's rates chart was gathered from a survey of EFA members conducted in April 2020 for projects from which they earned freelance income in 2019. The questionnaire for this survey was developed jointly by the EFA and Venture Research Associates, Westfield, NJ. The survey was fielded by the EFA and results were collected and tabulated by Research Results in Fitchburg, MA. Analysis of the survey data for EFA members only was provided by Venture Research Associates.

Founded in 1970, the EFA is a national nonprofit professional organization with over 2,700 members, including writers, editors, copyeditors, proofreaders, indexers, translators and others who work in publishing, communications and related fields. "EFA members can provide every editorial skill that is necessary throughout the publication process to provide a finished product of top quality," says Bill Keenan, EFA co-executive.

For more information about the EFA, visit the-efa.org. For questions about the rates chart, email surveys@the-efa.org.