How Much Can You Earn?

Let’s talk dollars and cents.

One of the top questions editors have is “How much can I earn?” The honest answer is that it’s different for every editor. It’s difficult to nail down an average “hourly rate” for Kibin work because multiple factors are in play at all times:

• Your individual speed/efficiency 
• How often you edit
• Document turnaround times (shorter clocks have higher payouts)
• Document segments (Applicant and Business documents pay more, for instance)
• Your editing level
• The state of an individual draft, editing distinction, and kind of help the author needs

Sometimes, a paper is extremely rough to start, and it may take twice as long as normal to get through it. But you’ll also pick up documents you can cruise right through in half the time. 

That’s why it’s helpful to rely on the law of averages. Sure, you could cherry pick which documents you edit and take only the easy ones, but you’ll also quickly discover that the supply of “easy breezy” edits will likely not match your demand. 

So, as you can see, earnings depend on several different factors. With all that said, we’re always striving to increase editors’ earnings through measures like:

• Annual/semiannual pricing adjustments to align with market rates
• Targeted pricing increases for editing segments
• Targeting new customers with a focus on longer, higher-stakes documents
• Offering bonuses for editors who work the most frequently
• Splitting direct request fees 50/50 with editors
• Providing all the tips, tricks, and help we can through this Knowledge Base and through being accessible and responsive to your needs -- we know your time is valuable!

Speaking of tips, here are a few ways to maximize your earning potential: 

• Stalk the queue during the weekends, evenings, and overnight in the US. Documents are often more available at these times, and the more you edit, the more you earn!
• Look out for short clocks. We’ll always shout out documents ticking down in the queue, so keep your Slack notifications on.
• Get good at editing resumes and CVs. Being efficient with resume formatting will save you time. 
• Keep style guide resources at hand while editing to save time Googling.  
• Don’t be afraid to go for it on an edit that might look intimidating. The more you hack your way through the jungles of rough edits, the sharper your skills will become.
• Keep practicing! Unfortunately, there’s merit to the old adage practice makes perfect. You’ll get quicker and quicker with each edit. 

You truly are important to us, and it gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling every time we cash-out our editors (seriously!).