Actually the going rate for typesetting in NYC these days is by the word, approx 7 cents a word.

For interior book design I charge $25/page for text only and between $40 and $50/page for illustrated books. This fee includes the cover design, typesetting and one round of layout correx. Additional correx billable hourly at $50/hour.

thanks!

Also - scanning, retouching, photo research, production (by this I mean print production - pricing, etc) - all extra and billable as such.

Patty, you sound like you are giving out prices for design/layout - which depending on the publisher does yield about $15 to $100 per page, depending on book, budget, etc.

However, in just good old typesetting of a page - it use to average out to about $2.50 per page.

Janet - the very best of luck - I use to typeset (and design) book interiors for Berkley, Simon & Schuster, Avon, etc. I am no longer in the city -- and none of the major publishers seem to care for freelancers to do it anymore. One of the publishers now has a dept within the production dept -- and they are happy in a few typefaces with the same basic design for each book. When it came to the complex books that need thought, design, sense of layout, etc. -- they decided only to buy packaged goods.

Good luck - it's a tough world, and yes, New York is very expensive.