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[dcbetty]

$20/hour is really, really low.  That said, for academic work in the humanities you may not get much more than that.  I bill between $40-$65/hour now -- but most of my work is medical/science-related and I plan on upping that to start at the high end in the next year or so when I get more experience.  (If I had a science degree I would be charging even more....though these days some of that work is being sent overseas to India where they get paid a lot less than $20/hour.  I expect the science editing field will have to see some pay cuts in the next 5 years or so because of outsourcing.) 

However, I do still copy edit for a couple of academic journals in the humanities that actually interest me 3-4 times/year, and for that I get paid a pittance.  (about $3/page)  I do it because I figure I'm getting paid to read in my field and it's a nice break from the tedium of much of the other work. It also rounds out the resume in case I'm ever able to get a real job with an academic press (something I can't do right now because the pay is so low!).

Something to keep in mind: lowballing your prices can make it difficult for the rest of us.  If you are willing to work for $20/hour you are giving your employer the idea that this is all editors are worth.  Grad students working for $1.85/page -- aaagh, just stop! There are enough "content" outlets out there that pay writers almost literally nothing. Please don't contribute to the race to the bottom.  I know academic presses are all going broke but $2/page is basically volunteer work.

[pedanterast]

I proofread a couple of short stories.  I charged $0.025 per word and I footnoted the reasons for all the changes.  Actually I used end notes and not footnotes so as not to mess up the pagination.   So this worked out to be around $45 an hour pre-tax and I would think I could build speed by at least 50%.  I gave the authors a couple of alternative pricing structures as far as doing it cheaper by just making the changes and not explaining them.  I said my goal would be for us both to get to that point. 

I did not edit, really, so I think if I can get to $35-$40/hr after tax for mere proofing I think it could be worth pursuing in semi-retirement.  Tutoring is paying $30 an hour pre-tax.