By Sauce Media · Guides to hiring an editor
Find out what is slowing you down
Look at the last few videos you planned to post. What made each one late? Was it the idea, script, shoot, edit, or review? A recording waiting to be cut is one kind of problem. A list of ideas you have not filmed is another.
YouTube asks creators to plan a schedule they can keep. That includes the time and cost to make each video. Apply that test to the task you want help with. If filming is the slow part, an editor may help the final video but not help you make more of them.
- Editing: good footage waits while you cut older videos.
- Files: the editor would wait for a script, shot, or missing detail.
- Review: drafts would pile up because no one has time to check them.
- Style: you still find the main story only when you edit it yourself.
Count the work you can share
Track a few normal videos. Count the time you work, not the time a file takes to upload while you do something else. Split the work into watching footage, cutting, adding images, fixing sound, making changes, and final checks. Mark the parts you would keep doing.
Next, count the work you would still need to do with an editor. You must send clear notes, check file access, answer questions, and review the cut. Keep the one-time setup apart from work that repeats. You may explain the style once, but you will still check each video.
- Video and type: ___. Raw file length: ___. Planned final length: ___.
- Hours I spend editing and checking each video: ___.
- Tasks the editor will do: ___. Tasks I will keep: ___.
- My hours for file prep, questions, review, and final checks: ___.
- One-time setup hours for style notes and file access: ___.
- Videos I can film and review each month: ___.
Try the math with a made-up example
This example is fictional. It is not a client result or a promise of time saved. Say you post three long videos each month. Each one takes eight hours of your time to edit. That adds up to 24 hours a month.
Now say you hire an editor. You still spend one hour preparing each video. You spend one more hour reviewing it and half an hour on final checks. That leaves 7.5 hours of your work each month. It could free 16.5 hours. If setup takes three more hours, the first month could free 13.5 hours.
Sauce Starter is $2,799 a month for three long-form videos. Divide that fee by the made-up 16.5 hours freed. It comes to about $170 for each hour you get back. In the first month, use 13.5 hours instead. That is about $207 per hour. These are not the editor’s hourly pay or new income for you. Check that the plan fits the edit before using this math.
- Current work: 3 videos x 8 hours = 24 hours a month.
- Your work with an editor: 3 x (1 + 1 + 0.5 hours) = 7.5 hours.
- Hours you might get back: 24 - 7.5 = 16.5 hours.
- First month after setup: 16.5 - 3 = 13.5 hours.
- If each review takes 3 hours, your work rises to 13.5 hours. The time freed falls to 10.5 hours.
Give the time you get back a job
Write down how you would use those hours. You might finish a script, film a planned video, talk to customers, or take an evening off. Rest can be a good reason to hire help. It does not have to earn money to matter.
If you expect a business gain, be clear about how it would happen. A free day to film does not promise a good idea or a new customer. Do not price your time at a high hourly rate unless you have real paid work to fill it. You might also use the time to plan better videos, rather than make more.
- I will use the freed time to ___.
- I have what I need for that task because ___.
- After the test, I will check ___.
- Even with no extra income, this time or better work is worth ___ to me.
Check what you can afford each month
Use a normal or slow month to check your budget. Count the editing fee and the other costs you still pay. If you need a jump in views or sales to cover the fee, stop and check that risk. You could test less work, make a simpler video, or post less often first.
Our monthly plans are Starter at $2,799, Creator at $4,499, and Empire at $7,299. Each includes different work. Use the pricing page to check the plan against your needs. Thumbnails and Shorts help if you will use them. Paying for work you do not need does not save money. This worksheet does not show market rates for freelance editors.
Use a small test to check your guess
Test a normal video that you expect to make again. Track your time for prep, questions, review, and final checks. Agree on the test work and how you may use it before you send the files. Our hiring guide helps you judge the editor. Here, you are checking whether this split of work helps you.
Compare your real hours with the worksheet. Note any work you had to redo. Note questions that came from missing details. One test cannot prove how every month will go. It can show where your first guess was too hopeful.
Creators who qualify can ask Sauce for one free sample edit. No payment is needed. The sample does not start a paid plan. Tell us what you plan to make each month and bring a clear brief for the test.
Choose whether to hire, test, or wait
You do not need to reach one magic subscriber count. You need work you can share, a cost you can afford, and a reason that matters to you. If one of those is unclear, choose a small test to learn more.
- Try an editor now if good footage waits and you can afford the help. Name the work you will stop doing.
- Try a smaller task if one part is slow but you want to keep the rest.
- Wait or simplify if you rarely film, need hoped-for income, or would redo every cut.
- Check again when your work, budget, footage, or test results change.
Track the bottleneck for two weeks
Log the time you spend editing, reviewing, recording and planning. Note every delayed upload and why it slipped. If editing repeatedly pushes filming or research off the calendar, the bottleneck is visible. If the main problem is a lack of footage or ideas, hiring an editor may not solve it.
Decide what you will do with the time you recover. A useful hiring goal could be recording one extra episode or protecting a weekly planning block. Compare that benefit with the fee and the time you will still spend briefing and reviewing.
- Hours spent editing versus hours spent giving feedback.
- Uploads missed specifically because an edit was unfinished.
- A realistic plan for the time a dedicated editor could free.