Should you’re a professional at recognizing spelling or grammar errors, proofreading could possibly be an effective way so that you can make some extra cash. Right here’s Edee’s story for inspiration on how you’ll find proofreading jobs.
“Are you any good at proofreading?”
I used to be a second grade trainer on the time and the person asking me was the grandfather of one in every of my college students. He was additionally, because it turned out, a science fiction creator with an enormous fan following.
“Sure, truly, I’m,” I replied. I used to be born for it.
The subsequent week, Grampa confirmed up in school with a cardboard field containing a 300-something web page manuscript, a pad of tiny sticky notes and a blue ballpoint pen.
I left the educating occupation in 2010 and began writing in 2011. I had been proofreading for Grampa since 2006. In 2018 I made a decision I needed to make an actual go at freelance proofreading. I had the spelling, grammar and punctuation abilities, however after Grampa’s sticky-note system, I knew I wanted observe doing it electronically.
I did some analysis and located Caitlin Pyle’s Proofread Anywhere. By way of the course, I gained some new abilities, picked up sources I wanted and have become a thousand instances extra assured that I may truly do that.
Two years later I’m working steadily at a tempo excellent for me. I’ve discovered my area of interest market, repeatedly deliver on new purchasers and I’m watching my revenue improve steadily. (And sure, I nonetheless proofread for Grampa, however now he’s a paying shopper.)
Easy methods to discover proofreading jobs
On the lookout for on-line proofreading jobs?
Earlier than we let you know the place to seek out proofreading jobs, there are some steps you may take to make sure you’re arrange for fulfillment.
Get coaching
Look. I get it. For years, I used to be a college spelling bee champ. I cringe once I see apostrophes used for a plural. I’m that particular person folks hate in on-line remark sections as a result of I refuse to take a publish significantly when there are a ton of spelling errors.
However I additionally knew I wanted some tremendous tuning (When to use a semicolon, anybody?). You’ll have been a champion at sentence diagramming, however there are manner too many grammar rules. Nobody can know all of them.
A course like Proofread Anywhere can provide the observe, abilities and sources you have to be a top-quality proofreader.
Construct a portfolio
You may’t get a job with out expertise, however you may’t get expertise with out a job. Gah!
Should you’re keen to do some free work to construct your proofreading portfolio, head over to Mission Gutenberg. Mission Gutenberg takes print books with expired copyrights and places them into e-book kind, and so they want lots of volunteers to assist proofread all of them.
If you already know somebody who owns an internet site, ask if you happen to can proofread it for them. All of it provides up!
Know your price
I can not stress this sufficient! Twenty years in the past Stacy Brice of AssistU stated to me, “Folks can pay you no matter you suppose you might be price.” More true phrases had been by no means spoken.
Does this imply you need to begin out on the highest finish of the dimensions? No. However don’t promote your self brief, both.
The EFA has a comprehensive rate chart for editors and proofreaders. It’s an incredible place to begin.
Determine what you need to be paid, and keep it up. It could imply taking a cross on initiatives once in a while, however you’ll have a fatter checking account in the long term.
6 locations to search for proofreading jobs
You’ve gone via coaching. You’ve set your charges. You’ve constructed your web site. You’re prepared.
The place are the purchasers? Whenever you begin searching for proofreading jobs on-line, you’ll encounter lots of firms which might be providers for writers. All of them require making use of and organising an account.
Some are free, some take flat charges and a few take a proportion of your gross sales.
Under are seven on-line firms that enable you to assist writers put their greatest work into the world. I’ve listed them so as of price to you, which tends to be proportional to the expertise required and the charges you’ll gather out of your purchasers.
1. Fiverr
Should you’re new to proofreading and seeking to construct your portfolio, Fiverr is a superb place to get began.
Fiverr is a web based freelance platform that connects gifted professionals with writers in want of enhancing and/or proofreading.
You create a free account, the place you turn out to be a “vendor” and create “gigs” for your self. It’s a hip manner of claiming you create a profile for your self and get added to their listing, the place purchasers can search you out. You’ll compete towards different proofreaders for work. The extra initiatives you full with excessive satisfaction scores, the extra initiatives you’ll snag.
You could not receives a commission the massive bucks right here, and you will have to navigate genuine jobs vs. shady job, however most locations for locating proofreading work both have a giant payment or have a lot of hoops to leap via and require lots of expertise.
Fiverr is free to affix and is usually a actually good method to get your ft moist and begin constructing a portfolio. They can even act as a go-between and make sure you receives a commission. You’ll set your personal charge, however Fiverr retains 20 p.c of what you invoice.
Expertise stage: Supreme for these simply beginning out
Value to affix: Free
The corporate’s take: 20%
2. Upwork
An alternative choice for newbies is Upwork.
As with Fiverr, it’s a web based freelance platform the place you’ll compete towards different proofreaders for work. You set your personal charge, and Upwork acts as a buffer between you and your shopper to be sure to are paid.
On Upwork, you might be invited to bid on jobs, and so they have a barely extra complicated billing system than Fiverr.
Upwork retains 20 p.c for the primary $500 you invoice a particular shopper, 10 p.c if you happen to earn between $500.01 and $10,000 with that shopper, and 5 p.c if the quantity exceeds $10,000.
Word that this doesn’t embody all your billings, reasonably it’s for quantities paid to a person shopper. The higher your scores, the extra initiatives you’ll be capable to bid on.
Once more right here, it’s possible you’ll not make the massive bucks, however lots of people who undergo the Proofread Anyplace course use Upwork and Fiverr to begin constructing a portfolio and earn cash. Finally it’s possible you’ll discover you’ve bought a properly padded checking account. A fellow graduate just lately introduced she’d hit the $10k mark!
One other benefit to Upwork is the how-to movies that enable you to learn to seek for the appropriate work, how you can bid, how you can write contracts, and extra. What you study there interprets to the remainder of the freelancer world, so why not take benefit?
Expertise stage: Supreme for these simply beginning out
Value to affix: Free
The corporate’s take: Upwork retains 20 p.c for the primary $500 you invoice a particular shopper, 10 p.c if you happen to earn between $500.01 and $10,000 with that shopper, and 5 p.c if the quantity exceeds $10,000
3. Scribendi
Scribendi considers all freelance editors to be unbiased contractors. Should you meet their necessities, you’ll have to fill out a rigorous utility, which incorporates employment historical past, references and a abilities take a look at.
You’ll decide and select which initiatives you need to tackle. Scribendi covers a broad vary of writing initiatives, together with manuscripts, ESL, educational, enterprise, pupil,and private (suppose resumés and private paperwork). Reviewers say they common $15 to $20 per hour.
Expertise stage: Supreme for proofreaders with a minimal of three years expertise
Value to affix: Free
Firm’s take: None
4. ProofreadingPal
Are you in graduate faculty? Do you could have a graduate diploma and not less than 5 years of proofreading expertise?
ProofreadingPal presents proofreading for all kinds of writing, together with enterprise, educational, and books and manuscripts.
Apply to work for ProofreadingPal by way of the web utility the best way you’d for another job. It’s considerably rigorous, however doesn’t require you to have a minimal of revealed titles below your belt.
Ought to ProofreadingPal invite you to proceed the appliance course of, you’ll take a timed take a look at. Do properly, and also you’re in. You can be an unbiased contractor, which implies they take no charges from you. In line with their web site, you could have the potential to earn between $500 and $3,000 per thirty days.
Expertise stage: Minimal of 5 years of expertise with graduate diploma
Value to affix: None
Firm’s take: None
5. The Editorial Freelancers Association
The Editorial Freelancers Affiliation (EFA) is a membership-driven website requiring annual dues. The dues are a bit steep, however might be well worth the funding.
The place different freelance firms both add you to a listing or allow you to bid on job postings, EFA does each.
Whenever you arrange your profile it is possible for you to to decide on a lot of key phrases that can enable you to present up in a possible shopper’s search. Shoppers are additionally capable of browse the listing. There’s a members-only space the place you may look via job postings, and you’ll decide to obtain day by day job postings by way of e-mail.
You may set your personal charges, because the EFA acknowledges you as an unbiased enterprise. Apart from serving to freelancers and writers join, the EFA additionally presents on-line lessons, a lot of that are free to EFA members.
(P.S. That is my favourite place for locating proofreading jobs.)
Expertise stage: Ranges from simply beginning out to extremely skilled
Value to affix: $145 for one yr or $260 for 2 years
Firm’s take: None
6. The Web + networking
I do know. It appears broad and oversimplified on the similar time. However networking can get you to date!
Be a part of a bunch for proofreaders on LinkedIn or comply with some proofreading associated hashtags on Twitter. Take part discussions. Quote the Chicago Handbook of Fashion. Hyperlink to Merriam-Webster. Generally a proofreader may have a shopper or potential shopper who wants work outdoors the scope of what the proofreader does or has time to do.
Should you’ve contributed high quality data in discussions about proofreading, you’ll discover one other proofreader will belief her shopper with you. My title was talked about in an article about writing phases and I acquired a flood of inquiries, most of which led to proofreading jobs, and several other of these jobs led to referrals to new purchasers.
Is there a weblog you’re keen on, nevertheless it’s stuffed with errors? Attain out and ask in the event that they’d be involved in having your proofread earlier than they publish. A fast, prime quality job may result in extra work with them. They might refer you to different bloggers to proofread for his or her websites, as properly.
Significantly. Do a great job for the appropriate shopper and they’ll inform everyone they know.
No utility, no charges, simply you, your professionalism, and your data.
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