How To Become A Freelance Proofreader

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Are you looking for a new job?

Proofreading is the perfect way to turn your love of the English language into a money-making, flexible career. You can decide when and where you work, how much money you make, and who your clients are.

There are lots of ways to start proofreading, but the best way is with a course from Proofread Anywhere. And with Caitlin Pyle’s free workshop on proofreading basics, you can start today!

In less than two hours, you’ll learn how to start a proofreading business, find clients, and set your rates.

Proofreading is an important step in the process of sharing any written content. By catching and correcting errors, proofreaders help ensure that the final product is polished and error-free. And as the demand for quality content increases, so does the need for good proofreaders.

What is proofreading?

Proofreaders are responsible for ensuring content is error-free. They look at spelling, grammar, and punctuation to make sure the text is perfectly polished before it’s ready for the world to see. It differs slightly from editing in that often a proofreader will not focus on things like sentence structure or tone. 

Some types of proofreading jobs you might find are for:

• Webpages
• Blog posts
• Magazine articles
• Essays
• Transcripts
• Legal papers
• Ad copy

A proofreader comes in at the last stage of the editing process. At this point, an editor or copyeditor has already run through the material so it’s uber important to have the utmost attention to detail.  

Proofreaders have a crucial role in the editing process since they’re the last eyes to read for revisions. If you’re a detail-oriented, type-A personality who enjoys reading or writing, this job was probably made for you.

Related Post: How To Start A Freelance Writing Business

How do I start proofreading?

You don’t need a special degree to make it as a proofreader, but you will need particular skills. 

High proficiency in English is a must–you need to be meticulous when it comes to finding errors, and you won’t be able to if you’re not familiar with best practices of grammar and spelling. If you find yourself a little rusty, you can use free resources online to sharpen your skills and even test them out with a quiz or two. 

After brushing up on your skills, you need to do some research on what proofreading jobs are available. This will allow you to see what businesses are looking for, and you can craft a resume that resonates accordingly. 

UpWork is one place you can use to start searching for gigs. By doing a quick search here for proofreading, UpWork generated over 2,000 jobs! Here are a couple of examples:

LinkedIn and Facebook groups are other great places to find job postings.

As you do your search, you’ll see there are different niches you can specialize in as well. For example, some proofreaders work primarily with authors, or others may specialize in the legal or medical field. 

If you have previous experience in a particular industry,  that may be a great place for you to start. It’s great to be open when you’re new to proofreading, but picking a niche is a powerful way to brand yourself professionally. 

Once you have an idea of what businesses are looking for, you can craft your resume around the experience and skills you have that are related to the job. 

If you have no previous experience, you might want to offer your services for free or at a discount in exchange for testimonials. You can also consider becoming a certified proofreader, which will give you more credibility. 

Once you have your resume done, and possibly a few references, you can start searching and applying to jobs right away.

Keep in mind that that like most freelance jobs, rates for proofreading vary widely. 

Entry-level proofreaders can earn around $25/hour. If you are more experienced, you might make anywhere from $35/hour to as much as $60-$100/hour! Pretty good potential for a side gig right?

Proofread Court Transcripts

If you’re serious about starting a proofreading business, it’s important to specialize in a particular niche. Court transcript proofreading is a great niche to focus on because there is always a high demand for skilled professionals in this field.

Court transcript proofreading is a specialized type of proofreading that focuses on the accurate transcription of spoken dialogue into written text.

Become A Freelance Proofreader 

If you’re interested in becoming a court transcript proofreader, I highly recommend enrolling in the free webinar from Caitlin for her Transcript Proofreading: Theory and Practice™ course. This in-depth training system will teach you everything you need to know about proofreading transcripts for accuracy and clarity.

The Transcript Proofreading: Theory and Practice™ course is an excellent investment, and I guarantee you that if you put in the hard work and dedication, you will be successful as a proofreader.

Oh, and did I mention that you’ll receive lifetime access to:

• Access to all new and updated course content — for life — at no extra cost
• A hand-graded exam
• A certificate of completion upon passing your exam with a grade of 90% or greater
• A listing in the Self-Publishing School (SPS) Preferred Outsourcer Rolodex (General Proofreading only)
• PLUS membership in an exclusive marketing mastermind group reserved just for PA Proofreaders with verified skills

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