How to make money proofreading
The ways to make money proofreading
Nowadays the number of websites is constantly growing, which technically means the increased demand for specialists, who can process information and get it out to the target audience.
What is proofreading?
For most people proofreading is the process of fixing spelling mistakes, but as you have probably guessed it is not that simple.
First, the material is being processed by copy-editors, who check it for readability, accuracy, and logical flow and only after a designer or typesetter, the work hands over to proofreaders. Their aim is to make sure the product can be published. Text and images are being checked for presentation and consistency.
What are the primary proofreader skills?
To become a specialist in this sphere, you ought to have the next following skills:
- attentiveness;
- perseverance;
- stress tolerance;
- mastery of text editing techniques;
- perfect knowledge of grammar and punctuation;
- ability to work with programs, handbooks and other resources that help to improve the quality of text checking;
- knowledge of typographic principles (how to process the text correctly, what is strictly prohibited for publication).
This is the basic proofreader skill set. It is also should be mentioned, that in most cases the higher linguistic or philological education is required, especially when it comes to academic editing jobs.
Where can I get the orders?
There are many job offers with direct cooperation with clients on the Web. On the other hand it may turn out to be not reliable because of the big quantity of fraudsters on this type of platforms, but fortunately, there is another option available – copyediting market with a variety of new orders every day.
What are the pros and cons of being a proofreader?
Before plunging into the new sphere it would be useful to consider some of the pros and cons involved in this business.
The pros:
- opportunity for telecommuting ;
- demand in the labour market;
- regular income that is no dependent on circumstances;
- formal training or certificates are not required.
The cons:
- monotonous work;
- poor career prospects;
- meeting deadlines can be tight.
Could I be a proofreader?
If you consider the proofreading as a career, you should pay attention to some of your skills and habits. The first thing to be mentioned is understanding your competitive ability: make sure your punctuation, word usage and spelling are on the right level to help you to spot any types of errors. This brings us to the next distinctive feature is inherent for proofreaders: love of reading. Books, web sites, newspapers…it is an integral part of people in this profession. You also can’t imagine a proofreader without solid computer skills and knowledge of the stylebooks. The last ones are irreplaceable helpers when working with text for publication. Finally, the key to success is formal training. It can be high-school courses, online tutorials, or post-secondary education.
Proofreading can help you not only with earnings, but also gives you a chance to learn a world of new and exciting information, broaden your horizons and enhance professional level. Put a little time, patience, and love for your job, and the result will be not long in coming!