Freelance Proofreading Jobs Out There

by guest autor Jackie Masloff

At any given time, there are numerous freelance proofreading jobs out there. If your vocabulary is respectable, you can compose a reasonable sentence and you know how to conjugate verbs, you are qualifed to do freelance proofreading jobs. The question is how do you go about getting them?

There many ways to find proofreading jobs. Try out temp agencies or other third party organizations; they may have listings of companies looking for proofreaders.

Search the Internet for freelance proofreading jobs out there. Also look around your local community. Perhaps there is a town weekly or monthly publication that needs proofreaders for their articles or there are other organizations that publish newsletters.

Maybe you live in a college town with students always looking for someone to proofread their papers. Printed text is everywhere and you need to focus your search and determine where to start.

Before you can become a proofreader, you need to learn the language of proofreading, that is, the standard proofreading/editing marks. These marks tell the typesetter or page layout artist where and what corrections need to be made to the printed material.

Purchase “The Chicago Manual of Style”. That outlines the standard proofreading marks, and how and where they appear around text. Practice using them before you take on your first proofreading job.

If you cannot find paid freelance proofreading jobs out there, then try some proofreading work on a volunteer basis.

Ask at your church, one of the local schools or volunteer organizations and do it for no charge in exchange for some words of appreciation at the end of the document: “This newsletter was proofread by Tim, the Text King.” This does not necessarily mean the work was done for free but rather verifies who did the service. Work on several assignments, build a small clientele and then ask them if they would serve as references for you.

Then do some advertising. Creating brochures, business cards and fliers can be done professionally these days with a computer and printer. Take these pieces and bring them to print shops, graphics design shops, and publishing firms, as well as tacking fliers in local businesses that have public bulletin boards, such as the library, stores and shops like Mail Boxes, Etc.

Also set up a web page. Many companies will offer free web space if you have an email account with them or offer very low cost monthly payments. You can do this easily, often with templates provided by the organizations that are hosting your web site.

People browse the web and will often find you this way, a great time-saver.

Another worthwhile investment for freelance proofreading jobs out there is a plain paper fax machine, which can facilitate the turning around of jobs.

Be prepared for earning a variety of rates. Some people pay by the word, such as $1 for a 500-word article or by the project at perhaps $10 to $15 per project. Stay flexible in the rates you are willing to accept if you want to get the freelance proofreading jobs out there.

With regard to payment, you may have to wait for a check for several weeks unless you set yourself up a PayPal account. With this in hand, you can invoice your clients online and they can pay you within a day or two if not almost immediately.

If you are determined to freelance and get proofreading jobs, then you need self-discipline to spend the time to do quality work and meet deadlines. Volunteer at first to learn the skills, build up a small clientele, do some advertising and then you will be on your way to getting the freelance proofreading jobs out there.

Jackie Masloff is a freelance writer who specializes in writing original articles, web content and editing. When she is not writing, she teaches computer technology courses at several colleges in the Boston area. She previously was a public school teacher, teaching computer technology to middle and high school students. She holds degrees in architecture, computer science and instructional technology.

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