Student and proofreading. Posting for traffic

[LMW1990]

Hi All,

Posting for traffic.

Have you, or your DC, used a proofreading service for their coursework, thesis, dissertation etc?

If so, where did you find the person or company you used? How much was the going rate?

I currently offer typing services to various sectors and clients. I am looking to branch into proofreading, mainly for students, but I am struggling to think of where the best places to advertise would be.

I'd be interested to hear from people who have used such a service and how they came about the person/ company they used.

TIA.

I know at my university PHD students offered proofreading services to undergraduates etc. Normally advertised through social media or noticeboards around the campus.

My ds used the in house proof reading service for both his BA and MA dissertations. It cost him making me lots of tea when he was home and dishwasher duty for the foreseeable future!

Uni noticeboard?

My dc use me.

Proofreading is a very skilled job, particularly if there is copyediting involved. On some jobs I charge £25 per hour or I assess the work involved and give a figure. I don't advertise - word of mouth is the best way. There are some very poor proofreaders out there.

Proofreading and copy editing are two different jobs!

Not necessarily. Proofreading and copyediting are often done as one package - it's what I do for a living. Copyediting is much more skilled though - particularly if the work is problematic.

Thanks all!

I had a feeling some parents may offer their services!

I think my target market may be foreign students (which would undoubtedly require some form of copyediting as @punkatheart has pointed out). I have provided this service previously for friends of friends and through people I know, but I would like to pick up some work to add to my existing clients.

I work part time for the NHS as a medical typist and we have a lot of student nurses and doctors in the hospital (we are a teaching trust).I wonder if there is a specific area where students who work at the hospital receive news and adverts?

It's a great advantage if you have a specific knowledge in a field like medicine.

Helping non-English writers finalise their manuscripts is really rewarding and interesting. I once did some work for a Japanese academic whose English wasn't quite good enough for him to submit an article to a journal without a bit of polishing, and I really enjoyed it. I think I charged him my normal copy-editing rate plus about 20%. However, students would generally be too cash-strapped for that.

The reason I mentioned the difference between copy-editing and proofing is partly that you'd specified the latter but also because it is a so much more extensive job that I doubt that students would generally be in a position to pay for it. When I last worked for academic publishers it was upwards of £2000 for a book-sized publication, depending on complexity. However, academic proofing is often charged at as little as £1.00 to £1.50 per page. (The rates are much higher in more commercial publishing sectors.)

I guess you'd be doing something more informal than either proofing or copy-editing, though, and would quote on a case-by-case basis depending on what was required.

I often commission informal 'proofing' that is not really proofing (more of a general read-through for slip ups and infelicities) at around £20 an hour. But That is for a business publisher. I think you'd be looking at a lot less for students.

As far as getting work goes, it looks like you are already in a really good position since you have lots of contacts!

Please be aware that students need to be careful of academic misconduct I.e. plagiarism, collusion and in this case commissioning. If you change too much it would become your work and not the students. In such cases the student could be penalised and receive a 0 for the piece of work. If it is not a first offence they could be required to resit the year or withdraw from the university.

While proofreading is acceptable copy editing is not. Also you should make it clear that the student does not need to accept your changes. They also need to keep a copy of the original, any version you edit or proof read and the final version (this is all just in case of an academic misconduct issue).

Hope it works out.