What job can I do from my home ?

[Binker]

I am a freelance illustrator and work from home,but this is quite a precarious occupation (lots of time between jobs)- I'd really like to continue to be able to work at home,so that I can fit in any illustration work that comes my way,but also have a regular income (I don't expect to earn a lot,but it all helps). I know there are lots of threads about home working around but I can't pinpoint anything specific- can anyone advise/guide me. Is there something I can do using my computer ? Any ideas gratefully received !

Binker

I'm currently doing a correspondence proofreading course hoping that will provide some work I can do at home when my children start school. You need a good knowledge of grammar and punctuation and a good eye for detail (which you must have as an illustrator!). The course I'm doing is expensive (£375) but I did some research and it is supposed to be the best course of its kind. I don't know how easy it will be to find work once I've finished it though, I was going to ask Mumsnetters myself in a few months time! It might not be what you're looking for but if you're interested I'd be happy to tell you more about it.

Fionn - yes ! that sounds interesting- I'd love to hear more - thank you !

My childminder is doing a similar course but is quite shy about seeking work, so I would also be very grateful if anyone can share experiences about finding work in this field. I may lose my childminder in the process but she's lovely so I feel I owe her!

What about medical transcription. Not exactly sure what this is.I just know you can do it from home and make decent money.

Binker
A good starting place is the website for The Society of Freelance Editors and Proofreaders (www.sfep.org.uk). The Society recommends the course that I'm doing, Basic Proofreading by Gillian Clarke, run by the Publishing Training Centre. As I've said, it is expensive. There's another course run by Chapter House which is much much cheaper, they do gimmicky ads in the Guardian asking you to spot the errors in the ad. I've been told however by a friend in publishing that the PTC course is the one recognised by the industry. The PTC apparently let you post your details on their site when you finish the course as a means of getting work. Chapter House apparently exist only to make money!
It appealed to me because I'm one of those people who drive friends mad by exclaiming with horror whenever I see a misplaced (or non-existent) apostrophe on cafe boards and grammar errors in marketing literature, toy packaging, magazines etc etc!
They estimate 5-6 months to do the course, around 35 hours. I have a 1.5 yr old and a 3.5 yr old so only have 1-3 hours a week to do it in the 2 afternoons when one is at my parents and the youngest asleep. In fact I should be doing it now, but I keep going on to Mumsnet!
I'm really enjoying it, it's a very clear course to follow. You read a unit, do practice exercises then send off an assignment to a tutor. There are 5 assignments to send off, I'm not even half way through yet.
The Publishing Training Centre can be contacted on 020 8874 2718, email: [email protected] website:www.train4publishing.co.uk
Let me know if you want to know more.

Fionn,
do you know what are the work opportunities for proofreading scientific/engineering stuff? I'd do this course if it would lead to some extra income! Realistically, will you get regular work?

Fionn-thank you-I'll check it out ! You sound like me - I'm always ranting about bad grammar and spellings (have even corrected teachers at my son's school !)

sml - I really don't know what the chances are of getting work having done this course. I wanted to do the course to use my brain again after being at home for 4 years and do seriously hope to earn income from it when my children are school age When I finish the course I'll find out more. I know that virtually all publishers use freelance proofreaders these days rather than have them on the staff, but I don't know how many proofreaders are out there chasing the work! I have heard from different sources though that any legal/scientific/technical/educational proofreading is the best paid as everyone wants to do the exciting suff like novels but not so many proofreaders have the background/knowledge for the specialist stuff, so you could be on to a good thing if that's your area. You could try contacting SFEP, they might be able to advise.

Fionn, I'm doing a Book House course too - the editing one. Recently started - I've just got my second module back from the tutor, and got better grades than I expected - it was quite tough. I'm finding it quite hard to get the old brain cells going, especially 6 pm in the evening, which is when I usually have time. How are you getting on?

Excellent course though - came highly recommended to me, and I would echo that.

I'm fortunate in that I've worked in publishing before, and a publisher is paying for my course, and is desperate to give me work. So hopefully will stick with me and be patient when I actually finish, whilst I'm still on a steep learning curve.

KMG That's interesting! I am vaguely thinking that if I get on well with this course and can earn money proofreading, I might consider the Editing course at a later stage. I toyed with the idea of going into publishing when I left university but never pursued it and after having spent 10 years doing this and that and nearly 4 years at home, I'm beginning to think I missed my vocation! Sometimes I worry though I just want to be like the editor Karen in Cold Feet and have an affair with Sean Pertwee!
I've completed 2 of the 5 modules and had good marks, which is encouraging. I really do enjoy having to concentrate on something again, though as I know nothing about publishing process I have to keep working out the process of editing/proofreading/typesetting etc to see where what proofreaders do comes into the whole thing. I'm being lazy at the moment, haven't done any for 3 weeks what with a holiday then friends staying. I need to get back into the swing of it.
Did you work for a book publisher?

Fionn- have just checked out the website for your course -am really keen. I wondered how one could find out about jobs after finishing the course/how much competition there is etc- I have contacts in children's book publishing from my illustration-they may possibly shed some light.

I've checked out the website too, and am seriously considering it.

Don't want to be a downer...but I trained as a proofreader and sub-editor 10 years ago (although you wouldn't believe it if you went by my mumsnet postings!) and have worked as a copywriter for years, but work is still very, very thin on the ground! Granted, I don't have any specialist areas of expertise, I think if you are medically/technically trained that gaining work may be easier. It is VERY hard to get into a publishers 'bank' of proofreaders.

However, on the brighter side, the Open University often need proofreaders and have a huge 'bank' that you could apply to after your course is finished.

Good luck!

Enid, re copywriting, freelance work thin on the ground - don't I know it! The world of advertising is certainly not bouyant at the moment. Usually I've picked up some freelance work pretty easily.

Most of the perm and temp copywriting posts are in the health field. Otherwise it's very stagnant.

Don't know how relevant this is to proof reading, but it must have some impact on work prospects in the next few months at least. Lets hope there's an upturn soon.

tigermoth, it doesn't help that I have relocated to the South West...mmm, Dorset, home of the blue chip, fashion-oriented advertising agency. Not.

Enid - ooerr ! I'm planning to move to Dorset next year,so things sound a bit bleak for a proof reading career...

Fionn - my previous job was in music publishing.

I'm quite fortunate to have good contacts with three different book publishers - all of whom have said they have great difficulty finding good editors ... unfortunately a good editor is an experienced editor, who can do the work well and fast (therefore costs less), so it will take a while to get there. Editing is not easy, and you won't know if you're up to the job until you actually do it. At the moment I have an agreement just to work for the one publisher who is paying for my course, as long as they have work to offer me.

If you are considering a course, I would think it might be worthwhile phoning some small publishers, and asking whether they struggle to find freelancers. You may be able to find one willing to pay your course fees as an advance against future work. This means;
(a) you don't have the initial outlay, but more importantly
(b) they have some commitment to you, and are more likely to offer you work in the early months when you are still learning on the job and getting into the swing of things.

Good Luck!

Enid and KMG, thanks for the advice! I used to teach English as a Foreign Language and a friend still in the business tells me that there is a demand for proofreaders for EFL textbooks, so that could be an avenue worth pursuing when it comes to looking for work.

Fionn, How are you getting on with your course?

KMG - I've completed 3 of the 5 tutor-marked assessments and am really pleased because I've had very good marks which will hopefully increase my chances of getting work when I've finished the course. I'm going slow on at it at the moment though - I do it when the youngest is asleep and the oldest at nursery or at my parents, so I'm using the time instead now to do some gardening and spring-cleaning as I realised the house was looking a bit neglected! I'm still very committed to it though and hope to complete it in the autumn.

Fionn - how are you getting on? Did you finish the course? Have you been successful in finding work?

KMG - thanks for asking! I'm just working on the final assignment and hope to have it in the post in the next week or two. My youngest son dropped his daytime sleep a few months ago so I lost the precious afternoon time when I did most of the course.
I'm still enjoying it, but made a stupid mistake in the 4th assignment, misunderstanding the meaning of 1/2 line as opposed to a line space - and being the impatient person I am, I didn't ring my tutor to ask for advice but just did what I thought would be ok and sent it off, which gave me a lower than usual mark for that assignment. That disappointed me (but taught me a lesson!) and I took a while to get into it again but have been working hard at it since Christmas.
I won't have the time for any work until September, when ds1 will be in Reception and ds2 at morning nursery school. I'm wary of seeking work just yet in case I get too much (very unlikely, I know!), but when I've finished the course I'm going to start looking at places to approach. Every time I read one of my sons' comics (especially Thomas!) I splutter at how bad the punctuation is, so they'll be on my list eventually!
Have you finished your Editing course?