Proofreading

[peppaandgeorge]

Hi
I've been thinking about undertaking a proofreading course to allow me to do this around looking after my 2 children. I'm actually looking for work as an NVQ Assessor but there's none around at the moment so I'm looking at something really flexible, hence the proofreading.

Does anyone out there do this? How do you get into it? How do you got about finding work once qualified? Any pitfalls I should be aware of? I'm used to being self-employed and working on a freelance basis so none of that will be new for me.

Any tips/hints gratefully received!!

First of all, visit the Society for Editors and Proofreaders for tips and advice, and see which courses they recognise.

But I'll warm you, it's a VERY tough business to get into. I tried to set up a business for well over a year, wrote endless letters to editors trying to drum up work and didn't get a single job. Just one or two offers from students to look at theses.

I think the only surefire way to get into proofreading/editing freelance is to work in the business first and then strike out on your own once you've built up some contacts.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.

Thanks Annie

It's sort of what I feared. And that you need a lot of experience before they'll give you the work. I have a Masters in Translation and have the same problem, i.e. can't get work as I don't have experience but how do I get the experience? Aaargh!!

Hi - I'm a freelance copy-editor/proof-reader and have been fre;ance for 10 years. The OPs above are right - to get into proofreading you really have to have contacts. I used to work for a STM publisher whcih was taken over and everyone made redundant - so I started out on my own using all my contacts! f you want to do a course the only one to do is the Society of Freelance Editors and Proofreaders one - www.sfep.org.uk/ - and they also run courses on getting started in editing etc. But all I can recommend is offering to do a proofreading test for a publishe, or proofread some work for free for them to show them that you're capable. Good luck.

Would second CocktailQueen's post. It is definitely down to contacts - I don't know any freelancers who didn't first work in-house. Setting up as a proofreader for students is a good idea, though.

I'd look into using the language skills for proof-reading dodgy translations. A lot of translators (myself included) shy away from proof-reading work and I'm constantly being asked to proof-read documents when I'd rather translate.

I know it's not what you asked, but do you have a profile as a translator/proof-reader on www.proz.com? Translating and proof-reading work well together, as the skills are similar. I wouldn't rule it out yet ...