Any proofreaders working from home out there?

[Wisteria]

My name has been given to a local magazine to help them with some proofreading but need to know what the going rate is these days, as they will undoubtedly ask me how much I charge when they ring!

I understand completely if it's not something to post on a public board but would be very grateful if anyone could point me in the right kind of direction!

Email if easier to [email protected]

TIA

Hello Wisteria
The going rate for proofreading is around £14 per hour. Varies a lot, and the official rates suggested by the Society of Freelance Proofreaders and Editors is much more, but in reality no one gets this much! So around £13-£15 is what most people charge.I'm not a freelancer but work at a publisher (when not having babies) and deal with freelancers all the time.
Hope that helps,
PiperG

Piper - thank you so much for answering (I've only just noticed ).... That's just what I needed to know! I won't sound unprofessional when/ if they call now!

Many thanks again xx

Hi Wisteria, I am looking for a career change, have you just trained to do this or done it for ages? What training did you do and what are prospects for getting enough work to support self? (at around £15.00 per hour

No idea I'm afraid - I've been doing it for friends who are authors for free since I left school and at work with publications etc for a long time.

I used to read and review books for Puffin when I was a child (Mum was supposed to be doing it but I was faster and had more time) - I have no specific qualifications although I seem to have this bizarre talent freakish trait which enables me to spot spelling mistakes without actually reading the pages (they just jump out at me) and I can speed read at a scary pace (so I've been told).

Sorry I can't help you any further but I do believe there are courses you can take (often advertised in the back of the Sunday papers).

The last time it came up with my friend - who's being doing this for years - it was £15 an hour.

ok thanks guys, but i have read another thread that these sunday courses aren't worth much and employers don't rate them

I must admit that's why I've never considered it. Why don't you write to a few magazines/ small companies and offer your services.

One of my friends told me it was much more common to be employed through word of mouth anyway, not sure how true that is though...

I used to be a freelance proofreader - before that was an editor dealing with proofreaders all the time, and I had an inch-thick file full of letters from people who had done those correspondence courses: very rarely would I send them any work though. If you are interested in doing a course, the Book House ones were considered the best back in my day: www.train4publishing.co.uk but really Wisteria is right that most freelance jobs come via word of mouth: in a 5 year freelance career all my work came from either former employers or former colleagues who had gone on to work at other publishers. One thing that would help is if you've got any particular interests/knowledge: you could approach specialist book publishers or trade mags on spec and see if they have any work for you.

Sorry to sound so negative but it's really not that easy to find work - publishing is quite a 'closed shop' in a lot of ways and really does function on word of mouth, friends of friends etc. Those ads in magazines make me quite cross as I think they do offer a lot of false hope (particularly the ones suggesting you can earn £20/hour! the most I got was £17.50/hour but on average I would say £14 is about right).