Thinking about how to become a proofreader although you have no experience? Great for you!
This article will walk you through everything you need to learn in order to become a proofreader.
What is a proofreader?
A proofreader is someone who checks copy (articles, books, e-books, ads, magazines, courses, etc.) and makes sure there are no grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes, before the copy goes to print or gets published online.
Many people confuse editing and proofreading.
The difference is that the editor checks the first draft of a copy and can make big changes, such as deleting or adding text, restructuring the entire copy, while the proofreader checks the final copy after it’s been already checked by the editor.
What skills do proofreaders need?
If you’re interested in knowing how to become a proofreader but you don’t have a degree, don’t get discouraged.
While, yes, many companies require an English language degree, many others don’t.
Besides, if you don’t want to be an employee but you are thinking of starting an online proofreading business, you absolutely won’t need a degree, as usually clients look for other things when contracting a freelance proofreader, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
In order to start working as a proofreader you need to be proficient in English (or other languages that you want to work with), including grammar, spelling, and punctuation, you need to be detail-oriented, have an eye for mistakes, be able to meet deadlines and, last but not least, to be an avid reader.
These skills can be acquired through any type of work experience therefore, the good news is that you can become a proofreader even as a beginner with no proofreading experience.
How many proofreading jobs are out there?
If you are worried about demand, know that there are thousands of proofreading jobs available, even now, despite the bad economic situation.
To put this into perspective, there are currently 2 billion websites out there.
These are just websites, not taking into consideration the thousands or hundreds of thousands of magazines, newspapers, books being created every day, and marketing copy (brochures, pamphlets, flyers, etc.) for thousands of companies that require proofreading.
How to become a proofreader?
First, whichever path you choose in learning how to become a proofreader, whether working for a company or working for yourself, you need to educate yourself and invest in yourself.
This is one of the most important steps you need to take in starting a career as a proofreader.
I meant what I said earlier that you don’t need a degree in order to become a proofreader, however you need to have a solid ground to get started, and what better way to do that than to learn from the best in the industry?
Meet Caitlin!
Caitlin is one of the most successful proofreaders out there.
She has created a highly successful freelance proofreading business and is now teaching others how to become a proofreader.
You can click below to join her free workshop to learn the skills you need to start your freelance proofreading hustle.
If you’re ready to take it a step further, she offers a paid course, which is one of the best proofreading courses, that will guide you through everything you need to learn and know in order to start a successful proofreading career and business.
The course includes 40+ lessons in several modules:
- Introduction to General Proofreading
- Get into the Right Mindset
- Proofreading Basics
- Proofreading Methods and Practice
- Turning Proofreading into a Business
- Finding Clients
- Your Workflow once you Get the Job
- Getting the Most Out of the Freelancing Life
Besides, you will also get:
- 8 grammar-specific worksheets
- 40+ real-life example jobs
- Student workbook and syllabus
- Pep talk videos from Caitlin
- 8 module quizzes
- 100-question in depth vocabulary quiz
- 3 case studies
- New and updated lessons
And for all her students, Caitlin offers the following bonus resources:
- Look Better in Writing Handbook of Commonly Misused (and Abused!) Words
- The Ultimate Freelancer Tax Guide
- The Mindset Mastery Guide
- Mindset Shifts for Goal-Crushing Confidence
You will also gain access to Caitlin’s Facebook support group, which is priceless.
In this course she provides you with all the tools that you need to succeed, however what you need to understand is that success doesn’t come over night and just taking the course is not enough in order to become a 6-figure freelance proofreader, you actually need to apply what Caitlin is teaching in the course.
Having said this, if you’re ready to make a career change and learn how to get started as a proofreader today, you can enroll in Caitlin’s course below:
Where to find proofreading jobs?
If you’re not yet ready to dive into starting your own business but you’d still love to become a proofreader and have the flexibility of working remotely, I couldn’t recommend FlexJobs enough.
FlexJobs is the leading job service for remote jobs, posting new proofreading jobs from home on a weekly basis.
What makes FlexJobs stand out from the other websites, is the fact that all the jobs on their website are hand-screened.
The team at FlexJobs screens every single job before posting it on the portal, so you can be assured that you won’t encounter any illegitimate or scam jobs.
FlexJobs is a subscription based website for jobs particularly for the reasons I have mentioned above, however they do have a 30 day money-back policy, which I believe it’s a fair deal.
You can sign up for FlexJobs and check their available Proofreading Jobs here.
A final note on becoming a proofreader
If you are really considering becoming a proofreader, there’s no better time to start than now. Demand is growing every year and even though you might not have any experience in proofreading, it’s never too late to start.
Acquiring skills that allow you to work remotely opens so many doors that you better open sooner rather than later.
Even if you are afraid of starting your own business, you can start working as a proofreader on the side of your full-time job, if you still have one, and then transition to building a business or working full-time as a proofreader.
I started this website 18 months back while I was still an employee.
Now I make a full-time income working from home and couldn’t be happier I took this decision when I took and I advice anyone who has the means to do the same and start working online.
Whether it is becoming a proofreader, a blogger, a freelance writer or simply finding a remote job, now it’s the time to take the leap and start working online.
If you are still looking for a job, below is a resume template that you can purchase in order to create a modern-looking resume that will surely land you a job interview.
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Click on the image below to check it out.
Thanks for these great tips! Super helpful for someone looking to get into the field
this is interesting. good option too if I prefer to work from home.