Boogie Girl
Posts: 1034
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Posted At: 01/09/2008 15:04:27
Due to new government regulations I am dropping the book-keeping element of my freelance business support venture and am looking for something to fill the void.
I love spotting spelling and punctuation errors in books/newspapers/websites and wondered if it would be worth becoming a qualified proofreader.
Has anyone on the forum trained in this field or done it on a professional basis?
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AriesRebel
Posts: 1741
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Posted At: 01/09/2008 16:59:40
Done and doing, yes. How are you going to become qualified?
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Boogie Girl
Posts: 1034
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Posted At: 01/09/2008 17:29:59
There is a thriving market in selling courses in proofreading with Chapterhouse appearing to be the most respected training provider.
For every other service I provide I am qualified by experience but I'm not sure if that is sufficient in this particular area.
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BoringBear
Posts: 5815
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Posted At: 01/09/2008 18:03:28
I did contract work as a technical author; I had no formal training. I was often given proof reading tasks to do. I had no training in that either. What the client wants to know is can you do the job. They are not interested in formal qualifications, especially if it's contract work. Such has been my experience, anyway. I had a background in engineering, involving producing technical documentation. My background was all I needed to get work as a tech author.
I got the work through agents. Google technical author contracts. I was on £14 per hour back in the mid 1990s working partly on site and partly at home.
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Boogie Girl
Posts: 1034
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Posted At: 01/09/2008 18:19:43
Thank you Wallace, that sounds like a good place to start.
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BoringBear
Posts: 5815
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Posted At: 01/09/2008 18:30:31
I started taking a correspondence course in tech authoring but I soon saw the irrelevance of it after I started work. Chucked it in the bin week by week. Fortunately I wasn't paying for it; it was part of my redundancy/severance package  . |
Valerie Jackson-Powell
Posts: 599
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Posted At: 02/09/2008 19:48:48
I love spotting spelling and punctuation errors in books/newspapers/websites and wondered if it would be worth becoming a qualified proofreader.
My OH is exactly like this, gets extremely irritated at bad grammer and punctuation errors. He even has to underline the errors in books. Don't know how he puts up with me sometimes.
He would also be interested in proof reading so please pass on the information to get started.
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Lepidodendron
Posts: 30078
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Posted At: 02/09/2008 23:41:30
Hello Boogie Girl and anyone else interested in taking up proofreading!
I did a course in proofreading with the Publishing Training Centre several years ago. I was quite impressed by their professionalism and after completing the course (by distance learning), felt confident in my ability to work as a professional proofreader. I subsequently worked from home for a while, mainly proofreading articles for publication on behalf of a university. I enjoyed the work, and the fact that I could work from home, in my own time, was a bonus. Unfortunately I had to give it up as, although my sight is still good, it has 'aged' to the point where I'm not wholly confident that I can always spot errors in punctuation or distinguish an 'l' from a 'll' in small print, something to bear in mind when you're getting older! On the whole, though, I'd recommend it. I have just checked online and seen that the Publishing Training Centre has a website which you might like to investigate. Good luck!
Lepi
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AriesRebel
Posts: 1741
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Posted At: 03/09/2008 06:34:53
Nobody asks you for your qualifications in proofreading. All you have to do is build up your clientele by the proof of your work, hone up on your business writing skills through self-education from the net, and away you go.
Half of the so-called professionals on websites do not keep up with the changes in the writing of the English language. Half of the secretaries being trained today at technical and business colleges are not being informed of uptodate styles. They still plod along in the oldfashioned way, with 'Yours sincerely' (plus a comma, of course) as the correct letter ending, or full points after initials, or hyphens and capital letters all over the place ... aaargh!
A discerning eye and the ability to keep an open mind to learning are important assets, with reading and self-improvement vital.
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andtiggertoo
Posts: 4149
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Posted At: 04/09/2008 16:34:36
I'm trained as a sub-editor, which includes proofreading. I have never been asked for any qualifications and I don't suppose I'd ask anyone for any either. Bear in mind that you're more likely to get work from book publishers and other organisations, but unlikely to get any freelance work from magazines or newspapers (despite visible proof that they need it).
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countrysider
Posts: 8
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Posted At: 04/09/2008 19:50:25
So once you have acquired the necessary expertise, how do you go about getting work as a proof reader?
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BoringBear
Posts: 5815
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Posted At: 04/09/2008 19:53:24
Google technical author contracts.
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Hybrid 1
Posts: 82
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Posted At: 01/10/2008 17:54:26
Due to new government regulations I am dropping the book-keeping element of my freelance business support venture and am looking for something to fill the void.?
Hi BG; turning your thread on its head, can you let us know what the changes are that have put you off book-keeping?? |
Boogie Girl
Posts: 1034
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Posted At: 01/10/2008 18:07:26
As a ASP (Accountancy Service Provider) I would have to register with HMRC and pay a £95 registration fee. I would then have to monitor my clients' businesses for any suspicious activity and inform HMRC (behind my clients' back) of any potential Money Laundering activity. The penalties for getting it wrong are horrendous!
For more info have a look at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/mlr/controls.htm
As I only bill about 12 hours per month, it isn't worth jumping through all of these hoops!
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Hybrid 1
Posts: 82
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Posted At: 02/10/2008 19:21:20
ha ha...seems that they have extended some of the rules already in place for chartered accountants to humble book-keepers! I have a CA for my small Ltd company and know that they are forced to tell on anything they suspect. Fortunately, us pigs are very honest beasts |
BoringBear
Posts: 5815
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Posted At: 02/10/2008 19:44:06
We gave our accountant the elbow when IR35 came in.
If you don't know about IR35, best not to ask  . |
AriesRebel
Posts: 1741
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Posted At: 03/10/2008 05:10:23
So once you have acquired the necessary expertise, how do you go about getting work as a proof reader?
I would suggest that you should offer your help to people you know and slowly build up your clientele through word of mouth.
Then, too, students at varsity often require someone to read their theses. When you feel strong enough, you can plonk your name up on noticeboards – at libraries, shopping malls, colleges, and so on. |
BoringBear
Posts: 5815
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Posted At: 03/10/2008 08:37:19
I assume you want to start earning ASAP? Google technical author contracts. Get your name down with some agents and make a nuisance of yourself. Pester them until you get work.
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Boogie Girl
Posts: 1034
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Posted At: 03/10/2008 09:07:36
Thank you for your advice!
I am going to revamp my website and do some serious marketing next week.
I'm doing some volunteer cover for the manager at our local Cancer Research shop for a few days. It gets me out the house even if it doesn't bring the money in!
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BoringBear
Posts: 5815
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Posted At: 03/10/2008 11:55:57
I should have said google proof reading contracts  .
Why not post a link to your website somewhere (a blog?) to get some comments? |
