If your eagle eyes can spot a grammatical error at a thousand paces then freelance editing and proofreading could be just the job for you.
Working From Home As A Freelance Editor And Proofreader
This a great way to earn some extra income especially if you have been affected by redundancy and job loss because of the economic downturn.
One of the great things about this type of work is that you need very little to get started.
As it is home computer work you need a computer and a good Internet connection. It is also useful to have a commonly used word processing program such as Microsoft Word.
Apart from that, all you need is an uncanny ability to spot the mistakes that other people miss. Think you can do it? Read on to find out more about this type of online freelance work.
How To Find Editing Jobs For Freelancers
Check out the freelance job boards such as Upwork, GetaFreelancer, Guru, Rentacoder and Ifreelance, as well as Craigslist. You will see hundreds of freelance proofreading and editing jobs listed.
Identifying Freelance Work Opportunities
They come in many forms; although some jobs are listed explicitly as editing or proofreading jobs, others may be listed as jobs where you are asked to check over someone’s book, proofread an academic paper or work as a book coach.
It’s important to be clear what kind of service you plan to offer as this will affect the rate you can charge. There’s a world of difference between spotting a few typos and having to rewrite someone’s book, yet both of these may be listed as proofreading.
Charging For Your Freelance Services
If you are wondering what you should charge for editing jobs as a freelancer, Writer’s Market is a useful resource which provides guidance on rates for all kinds of online freelance work, but many writing associations also offer their members guidance on setting rates.
Depending on the job, working as a freelance editor and proofreader can be quite lucrative.
If you are a trained book editor and you are improving someone’s manuscript this can net you thousands of dollars.
There’s always a list of jobs available for freelance proofreading and editing at Elance.
There are other specialist freelance websites that will provide prospects e.g. children’s book editing. A simple Google search for your area of expertise will locate a website.
Also let your contacts within the industry know that you are available for freelance work. This will make it much easier to get editing and proofreading jobs.
