What Is Proofreading?

 

What is Proofreading?

Nowadays, in the current computer age, there are so many things that can be done, done, and realized online.

Keeping this in mind, there are plenty of opportunities for work. Especially stay-at-home housewives, young women, or teachers looking to earn money during summer vacation. And one such money making opportunity is ‘Proofreading’.

Proofreading is one of the final stages of content creation – for example, a proofreader is tasked with revising the article you’re reading right now, correcting grammar mistakes or correcting it before it’s published.

A critical eye is cast on any piece of writing to check for spelling and grammatical errors.

You may accidentally make small mistakes while writing. Even if you read it again, you may not notice it. In big businesses, in organizations with business transactions and in large enterprises, in writings, articles or seminars related to the organization, in situations where the issues to be presented in front of people have to be presented, if the articles are misprinted, it should be embarrassing. Such matters need to be handled by the proofreader competently. So proofreading is an important step in this direction.

How to become a Proofreader?

To become a proofreader and get hired as one, you need to be knowledgeable. Must be good at editing and spot mistakes easily.

You don’t need a PhD in English to be an effective freelance proofreader. However, it is better if you have sufficient knowledge of English. It is very necessary that you should have good expertise in grammar, spelling etc.

When you apply for a job in a company, you have to pass an exam because you have to pass the recruitment.

In order to pass the exams, it is recommended that you become familiar with The Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook—there are plenty of free resources online if you are not informed or familiar with these.

Pros and Cons of Proofreading

Pro

# You can do proofreading from home.

# You can do the task using your own time.

Proofreading work can be tailored to your convenience by predetermining any other things you want to do.

# You can decide and manage the pace of your proofreading work. And you can manage your work environment as you like. No micromanaging boss or loudmouthed colleagues can get in your way here!

# If you are naturally good at spotting mistakes, this will be easy for you.

# Startup costs for proofreading business are very low as compared to other businesses.

#You can sign-up to as many proofreading sites as you want.

# There are plenty of proofreading jobs out there for beginners.

# You can start this as a side business. And can do a good job at it.

Cons

# Some sites are not easy to navigate. And you have to waste more time searching for better opportunities.

# Some jobs may require more education/experience. Or you lack experience if you want to get high paying proofreading jobs.

# Proofreading jobs are more likely to be found if you have one or more years of experience. But can have very tough, tight deadlines to follow.

# Some people may try to swallow more than they can chew. That means taking on a number of clients and projects – you’ll need to manage your time strictly if the workload increases or you have too much work to spare.

# If someone needs to remind you of deadlines or monitor your work more closely, Online Proofreading may not be the job for you to handle.

# If you are distracted while working on your computer, it will be difficult to complete the editing task.

How Much Do Online Proofreaders Make Hourly?

As with anything, it depends on your experience, who you work for, and how they pay you.

You can be paid per hour, per word or per project.

You are likely to be paid per project and usually on a freelance or contract basis.

A good starting fee for proofreading is $20 an hour. That is, if it is converted into rupees at today’s dollar-rupee rate, it is Rs. 1480 will be. But you can increase this as you gain experience and impress your customers.

Taking a course like Proofreading anywhere can help you get started as a proofreader.

The average salary for a proofreader is around $53,000 per year, according to Salary.com.

How to Find Online Proofreading Jobs?

Think about what type of proofreading work you want to do before you look for clients. There are many different options for you. So it is in your interest to find the best one.

When searching for proofreading jobs, here are other search terms you can use to select jobs.

# Freelance proofreading

# Editing jobs

# Copy editing

# Editor

# Book editor/editing

# Academic editor

# Online proofreading jobs

# Beginner proofreading jobs

# Proofreading positions

A good place to find clients is in relevant Facebook groups. You will be surprised to know that any proofreading jobs can be posted on social media.

Plus on social media, you can grow your own presence as a Proofreader and get more customers that way!

Many people who find work in these groups are living a comfortable life earning good value. And they’ve extended their helping hand by letting people know they’re available to help other Proofreaders.

There are a lot of sites out there that are great places to work. Because many companies usually go to such websites to find proofreaders to hire.

Copy Editing Works vs Proofreading Job

A question we often get asked is what are the different functions of copy editing editors compared to proofreading jobs. Both of these are easily viable online jobs for you if you want to earn. But know that copy editing requires more hours.

Copy editing works in stages before proofreading. There the writings of any topics are like rough draft. Copy editing is all about making major changes to the content of the writing.

Once large-scale editing is complete, the text is handed over to a proofreader to correct any minor spelling or grammatical errors. It pre-corrects grammatical and spelling mistakes that can be avoided during most content reviews and can be presented at any organization’s symposium or conference without embarrassment.

Proofreading is not a final checkpoint before everything is ready for publication.