For the sake of this article, I will focus on proofreading in the context of the English language. If you are bilingual, even better for you. All languages have a market for proofreaders. You might be happy to know that your copy troubleshooting skills can go a long way and even make you a tidy income down the road. Given the vast amounts of content that is produced by bloggers, journalists, and authors today there is a high demand for freelance proofreaders and editors.
What is Proofreading?
It’s sometimes easy to confuse the difference between editors and proofreaders, so out of the gate let’s break it down. Proofreaders typically mark errors and leave the final changes up to the author while editors make all the changes within the content. The job of the proofreader does not involve in-depth changes or fact-checking. The purpose of proofreading is to correct punctuation, formatting, accuracy, and getting rid of spelling mistakes. Proofreading is all about analyzing documentation on a visual and content level for final changes after it’s gone through its stages of revision.
How to become a proofreader
To become a successful proofreader, it’s important to have a good grasp of the English language, grammar, and punctuation. It might appear that anyone who can speak and write in English can become a good proofreader, but it’s not always that obvious. People who speak English as a second language sometimes tend to write words the way they speak them in their native language. Swahili is my first language and I make that mistake sometimes.
What are the requirements of a good proofreader?
To become an ace as a proofreader, you will be required to have certain competencies which in my opinion are an absolute necessity.
- Be able to spot mistakes quickly and easily. That might mean slowing down your reading to find mistakes.
- Precision for the fine-tuning. This means revising word-to-word, sentence-to-sentence, and paragraph-to-paragraph.
- Meet the demand. Most jobs you get will need to be completed within a certain timeframe. Clients want you to be reliable so you will need to keep your word on deadlines.
Platforms offering freelance proofreading jobs from home.
The good news for any aspiring proofreader is that there are tons of places online where you can get your proofreading career rolling. Some of these places are more stringent than others when it comes to taking proofreaders onboard depending on your experience. We all have to start somewhere, so don’t be afraid to submit your portfolio to multiple platforms. As with any career, the more you stay on the game, the more experience you gain and the more marketable you become.