proof reading from home

7590jax

Hi,
I am looking to boost my income (who isn't!) and have found this forum very useful, but nothing on proof reading jobs at all. I hear it is pretty lucrative but you need to find the right comapnies to apply to and the symbols to use to mark text. This can be researched using a book called The Writers' Handbook' (about £5 on Amazon or free to browse at your local library.)
Has anyone looked into this and what do you think? Is it worth approaching?

Thanks x

7590jax

PS - did anyone spot my spelling error - if so then proof reading may be for you too (just a little 'first time post' joke there!)

truereddevil

i did companies is spelt like that lol:rotfl:

lilmoi1985lm

i was taught to proof read on an admin course i completed a few years ago - would be of interest to me for sure.

tincat

My dad fancies himself as very literate, and replied to a proof reading advert where you had to find all the mistakes in the ad itself. They wrote back telling him he was great, and to send £75 for all the literature to help him further his career in proof reading....

I was asked to proof read in an interview for fidelity... I still cringe at the mistakes I made. I wrote down 'find it's position', and a they had a word I just couldn't figure out 'fifty years orgers/augers/orguers well'. I just couldn't figure out how to spell it... (it's actually augurs as I found out afterwards. Needless to say, I didn't get a job offer from them....:p

moosegirl

I did a proofreading course with Maple Academy ( a few years ago!!) which I passed and enjoyed. I love proofreading shop signs and constantly look for mistakes. I have sent out letters to publishers and companies over the years but I've never managed to get an assignment. I would love to boost my income in this way. This isn't much help I realise but if you find a way please let me know!

The_Edible_Dormouse

After the gobsmackingly horrifying schoolboy error I clocked in John Lewis yesterday (all I will say is, if it's plural, it doesn't need an apostrophe...), I may contact their personnel department and ask about freelance possibilities! I've proofread both as a job, and as part of a job in the past.

If anyone finds anything, anywhere, could they perhaps bump this thread? Promise to do likewise

hethmar

I was a proof reader for some years for the stock exchange. When we started our family I looked for proof reading work to do from home - believe me there isn't any. Those ads are basically scams.

ryandj

Part of my job is proofreading - I work as a Commissioning Editor for a chemistry journal. I am interested in working from home (sacking off the day job basically, as I hate my commute) and have been looking at freelance proofreading as an option. The only things I seem to find on Google are adverts for those courses where you can earn £500 a week when qualified (sounds like a con to me - to get qualified as a proofreader, I just had to complete a test at work and passed it easily).

Does anyone know of any good sites offering freelance jobs? I have seen elance.com which offers some proofreading jobs, but would be interested in hearing about any others.

hethmar

See my post above yours.

ryandj

hethmar wrote: »

See my post above yours.

What fields were you looking in? Just looking at this elance website there are several proof reading jobs going for websites and so on.

I am quite interested in doing chemistry or scientific proofreading, as that is where my experience is.