Thread: Is a proofreading job possible for me?

I've always loved working with words, but still have much to learn!

I have several chronic health issues, which means I must work from home. I can neither sit nor stand for long periods of time, due to muscle spasms, twitches, cramping, extreme muscle stiffness, etc. So, sitting at the computer for more than about 1/2 hour is very painful!

Is it possible for me to find a proofreading job from home? I could drive a short distance, but I live in a very rural area, and there are no such jobs available. Also, with my conditions, my only options seems to be working from home.

Maybe I should back up a bit. How do I go about getting started in proofreading? I did research this a bit online, and it appears that many jobs require degrees, though not all. It seems some jobs only require testing, and studying and knowing well certain books relating to proofreading. I have no such college degree, unfortunately, which some of the jobs require. Is proofreading work still possible?

Also, would there be a way for me to somehow get around not being able to sit for a lengthy period of time at the computer? Could I perhaps print out work, take it away from the computer, and then send it on? In other words, how is this work done? I know very little of it--I just love to works with words, punctuation, etc., so it sounds appealing.

Another issue is that I'm in no way computer savvy! Yes, I can do online searches, send emails, etc.--the basics. But I once tried an MT job and was absolutely frustrated because of the very involved downloading, sending, etc. involved. Would you believe I tried to learn this (downloading/sending work) over 3 days time, then I finally had to admit it was beyond me and had to quit the position. Very depressing! I believe my technical troubles come from one of my medical conditions, as I'm EXTREMELY technologically challenged, and my family teases me about it. It was a frustrating experience because my online fellow MT workers said I would get the hang of it eventually, but it was like one gigantic snarled knot was stuck in my mind. That's just me and technology!

So--is proofreading different? Would it be easier to go about sending the corrected work, or how DOES it work--I'm very uninformed about that.

I would appreciate any input and if you would share your experiences. Thanks in advance!

Not wishing to be rude, but could there be four mistakes in your first sentence?

I have several chronic health issues, which means I must work from home. I can neither sit nor stand for long periods of time, due owing to muscle spasms, twitches, crampsing, extreme muscle stiffness, etc. So, sitting at the computer for more than about 1/2 an hour is very painful!

Originally Posted by Bloggsworth

Not wishing to be rude, but could there be four mistakes in your first sentence?

Not wishing to be rude, but could there be four mistakes in your first sentence second paragraph?

Sometimes it's easier to see mistakes in other people's work than your own. Saying that, luvzminis would need to showcase better abilities than displayed in that paragraph.
If luvzminis wishes to test his abilities, then forums like these often have 'find the errors' challenges, along with general threads seeking input on submitted works (see fiction & workshop sections of this forum).

Originally Posted by luvzminis

I've always loved working with words, but still have much to learn!

I have several chronic health issues, which means I must work from home. I can neither sit nor stand for long periods of time, due to muscle spasms, twitches, cramping, extreme muscle stiffness, etc. So, sitting at the computer for more than about 1/2 hour is very painful!

Is it possible for me to find a proofreading job from home? I could drive a short distance, but I live in a very rural area, and there are no such jobs available. Also, with my conditions, my only options seems to be working from home.

Maybe I should back up a bit. How do I go about getting started in proofreading? I did research this a bit online, and it appears that many jobs require degrees, though not all. It seems some jobs only require testing, and studying and knowing well certain books relating to proofreading. I have no such college degree, unfortunately, which some of the jobs require. Is proofreading work still possible?

Also, would there be a way for me to somehow get around not being able to sit for a lengthy period of time at the computer? Could I perhaps print out work, take it away from the computer, and then send it on? In other words, how is this work done? I know very little of it--I just love to works with words, punctuation, etc., so it sounds appealing.

Another issue is that I'm in no way computer savvy! Yes, I can do online searches, send emails, etc.--the basics. But I once tried an MT job and was absolutely frustrated because of the very involved downloading, sending, etc. involved. Would you believe I tried to learn this (downloading/sending work) over 3 days time, then I finally had to admit it was beyond me and had to quit the position. Very depressing! I believe my technical troubles come from one of my medical conditions, as I'm EXTREMELY technologically challenged, and my family teases me about it. It was a frustrating experience because my online fellow MT workers said I would get the hang of it eventually, but it was like one gigantic snarled knot was stuck in my mind. That's just me and technology!

So--is proofreading different? Would it be easier to go about sending the corrected work, or how DOES it work--I'm very uninformed about that.

I would appreciate any input and if you would share your experiences. Thanks in advance!

If you're technologically challenged, and don't really exhibit the necessary skillset, then proofreading/editing probably isn't for you. I do a good deal of that as sidework, and it requires sitting at the computer.
It is very possible to work from home. I do. It's the way most freelancers work. But you have to know your way around the world of words;spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and if you're going to edit, you have to know the basics of plot structure, character development/arc, etc.
It isn't easy to get freelance jobs. There are plenty of places that say they have work (oDEsk is a good example), but they're scams. Y'know how I got started? I offered to proof someone's entire blog, hundreds of badly-written but very informative pages about ice hockey, in return for a reference.
You might want to look into something like medical billing or customer support. You can do those from home also, and they take a less concentrated skillset.

I hire proofreaders all the time. It's mostly for web content and product and marketing literature. There's good money in it -- but I don't know how you go about getting into it. The people I hire are all well established and came by referral.

And as far as I know, they all print content before proofing it. We have someone come in to our office to proof from time-to-time and she always prints stuff out. She either gives me the hard copy or she goes back and puts the corrections into a Word document. For what we do, it's important for them to mark it up and leave the original copy -- because we don't always agree with the edits.

The people we hire have to learn something about what we do and what our clients do too -- for example, they have learn about product naming conventions and trademark stuff too -- it's not always about spelling and grammar.

And yes -- you would need to know how to attach documents, download and upload files, work with Word, Powerpoint, Google docs etc. Not the hardest stuff to learn -- but there's no way around it.

Session proofing like that would have to pay well. That's a challenging job. Blogproofing or ms. proofing don't require that you learn how to "ape a corporate style". Ghostwriting does, and it's a related field, imo more difficult in that it's complete ego-submersion (the horrors!), but those cans of worms are opening dimensions that were probably unintended by the OP.
Editing should be a degree course. Much more valuable skills than in most "creative writing" curricula, imo.

Originally Posted by JosephB

I hire proofreaders all the time. It's mostly for web content and product and marketing literature. There's good money in it -- but I don't know how you go about getting into it. The people I hire are all well established and came by referral.

And as far as I know, they all print content before proofing it. We have someone come in to our office to proof from time-to-time and she always prints stuff out. She either gives me the hard copy or she goes back and puts the corrections into a Word document. For what we do, it's important for them to mark it up and leave the original copy -- because we don't always agree with the edits.

The people we hire have to learn something about what we do and what our clients do too -- for example, they have learn about product naming conventions and trademark stuff too -- it's not always about spelling and grammar.

And yes -- you would need to know how to attach documents, download and upload files, work with Word, Powerpoint, Google docs etc. Not the hardest stuff to learn -- but there's no way around it.

Thank you for your thoughtful and respectful reply.

It's interesting that you should mention that the lady who comes to your office to proofread prints stuff out. I appreciate too, that you mention it's not always about spelling and grammar.

I'm still very much on the fence about this. I really enjoy working with words, but just can't sit for long periods. In fact, I'm still stiff today from researching proofreading online yesterday! Guess I will do a bit more research on that today. Thanks again!

Bloggsworth and Rustgold: Frankly, I'm a little surprised by your responses.

If you will re-read my initial question, it clearly states that I still have much to learn. I am requesting information on the job of proofreading here; not asking for someone to critique my post! You both likely meant well, and I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but perhaps in the future it would be wise to stick to the topic, rather than make editing suggestions. I'm well aware that I still have much to learn, but for someone to start correcting me in an off-topic way seems a bit cruel.

Know that I do, however, appreciate any legitimate 'leads' as to how to proceed towards my (hopeful) goal of proofreading. Thank you all.

And not to scare you off, but one of the reasons proofreading pays pretty well it that there is often a lot riding on it. Of course, we have clients sign off on everything -- that covers us as far as liability or costs of reprints go -- but the client will always consider it our fault if something is missed, even if they don't outwardly acknowledge it. If there is a mistake, it makes them look bad -- and it could cost them a lot of money. Easy to fix a typo on a website, but it's a real problem if you've got several thousand brochures you can't use.

And oh yeah -- mistakes in a post about proof reading! Oh, the irony! How could anyone pass that up? Har har har.

Originally Posted by luvzminis

Bloggsworth and Rustgold: Frankly, I'm a little surprised by your responses.

If you will re-read my initial question, it clearly states that I still have much to learn. I am requesting information on the job of proofreading here; not asking for someone to critique my post! You both likely meant well, and I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but perhaps in the future it would be wise to stick to the topic, rather than make editing suggestions. I'm well aware that I still have much to learn, but for someone to start correcting me in an off-topic way seems a bit cruel.

Know that I do, however, appreciate any legitimate 'leads' as to how to proceed towards my (hopeful) goal of proofreading. Thank you all.

Firstly...you'll need to learn the multi-quote feature to use these forums properly. Multiple posting is seen as Forum-flooding and is counter to site rules. If you travel to the link embedded in the underlined portion of the previous words, you'll find a description of the use of multi-quoting.
Secondly...none of these answers were off-topic. A couple were tongue-in-cheek, but they illustrated just what a proofreader does, and the tip of the iceberg of that skillset. I'm sincerely not trying to be discouraging, but your initial posts did not show that you possess such skills. Hence the sarcastic retorts.
Spelling and grammar skills are what you need to do that job. Check out the provided link or try googling for yourself-there are probably hundreds of paid tutorials out there that purport to be able to help you. But you have to be able to spell, punctuate, and utilize proper grammar, beyond the abilities of the norm, in order to do so.

Originally Posted by moderan

Multiple posting is seen as Forum-flooding and is counter to site rules.

Perhaps you could show us precisely where the OP multiple-posted.

I guess it's that he replied to me in one post and Bloggsworth and Rustgold in another -- instead of replying in a single post. I've done that if the comments are on a different track. If that's it, I didn't realize that was "forum flooding." You learn something new every day.

Yeah, you might be right. I wouldn't have called that flooding either. Ah, well.

That's news to me, too. What an unusual rule! I've never seen that on any other forum.

Originally Posted by moderan

Firstly...you'll need to learn the multi-quote feature to use these forums properly. Multiple posting is seen as Forum-flooding and is counter to site rules. If you travel to the link embedded in the underlined portion of the previous words, you'll find a description of the use of multi-quoting.
Secondly...none of these answers were off-topic. A couple were tongue-in-cheek, but they illustrated just what a proofreader does, and the tip of the iceberg of that skillset. I'm sincerely not trying to be discouraging, but your initial posts did not show that you possess such skills. Hence the sarcastic retorts.
Spelling and grammar skills are what you need to do that job. Check out the provided link or try googling for yourself-there are probably hundreds of paid tutorials out there that purport to be able to help you. But you have to be able to spell, punctuate, and utilize proper grammar, beyond the abilities of the norm, in order to do so.

But do you really think sarcastic retorts are appropriate here? After all, I did mention in my first sentence that I still have much to learn, and yet, I received replies that basically ignore that particular comment. I think if something had been said to direct me to resources which would be helpful for me to learn more about proofreading skills, it would have been more appropriate. Sarcasm seldom is helpful.