Becoming a professional proofreader

amother

Sat, May 08 2021, 11:42 pm

I've been reading some frum novels over the last couple of days and I was turned off by some mistakes. Examples: *dessert misspelled (with one "s")
*Glamor and glamour- in the same book, they used both spellings. Although "glamor" is technically correct, "glamour" is the accepted spelling- but at least keep it consistent!
*"Pouring over a book" instead of the correct "poring"
*Some cultural misunderstandings, too complicated to explain here
It really irks me!

When I see mistakes in the frum weekly publications, I understand that it can be difficult to catch all errors before they need to go to print, although many can use better editing.

I have a knack for spelling and grammar, although I'm not especially good at coming up with the right word or interesting musings and would probably not be a good writer. I'm wondering if I would possibly be able to become a professional proofreader/editor, and how would I go about it?
What do I need to know?
Any courses I would need to take?
Please tell me everything I need to know about becoming a professional proofreader.

amother

Aubergine

Sat, May 08 2021, 11:46 pm

amother [ Mint ] wrote:

Just write to the publisher and offer your services. That's what I did.

And they took you up on it? How much does a proofreader get paid?

I always wonder about this too. I find mistakes in non-frum novels all the time as well and I wonder who was in charge of checking this? How did this happen?

youngishbear

Sat, May 08 2021, 11:49 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I've been reading some frum novels over the last couple of days and I was turned off by some mistakes. Examples: dessert misspelled (with one "s")
Glamor and glamour- in the same book, they used both spellings. Although "glamor" is technically correct, "glamour" is the accepted spelling- but at least keep it consistent!
"Pouring over a book" instead of the correct "poring"
Some cultural misunderstandings.
It really irks me!

When I see mistakes in the frum weekly publications, I understand that it can be difficult to catch all errors before they need to go to print, although many can use better editing.

I have a knack for spelling and grammar, although I'm not especially good at coming up with the right word or interesting musings and would probably not be a good writer. I'm wondering if I would possibly be able to become a professional proofreader/editor, and how would I go about it?
What do I need to know?
Any courses I would need to take?
Please tell me everything I need to know about becoming a professional proofreader.

The examples you gave are both spelling errors. How do you do on proofreading grammar?

I'm not sure how you would test that. There might be some online quizzes to get you started and some books to read. I would only take on a proofreading job if I was confident I could catch grammar errors and explain what's wrong and how to correct it.

ETA: if I were confident - subjunctive mood

amother

Puce

Sat, May 08 2021, 11:52 pm

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

I got such a job pretty easily, too. My qualifications were that I teach English. My qualifications for that were that I applied for the job and I got good grades.

So... yeah. Welcome to the frum world. This is how we get abysmal end products.

Laiya

Sun, May 09 2021, 12:43 am

amother [ Puce ] wrote:

It's just about manpower. If you don't have enough pairs of eyes, some mistakes will slip through.

amother

Mint

Sun, May 09 2021, 12:48 am

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

Yes, they did. The pay was similar to an office secretaries type job. I left after a few years but it was fun to get paid to read. (It was also tedious and because I worked from home, lonely. And the deadlines... oh the deadlines!)

FranticFrummie

Mon, May 10 2021, 6:30 pm

I used to be a professional proofreader and copy editor, before the days of computers (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, LOL!)

In the olden days, it paid pretty well. Now, so much is automated by things like Google,spellcheck, autofill, and Grammarly, there's not as much work to be done. Most places will rely on algorithms, and skip the manpower. (I just had to Google how to spell algorithms, because spellcheck was not helping me.)

I do believe that frum magazines in particular are big offenders in this area. Sometimes I can find errors on almost every single page, and it's like eating a delicious meal and getting a grain of sand in every bite. Confused

If someone publish the entire Game of Thrones series without a single misspelling, why can't Mishpacha publish a single article without at least 2 or 3?

Because some people are cheap, lazy, or both. {pet peeve rant for the day}

amother

Blue

Mon, May 10 2021, 6:34 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

So do I go about it?
Does it make sense to email the local publications and frum publishers and ask them if they have any positions available for proofreaders? What do I offer as my qualifications if I have no experience?

I'm no expert, but isn't this what a copy editor does? In any case, likely there are courses you could take, there probably are tests/some sort of certification involved. Why not look into that? Nowadays I'm sure it is doable online.
I kinda doubt you'd get hired by cold calling, with no training or experience.

DallasIma

Mon, May 10 2021, 6:34 pm

I'm a proofreader for our local Jewish weekly paper (it's anything but frum though!). I've always had a natural G-d-given talent for catching spelling and grammar mistakes, and another plus is that I work from home. For a few years I was working at the office, but then COVID hit. At some point I may go back to working at the office. It's a part-time job but I generally turn the articles around very soon after they're emailed to me.

When I first started working for the paper, I had called them to ask if they knew of any secretarial or clerical openings in the Jewish community. The editor-in-chief said that, as a matter of fact, she herself was looking for an assistant editor. I did that for a while, but then I retired, got bored, and un-retired when she needed just a proofreader - a much less stressful job with far fewer responsibilities than an assistant editor job. I'm working on an independent-contractor basis so that I can take off whenever I want (Yomim Tovim, vacations, etc.).

All that is just background for me to respond to your question. Put yourself out there and email all the publications that you can think of. If you throw enough paint at the wall, some of it will stick. I never had formal training or experience as a proofreader - as I said, it was all natural talent - but had worked at secretarial jobs most of my life. But, if you get out there and offer your services, any publication or publisher who is interested will probably test your skill by giving you samples to proofread and correct.

I don't make a fortune at my job but I love the job, and to me that's what's important.

Good luck! (Oh, and by the way, in the first line of your post, I think you left out the word "how" - you probably meant to say, "So, how do I go about it?") Smile

amother

Mon, May 10 2021, 6:37 pm

DallasIma wrote:

Thank you.
And I edited my post.

amother

Amethyst

Mon, May 10 2021, 6:49 pm

DallasIma wrote:

I like that you “un-retired”! 🙂

DallasIma

Mon, May 10 2021, 7:27 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

What's the difference between a copy editor and a proofreader?

I'm actually both, and I'm not sure of the distinction, but if I were to use my own definition, a copy editor re-words awkward sentences and/or phrases and improves the grammar of a selection, while a proofreader's job is more oriented toward catching mistakes and correcting them. "Mistakes" could include errors in spelling, type that is set in the wrong font (e.g. italics instead of roman), a word that's out of place, etc. But in practice the two jobs overlap to a large extent.

ora_43

Tue, May 11 2021, 1:27 am

Just my experience, but you're better off applying to the places that don't have blatant errors in their publications. Those are the places that actually care enough to hire qualified staff and pay them decent rates.

The places that have mistakes, have mistakes because they aren't willing/able to invest in doing things properly. Jobs there tend to pay less and be less satisfying (hard to have professional pride in an end product that will only be so-so because of the sheer quantity of work).

Don't get me wrong, if a magazine with 2-3 errors per page is willing to hire you, go for it. It's always easier to find better jobs in the field once your foot is in the door. I'm just saying, don't apply specifically to places that currently have substandard proofreading - the places with amazing spelling and grammar are just as likely to have good jobs available.

Sites like fiverr can also be a good place to get started with freelance work in writing, editing, proofreading, etc.