If you are looking for a prominent way to make the money online or to earn a little more money from the transition or home into the nomad lifestyle, then I advised you to go for proofreading or editing.
I have been into proofreading for the last 2-3 years while living out of India and it’s such a great way to make the extra money for sightseeing. I have doing it as part-time work to increase my income and various freelancers make their full-time living from this work.
There are so many advantages of becoming a proofreader. It is quite flexible to do and easy assignment with lots of opportunities.
Let’s started. This is my guide on how to pay well to proofread plus the 10 best platforms to apply online.
What’s Proofreading?
Proofreading is like a careful check of a written text for errors or any mistakes whether it should be a spelling mistake, punctuation mistake, grammar mistake, format mistake.
Proofreading is the last stage of the writing process and it is very important. There are a wide variety of the proofreading jobs online like educational papers up for resumes, e-books, business organization files, and emails and admissions essays.
Proofreading vs. Editing
Now, you are thinking what’s the main difference between editing and proofreading is. There is a notable difference between both of them, while they both are used interchangeably.
The proofreading mainly focuses on the grammatical spellings and errors in the writing and editors test the big picture and do the necessary changes into the writing structure and then look into the clarity, content, and tone.
The proofreading and the editing is the important step into the finalization of the text into the written form for submission. They are like the last defenders who check out the grammatical issues and then correct them.
Earnings made as a Proofreader?
The proofreaders can make around $25-$45 per hour. There are also some factors which are necessary to the considered.
While starting the work as a proofreader you have to decide that you should charge the clients based on the hour or the basis of the word. But while fixing the price make sure that you have good experience and good knowledge because it impacts your career.
So, in the beginning, proofreaders can mainly earn $12-$15 per hour. As your experience increases your earnings will also get increased automatically not only in earnings but also many things will increase like your proofreading will get faster and you become efficient with the time.
Degrees and Skills Required to Make Money as a Proofreader?
It doesn’t demand any kind of the degree . But some of the clients demand a Bachelor’s degree to become the proofreader but many of the clients only demand the result.
It all shows that college students without any prior experience can make earnings by proofreading. To work as a proofreader you should hold strong grammar and good time management skills.
05 Essential Tools To Work Online
There are so many tools that are required for Proofreading jobs.
Spellchecker: It is an important tool that will check out the written text and find out the grammatical errors in it. It plays a necessary role in proofreading.
Grammarly: It is one of the best tools for freelancers. It easily finds out the grammatical errors in the text. Not only this, but this app also provides suggestions and explanations for every grammatical mistake, and check out the plagiarism.
Ginger: Ginger is a tool that is used in the place of Grammarly. It is one of the best spell checkers as compared to others. It easily found the grammatical mistakes and correct them.
Google Docs: It is an important app for online editing. With this app, one can easily send, receive and share files with clients. It is a free app that provides many tools for editing and it also saves the files offline.
Avast Antivirus: It is also the software that is essential for proofreading. It is not only compulsory for the confidentiality and the protection of the customer’s documents but it is also essential for their security.
Best Proofreading jobs Online
Upwork: It is not only the best website for beginners to find out proofreading jobs but it is also one of the best apps to find out the freelancer’s jobs. Upwork is the best platform to find out jobs online. It is easy to use and friendly. Finding out the editing and proofreading jobs is simple on the Upwork.
But it also has various disadvantages. It is not so easy to find out jobs that pay decent money. Every freelancer is willing to pay well for the work. So you have to give your best to leave the other proofreader behind you. Upwork mainly charges the 20% service charges.
Flex Jobs: It is almost similar to Upwork. It provides job opportunities to freelancers and the entry-level. To join Flexjobs you have to pay $14.95 monthly. There is less competition on the Flex jobs for the jobs. It is such a user-friendly platform that provides them so much support.
Overall, it is the best platform to find out proofreading jobs online.
Fiverr: It is similar to Flexjobs and Upwork. It is an online platform that offers tons of jobs to beginners. It is easy to find out the work on Fiverr. Like Upwork, it also has so many disadvantages like lots of the low-paying jobs with the lowest salary.
But all over, it is the best platform to gain experience as a beginner. With the increase in experience, you can easily get high-paying jobs.
Scribendi: It is a company that offers proofreading services and editing services. It is a Canadian company that hires employees all over the world. There are various benefits to working with the Scribendi. It offers reliable and consistent payment by Paypal. Also, it offers the job flexibility.
It also offers proofreading and editing courses where one can discuss the topics easily with the other proofreaders. To sign up with the Scribendi, you must have some of the qualifications. They mainly demand the English speaker along with the university degree plus the 3 years of experience and good typing speed of 1,000 words on an hourly basis.
Overall, it is the best website to join as a proofreader.
Scribbr: It is an editing and proofreading company that focuses the students to find out the perfect theses and dissertations. It is a great platform for experienced and entry-level proofreaders.
The application process is long on this website. As it involves the language quiz, language editing assignment, resume, and the Scribbler Academy training program. You can earn about $22 – $27 per hour from this website.
Proofreading Services: It is a great company that offers full-time and part-time jobs. You can work here as per your choice. The working hours are flexible there. Proofreading is great to work to earn the extra earnings from the home.
Proofreading Pal: To find out the Prrofredaing jobs, proofreading pal is a great place. It is the perfect place for college-going students. It offers flexible working hours with an average pay of $500 – $3,000 monthly.
They mostly prefer to hire the current students who completed their Graduation with an average of 3.5 CGPA. In case of qualification and strictness, proofreading pal is the best platform to apply.
Gramlee: Gramlee is the great platform to find out the work from home. This company mainly provides editing and proofreading services. They mainly charge $0.03 for every word and $90 for 3000 words. Above 3000 words they pay more, but is it suitable for the senior editors.
The application process is totally simple there. You fill in all the important details about yourself and your experience. Overall, it is such a great place for finding out proofreading jobs.
Polished Paper: Proofreaders with little experience can apply to the Polished Paper. It is such a great place to apply. It is an editing and proofreading company that demands employees with great experience in proofreading. They pay the employees as per their qualifications.
Here, the application process is quite difficult. Firstly, you have to register here and have to upload your resume rightly, and have to fill out the question test. You have to pass that test for the interview purpose and it is not so easy. So, if you desired to work with the Polished Paper then take the proper time to fil the test. It is such a great place for Freelancers to work.
Edit Fast: Edit Fast is a great online job portal that is filled with openings for Freelancers. It is a good place to find out the work online.
The application process is not so difficult here. You have to register here online and have to upload your recent updated resume and take an editing test and then have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
After the approval, you can simply apply for the jobs here. You can easily contact the clients by the Edit Fast portal. They paid you by Paypal.
It also has some disadvantages in that it keeps the 40%of your final cut. So, Beginners should start their careers and get some experience.
Pros and Cons of proofreader jobs:
There are so many advantages and disadvantages of being a Proofreader as it is not the right career for everyone.
Pros:
- It is not difficult to find out proofreader jobs as they have a great demand.
- To start a career in this field is not expensive. To do this, you only need a laptop with a good internet connection.
- You can your boss into this field as there is no supervisor.
- The working hours are flexible. You can work as per your schedule.
- You can easily signup on the many freelancing websites and get a job easily.
Cons:
- It takes so much time to find out the clients.
- Some of the proofreading jobs demand a higher degree.
- There are tight deadlines for the work completed and one has to complete the work by that time. It might be stressful sometime.
Final Thoughts:
There are so many job opportunities available for beginners. You have to try and pitch yourself. If any companies reject you then don’t feel discouraged. Keep motivated and apply for the new.