Are you a detail-orientated person? Do you find yourself noticing little grammatical errors throughout the day? Well, have we got news for you. You might be the perfect candidate to become a proofreader!
We know, can you imagine? You can get paid to proofread? Whaaaat! So, come on! Join us in this article and you can learn how to earn some cash dollars while doing something you’re already good at.
You might be wondering how you can make money proofreading. Well, actually quite simply.
After taking a proofreading course, you can set up a freelancing business and start attracting clients. From here, it’s all up to you, baby.
You can set your hours, decide how much you want to be paid, and the best part? You can work from anywhere. And yes, when we say anywhere, we truly mean anywhere. We’re talking about the bedroom, cafe, or heck, why not the beach?
Why Proofreading Is a Lucrative Opportunity
Why do we love proofreading as a career? You have the total freedom to decide if you want to make this a side hustle (ca-ching to extra cash) or turn it into a full-time profession.
Maybe you’re a student wanting some extra pocket money. Or perhaps you’ve climbed the corporate ladder and found it a bit lonely up top there. Who knows. You gotta do what feels best for you.
We do want to mention that with the rise of online work and online roles, proofreaders are becoming hot-on-demand jobs. Because of their flexibility and availability, especially working from home, a lot of companies are looking for proofreaders.
We know, it seems too good to be true, right? Well, the only way you can say for sure is to try it out.
Why Should I Start Proofreading?
As we mentioned before, proofreaders are wanted by most companies. Genuinely, when we say ‘most’ we actually mean it. Proofreading doesn’t only apply to novels – we know! Shock horror! You can proofread almost any written document. We’re talking books, articles, websites, academic papers, online marketing content – the list goes on.
Let’s give a hypothetical. You’ve been in corporate world for a while. But, you’re getting sick of your job. You just want to be at home with your dog all day. Perhaps you worked in marketing, so you’re familiar with social media marketing, as well as standard marketing. Now, maybe you don’t know this yet but you are an ideal proofreader.
Firstly, social media content creation is MASSIVE. Working as a freelance proofreader and social media specialist will land you some lucrative jobs for sure.
Why do we say this? Because you’ve got the whole package deal: marketing specialist with a niche in social media. Hello! What company wouldn’t want you? And with all your experience we don’t even doubt that your grammatical skills are strong.
Okay okay, we’re getting excited here. Maybe you’re coming from the other end of the scale, with no experience. Hey, we’ve all been there. No worries! There’s a reason you’re reading this article. You want to learn how to become a proofreader. And boy do we have the info for you.
To start, all you need is a good ability to spot grammatical errors. From there you can take a course, set up a business, find some clients, and Bob’s your uncle you’ve got a cash flow. Woah. That was quick.
Take it from Selina: being laid off during COVID with two kids to feed, she needed work ASAP. After completing our proofreading course with us at Proofread Anywhere, she feels completely able to provide for her family all from the comfort of her own home. Armed with proofreading and editing services, Selina is back to feeling financially confident.
A Word From Our Founder
We also have a word from our founder Caitlin Pyle weighing in on the lucrative business of proofreading – read her thoughts below!
I recently had the privilege of interviewing THE Chandler Bolt of The King of Self-publishing — in the flesh.
Why did I want to chat with Chandler? Well, we just launched the brand-new General Proofreading: Theory and Practice™ course… …because our PA community members had been pushing me for what seemed like forever to create an alternative course that would help them create a business that helped them not proofread transcripts but books.
And it turns out that some folks love to proofread but (GASP!) don’t want to proofread transcripts.
Some folks do not want to invest 2-4 months into learning a more technical skill — they’d rather start with the basics first and build from there. In short, they wanted to develop their proofreading skills in a way that would get them paid for doing what they were already doing: reading books!
I kept this new course mostly under wraps. It was a big secret. A surprise. And because of that, I knew when we finally launched it that we’d have a lot of questions.
Questions like:
- Is proofreading for books really in demand?
- Do authors really hire proofreaders? Why?
- What makes a great book proofreader? Or a not so great proofreader?
- Can I really make money proofreading books?
So that’s why I decided to interview Chandler Bolt — I knew that if anyone could give me proof that general proofreaders were in demand, he could! And well… he delivered that proof. I recorded our interview, and it’s here for you to watch right now!
If you LOVE reading books and finding errors, you’ll want to watch this video with Chandler. Here’s the video of our interview (25 minutes).
(NOTE: You might notice Chandler uses “copy editing” and “proofreading” interchangeably. It’s common to mix these two up, and you’ll most likely see others doing the same thing when you start your proofreading businesses. Just know that he means “proofreading” in this interview. :-))
Don’t feel like watching the 25-minute interview? Download the transcript here. Interested in publishing a book yourself? Snag Chandler’s book on Amazon.
How Much Money Can You Make as a Proofreader?
Well, before we jump into exactly how much you can earn we want to emphasize that proofreading can be a freelancing job. And we’ll be real: freelancing isn’t always a stable income. BUT! If you build your proofreading business correctly, you could 100% be making decent money and even if you did have some work slumps, you’d be fine.
If you’re wanting to work from home, this is the avenue you should go down. But remember, you can also proofread for a company and be a salaried worker. Depends on your skillset and your goals. Whatever road you go down, we do suggest doing a proofreading course to level up yourself. Then if you decide to start a proofreading and editing company, or start looking for freelance proofreading jobs, you’ll have the skills to do so.
Average Earnings by Niche
Okay, so proofreading isn’t just proofreading. We mean, proofreading involves a variety of different options. You could proofread legal documents, books, blogs, and even business docs. There is truly a laundry list of options. As Caitlin said earlier, some people don’t want to proofread transcripts but some want to read books!
So, how do you find the best proofreading jobs and make money? And how much can you make from each sector? Well, the legal sector offers a pretty decent salary (obviously, it’s the law, duh. Confidentiality and all that). There’s also proofreading for novels, online marketing, and even academic writing.
In 2024 (and likely to change over time), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics presented a pretty in-depth document with salaries per sector. For example, they suggested that if you’re in the advertising sector of proofreading you could earn up to $70,200 per year. Not too shabby.
However, on the flip side, if you’re in the book proofreading sector your yearly take-home might only be around $41,340.
In saying this, we don’t want you to be discouraged. Job opportunities are available, and remote jobs might even allow you time to work for yourself and a salaried company.
Factors That Influence Proofreader Pay Rates
Now, obviously we’ve given you some data from an official website that is drawing statistics from salaried roles. As a freelancer providing online proofreading services, you could be earning way differently.
Online proofreading jobs are a bit harder to track down salaries for because they vary so much depending on skill level, time, and client.
When it comes to online proofreading jobs you’ll want to be as prepared as possible. Taking online proofreading courses is always a good idea before you jump into the industry.
We know you’re detail-orientated, good with grammar, and love to correct spelling mistakes, but sometimes having the qualification does help. Just saying. To find the best online proofreading jobs, you’ll want to present your best self, which includes an awesome amount of proofreading skills.
Another factor that can influence your freelance proofreading career is the niche or specialization that you want to go into. Something we’ve mentioned a few times before (have you been paying attention?) is this: proofreading work for legal or medical organizations is going to result in a higher paycheck than that of social media marketing.
Also, the type of proofreading work you do can impact your paycheck. Maybe you’re only doing part-time proofreading jobs, which would naturally result in a smaller paycheck than a full-time one.
Similarly, the turnaround time of a job could affect your paycheck. Even if you’ve set your own rates, if you run over time or work more on your own hours, you could earn less. It all depends on you.
Types of Proofreading Work to Consider
We mentioned earlier that there is a difference between copy editing and proofreading. But what does it actually mean? Well, copyediting vs. proofreading isn’t too complicated to understand. In basic terms, copyediting is ensuring that the work is readable and flows well. Aka, how easy is it to understand, and does it make sense to the reader?
Proofreading, on the other hand, is all about cleaning up the grammatical errors. For example, if the work is in American English are words like “organize” spelled with a “z” or “s?” Similarly, as a proofreader, you’re looking for any incorrect punctuation marks, spelling errors, and typing mistakes.
Okay, now that you know what the differences are, let’s jump into the different types of documents you can proofread!
- Books and Ebooks: We like to think that this is the most accessible way to break into the proofreading industry. As mentioned earlier, it’s not the highest-paying way to earn money online, but you can still earn some decent cash. There will always be someone writing a book or an ebook, so take a look for job listings and you’ll be sorted!
- Transcripts: Alrighty, transcript proofreading. A fantastic business to go in if you’re a nosy person (just like us). Transcripts are a fun industry to get into because there is a range of them! For example, you could proofread for medical, legal, or research companies.
Honestly? We love proofreading transcripts because sometimes there are so many mistakes it makes us feel like we’re doing a really good job. You workaholics, you know what we mean. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of marking all the errors on Google Docs as “complete.” So satisfying.
Starting your own business as a transcript proofreader can also be fun because you can explore the different avenues of transcript proofreading and see which ones you prefer. This way, you can also market yourself to potential clients with a bit more clarity of your niche. Win-win.
- Web Content: Wow, the digital world. The demand for proofreaders in this space is crazy high. We mean it. When looking for online proofreading jobs online, starting here is a good idea.
As beginner proofreaders, you’ll want to maybe start easy with social media content. Say, find a local restaurant or store that you can be the social media person for. (We say person and not manager because as ambitious as we are, you will need a bit of experience). This is also a great way to build your portfolio and work on those skills.
- Academic Papers and Research: When it comes to academic papers, your proofreading skills need to be immaculate. Your understanding of the written language should be advanced, and you should have a proofreading workshop under your belt. Proofreading requires an intense capability for picking up errors, so get your glasses on and start nitpicking!
- Marketing and Business Content: A surprising mention, but the advertising industry is always in need of an experienced proofreader. Ad content is prolific, and job posts for online proofreaders are found on sites like Glassdoor quite often. Have you heard of press releases? No? Well, let’s tell you about them.
Press releases are those very official documents that you sometimes read on social media or news services. They can be read by government officials, celebrities, or anyone with something to say.
A press release just indicates a public announcement, with a formal nature to it. Now, obviously, these need to be proofread thoroughly. Like, properly thoroughly. Any punctuation errors and those internet trolls will be all over the post. Aaaand this is where you come in!
Steps to Start Making Money Proofreading
Build Your Skillset
- First things first! Invest in a training course to hone your skills. We have to toot our own horn here and recommend our own online proofreading courses. We have our General Proofreading Workshop and our Free 7-Day Transcript Proofreading eCourse. Need a bit more? Check out our website, Proofread Anywhere, and take a squizz at what we have to offer. Wink wink.
- Before you set up shop, we also suggest you dust your skills off with some free resources. After a quick Google search, you can find some grammar guides. A fun idea to involve friends and family is to ask them to write some pieces and you can proofread them for free!
Create a Portfolio
Regardless of what type of proofreading you go into, or what editing services you are offering, you’ll want a portfolio. This also helps with making you look like a super professional proofreader, which, of course, you are.
If you’ve got a bachelor’s degree, have done any proofreading courses (have we mentioned this general proofreading course yet? Hint hint, take it guys!), or have any sort of proofreading experience, pop it in your portfolio. Any kind of graduate degree is a bonus, so don’t be afraid to mention it on your CV.
If you’re just starting in the industry, maybe start with proofreading and editing. Whaaaat! Both! We promise it’s not too bad. Offer your skills at a relatively low price (not too low, you’ve still got to put food on your table!) but low enough that it will be attractive to certain clients.
Similarly, maybe give out some free work! Ugh, we know, more work for no pay. Tell us about it. But hear us out! Because finding online jobs can be hard as it’s such an over-saturated industry, having any work is better than none.
So reach out to those friends with businesses and see if they need a hand. Social media content? You can do it. Wannabe novelist friend? Start reading, baby!
However, if you have your eyes set on a particular proofreading job, you’ll want to alter your portfolio to make yourself suit the role better. What on earth do we mean by that? Well, your own proofreading business might be aimed at social media content marketers.
Maybe you’ve set your prices a bit lower because of that. However, if you want to level up and build some credibility to become a medical proofreader, you’ll want to adjust your portfolio to suit that.
So, maybe drop some of the editing jobs that you’ve done for social media and focus a bit more on corporate work, if you’ve done any.
Choose Your Path: Freelance vs. Employment
Now, when it comes to the type of employment you want that all depends on you. Different strokes for different folks. You might be someone who wants to move from a corporate life into a more chilled freelance lifestyle.
On the other hand, you could be a person who wants to jump straight into the business world, experience a 9-5, and have a salaried life. Either way, we encourage you to have fun.
For the sake of this article, we’re going to focus a bit more on the freelance side of things though (we see you work from home-rs). Starting a remote job that will provide proofreading services can seem daunting. Trust us, we know. But freelance jobs aren’t known to be easy, and you’ll have to put in the work.
Working from home as a freelancer can be super rewarding. You have flexibility, aka you can work from your bedroom in your pj’s or from your favorite coffee shop. You can also pick and choose your clients, which can be a huge bonus if you’re still figuring out which type of proofreading you like.
We do want to mention some cons though… We know! Agh! We shouldn’t but we have a moral obligation. Doing online proofreading jobs does come with an unstable income. While this works for some people, it obviously doesn’t for everyone.
Likewise, maybe having no structure like in an office freaks you out. All fair play. We’ve been there: working from home can lead to scrolling on your phone, doing the laundry, chatting with friends… Each to their own.
Where to Find Proofreading Jobs
Gosh, about time! You’ve read so much of this article and now we’re only finally getting to the good bits. We’re going to mention some of the places you can find online proofreading jobs so you can earn some money ASAP.
These websites all post job listings and can connect you, a proofreader, to a job. Get cracking!
If you’re struggling with work on the above websites, or simply want to start with networking, head over to LinkedIn. As a networking site, you can reach out to companies, find jobs, and also see what others are doing. It’s a nice way to meet other people in the same industry as you, and also potentially find a job.
Similarly, Facebook can be a goldmine if you let it. Much like all social media, it can be used to sell yourself. So, put your fingers on your keyboard and get writing a nice little biography. Make some posts, and sell yourself! Your skills are invaluable, and someone wants you. We promise.
Common Challenges New Proofreaders Face & How to Overcome Them
- Difficulty finding first clients: Finding clients can be hard for a new proofreader. But fear not! Websites like Fiverr can seriously help. You can offer your services for whatever rate you want, and then whoever bites, you work for them. And also check out the sites we mentioned before.
- Managing time: Oh gosh, don’t we all know about working from home and managing our time? Oof. Now this can be tricky. We tend to use time management platforms like Pomodoro Timer as it helps section our day into manageable chunks. This way you have guaranteed breaks and guaranteed work time.
Top tip alert! Stay off your phone during the breaks. We know it’s easy to start scrolling. But then you scroll and scroll and scroll and it’s three hours later. Whoops. Rather go stretch your legs or take a sip of water. Keep that phone somewhere else if you can help it.
- Setting rates: Now this can be tricky. We have to say, start lower and gradually increase as your reputation grows. We know, you want to go in guns blazing, but relax. You need to build momentum and a reputation as a proofreader. Once you’re there, you can set your rates nice and high.
Proofreading Resources to Help You Get Started
While it’s recommended that you at least have an undergraduate degree, online proofreading jobs don’t require that. However, if you’ve been out of the academic/reading space for a while, you might want to brush up on your comprehension skills.
So, the number one and first thing we suggest you do is take a proofreading course! Here at Proofread Anywhere, we offer amazing guides that can help you strengthen your skills. From our Free 7-Day Transcript Proofreading eCourse, to our General Proofreading Workshop, you’ll gain invaluable skills.
When it comes to perfecting your grammatical skills, we have to mention Grammarly (literally such a lifesaver. This tool will help you in any writing capacity, truly).
Conclusion
And we’ve reached the end of our article. Congratulations to you, you now have all the information you could possibly need to start a proofreading business. Maybe you’ll even be excited and offer editing and proofreading services. Ooh.
To reiterate: if you love reading, are a detail-oriented person, and simply obsess over spelling errors, you should think about becoming a proofreader.
These are skills that you are naturally blessed with, so why not monetize them? You know that’s how the world turns.
Still curious? Gosh, you really are a natural. Head on over to our Proofread Anywhere blog where you can find even more informative posts like this one. We know you want to.
So, what to do now? Well, if you’ve been following along you’ll know that you have to take a proofreading course. We know! We’ve said it a million times and we’ll say it again!
Being more skilled is better than less. So for the final time, check out our General Proofreading Workshop and our Free 7-Day Transcript Proofreading eCourse.
Okay! We’ll say goodbye now. And good luck on your proofreading journey!
Hi there!
I actually decided to take up the General Proofreading course BECAUSE I was interested in proofreading books. I currently work in the book publishing industry, and I would like to stay involved in it somehow. This new course is offering me the opportunity to do just that, so I decided to take the leap and see where it takes me!
Thank you for posting this video with Chandler. I am in the Ignite Plus course because of the extra benefits it offers, and I wanted to know more about SPS and the opportunities it provides for PA proofreaders. If I have any questions along the way, I’m sure I’ll be in touch! (:
-Khelsea
Sounds great, Khelsea!! Love the way you spell your name!! 😀
Thank you! (:
Hi Caitlyn,
I really enjoyed the interview with Chandler. It is very encouraging to receive first-hand confirmation of the numerous opportunities in proofreading. Thanks so much for creating this course and sharing your wealth of knowledge in the area of proofreading.
Really, thanks for all the various and widespread opportunities you expose us to! I live in the McAllen area in wayyyyy South Texas (Northern Mexico) so transcript proofreading is not an option unless you speak both English and Spanish, unfortunately that is not me. The book lead however is fantastic. Can’t wait to actually start your course, but have to wait for income to meet outflow. Thanks again. jm
Caitlyn, is there any chance you might add a copy editing course to your arsenal? I think it would help the average proofreader make more money. You always say to add skills. Is there a course or book you would recommend if you don’t plan on making a course?
Hi, Leslie,
At this point, Caitlin doesn’t have any plans for a copy editing course, but she is working on a project where she will talk more about expanding your work at home skills. In this post, she talks about a copy editing course that she recommends. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi Caitlin, I am VERY interested in proofreading books and I have previous experience editing for scientific journals. Can you please point me in the right direction? Thanks!
Hi, Cori,
:Editing for scientific journals sounds amazing! Here is a link to the free intro workshop for the General Proofreading course:
https://learn.proofreadanywhere.com/registergptp
That should get you started in the right direction! 🙂
I'm very interested in proofreading as a career.
As an avid reader of books I would really enjoy doing this. On average I complete 2 books a week and my reading service tells me I have just under 500 days consecutive days. As I read each book, I make notes on the errors and send in my comments.
The interview with Chandler was interesting. Having the many chances in proofreading validated by someone's own experience is really motivating. Your extensive expertise in proofreading is really appreciated, and I am grateful that you have made this training available to the public.