Proofreading

I'm thinking about trying to get into proofreading (friends have suggested it would be a good job for me). Anyone out there have any advice on the best way to learn it? Should I just buy a book or should I take some kind of course? Proofreaders please help me out! Leave a comment or email me. If there's anyone out there that hires proofreaders in NYC I'd really like to hear from you. Thanks Bedazzlers! UPDATE:Thanks for all the great advice in the comments and emails!

Comments

[Matt]

Hi Spike,

you want to start out by proofreading for friends, anything from liner notes to doctoral theses will do.

Best,
Matt

[Drew]

Hi, I used to work for a graphic-arts temp agency in the west village called "Swing Shift" http://swing-shift.com that uses proofreaders all the time, but they'll probably expect you to already be pretty good at it before they'll send you out on any jobs. They're very nice, though, so I'd suggest you call and maybe they can point you in the right direction to help you get started? Good luck, Drew

[Bill]

I have been a proofreader for a large law firm and for a financial publisher. It is all pretty dull and does not pay terribly well, plus my back got screwed up from all the sitting. It's not a bad gig if you don't make a career out of it. Many dictionaries have a page where they give an example of proofreading marks. That is really all you need to know. Some places have their own style sheets. The financial publisher I worked for was freelance, which I did at home. Take a class in editing and try to get into that eventually. The proofreading willl be good experience.

[tim]

I took a great class at Media Bistro on class in copy editing.

[Fred]

I worked for Norman Mailer's publishers on 3rd Ave. Proofreaders aspire to become editors pretty soon, otherwise they'll spends endless days just reading and completing manuscript rejection letters. Manuscripts no matter how good will (in general) never be read unless submitted with appropriate fees and according to the Publisher's guidelines. Consider if you would like reading Pornography out aloud to a co-worker who is doing the checking for grammar and spelling, etc.

Aaaaaaah... just get a book on Publishing Manuscripts and see what goes on. My 2 cents with a dash of good luck......

[Deidzoeb]

Are there that many proofreading job openings around? If proofreaders or publishers are advising you to get into that field, then follow their advice. Anyone else recommending it, ask yourself whether they are qualified to advise.