Learning how to proofread/edit

Jen

I had a brain wave yesterday that doing course in proof reading and copy writing could take me from my rubbish job or at least help me learn some skills to improve my writing. As usual with research I realised it's not as easy to get work as it looks so quit hoping.
But I wondered if it would be worth doing some sort of course to improve my general editing/English skills for my writing. If not a course then is there a book which can help me improve style etc?
I'm not bad at all the writing skills that's all I was good at in school but I would like to improve too

Carol

Baggy will probably be the best person to answer.

Baggy Books

I did a course years ago when I was working (as a volunteer) on a local magazine as editor. I wanted to improve my skills and I thought it would be fun (I like learning).

Fast-forward to now and I earn serious money from those skills.

It's not easy to get work - you have to work as hard at that as anything else, but that's the same with any business.

Publishers use freelancers and they don't necessarily worry about courses and qualifications - I've always had to submit a test piece. It doesn't matter (in my opinion) how qualified a person might be, you still need to have an eye for detail and that can't be taught.

It would be wrong to embark on a course in the hope you could earn a living from it - but developing existing skills is never a bad idea. Who knows where it might lead?

Good luck!

Mrs Bear

For starters there's The Pocket Book of Proofreading by William Critchley (about £12 on Amazon at present). Definitely worth a look.

Carol

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Book-Proofreading-proofreading-copy-editing/dp/0955143721/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396702818&sr=1-1&keywords=the+pocket+book+of+proofreading

It has a look inside option.

Abster

Baggy Books, how did you go about getting work in this area? I've always thought it was something that might fit in well with my child-herding activities until they're all at school, and I'm a demon reader, but I'd heard it was really hard to get into and discarded the idea. Perhaps it would be worth trying..? Since I am trying to grab opportunities this year and 'play to my strengths'.

Baggy Books

I took a deep breath and knocked on doors - or emailed publishers, to be more precise. More and more are using freelancers - but it's all down to passing that crucial test.

I don't think it's necessarily hard to get into, more that it's harder to make the required grade.

I'm fortunate to have that magazine experience on my CV - but I still had to take the tests. One came back with the comment that I'd missed something, but spotted some things they hadn't. That was rather satisfying.

I have a financial background - so in addition to working for publishers I also offer my services to accountants - for their websites and newsletters. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it pulls together lots of areas of expertise.

That's possibly what I'd suggest to anyone considering becoming a proofreader - look at your experience, what's your USP?

As for being a demon reader, if you mean spotting things, that's great. But speed will work against you. Taking your time is a skill you need to develop.

Abster

Thanks - really interesting to hear your personal take on it. I can read fast when necessary but what I really meant by demon reader is that it's hard to find me without some reading material in my hand...

Abster

...sadly, too often it's not something I've written myself! I'm trying to crack the habit.

Stan2

Do nuns have this habit too?