Does anyone here do editing work from home? How did you get started?

[gandpsmommy]

I have a degree in Spanish with a minor in Linguistics. I have no editing experience. I love grammar, and I'm pretty good at making revisions for people. Is there anyway to get started in editing with these qualifications and be able to work part-time from home? Thanks.

[Pretty in Pink]

I have a friend who does this, at least I think this is what you are talking about. She calls it word processing though. She does various write-ups for local publications such as pamphlets you might find at the library or chamber of commerce, community newsletters, etc. I will ask her how she got her foot in the door.

[Harriet Vane]

I have a friend who does this, at least I think this is what you are talking about. She calls it word processing though. She does various write-ups for local publications such as pamphlets you might find at the library or chamber of commerce, community newsletters, etc. I will ask her how she got her foot in the door.

 

This is not editing. This is writing market copy.

 

I used to edit and proofread, both within a company context and also as a freelancer. Both require the editor/proofreader to read and correct someone else's written work. Editors focus on the writing itself, helping direct the author through revisions, additions, and cuts. Along the way they also fix grammar and punctuation, but the focus is on the work as a whole, the writing itself. The editor is usually also the person who is in relationship with the author.

 

A copyeditor is someone who focuses more on fixing the details pieces of the text--the grammar, spelling, punctuation, making sure names are spelled consistently or sources are cited correctly, etc. They can fuss a little over the wording of things as well. All copy edits are subject to the editor's oversight.

 

A typesetter sets the text in preparation for publishing.

 

A proofreader looks at the typeset galleys and corrects both the typesetting as well as the technical details of the text (spelling, punctuation, etc.). Since the galleys are typeset the hope is that the proofreader will find very little to correct. They do not re-word things. All changes are subject to the editor's oversight.

 

Many publishing houses do not differentiate between proofreaders and copy editors--they just call them all proofreaders even though their tasks before and after typesetting are different.

 

Proofreading is easy to learn and easy to start doing. Editing is a little harder. There are those that break into editing by building a reputation as a proofreader first.

 

My experience is from ten years ago, but I think things still run more or less the same. Get thee to your local bookstore and buy a current copy of The Chicago Manual of Style. Familiarize yourself with it, and focus heavily on the chapters that teach proofreading guidelines. When I was in the business these were chapters 5-7, but that may have changed since then.

 

Once you think you have learned the proofreading chapters, contact publishers and offer to take their proofreader's test. If you do well, they may throw you a project or two to test your quality. Or they might stick your paperwork in a file and forget about you. Thus, it can be to your advantage to offer to do a full project for free, both to show your quality and to ask for their feedback on your work. If they like your work, they will start feeding you projects. Once you have proven yourself at one company it is easy to vet your resume around and offer to take the proofreading tests at other companies and build yourself a stable of clients.

 

That is with regard to book publishing--there may be a different process for marketing firms or magazines, etc. I have trained two different women to do this, and both have been able to freelance as proofreaders for years. I will warn you, though, it's very focused, very detailed work. Your reading speed needs to be fast, and you cannot do this and expect to pay attention to a kid at the same time.

 

You will also want to check with individual companies as to what dictionary or other reference works their proofreaders keep, and what standards they might have for doing the work electronically (software, etc.). When I was doing this editors worked electronically but proofreaders and copy editors worked on hard copy until the editor approved the changes, at which point the copy editor/proofreader inputs the changes.