D
o you need online proofreading jobs? An
additional income stream can be a great idea, whether you want to switch to working from home or looking for a side job. Capitalizing on your skills can be the easiest
way to create a passive income to boost your regular paycheck, especially during these tough economic times.
Proofreading is an in-demand online service you can offer remotely. Furthermore, it can be easy to start a proofreading business if you’ve got the basic skills. Today’s article looks at how you can get paid to proofread. But first, is proofreading the same as editing?
What is Proofreading?
Proofreading is the final process of carefully reviewing a written copy and fixing grammatical and spelling mistakes. Ideally, you’re the last person to reread the manuscript, article, or blog post, ensuring it’s crisp before publishing. It also includes fact-checking to ensure that the information in the document is accurate.
Conversely, editors handle the content structure, scope, clarity, tone, typos, and grammar errors. While an editor and a proofreader have similar roles, the latter tackles the last bit of the job—this makes proofreading an easy side hustle to start.
Who hires proofreaders? As a proofreader, you’ll have a ton of niches—content type and industry-wise— to consider. You can proofread academic documents, web content, books, magazines, newspapers, court documents, or manuals. You can also specialize in industries like health, law, finance, technology, or pharmaceuticals.
The exciting thing about proofreading is you can work 100% remotely and handle it during your free time.
How Much Do Online Proofreaders Make?
Online proofreading can be lucrative but vary drastically depending on your expertise and niche. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics averages the annual proofreader’s income to be $43,940. You can earn anywhere between $29,120 and $62,260. The hourly rate for a proofreader ranges from $14 to $29.93.
Some proofreading niches pay more than others, which can determine your ballpark rate as an online proofreader. For instance, proofreading accounting,
tax, professional, and technical documents can pay $29 per hour, while proofreading for newspapers pays $17 per hour. Remember, nothing is set to stone, and you charge for your services how you deem fit. You can price your proofreading services per word, project, or hour.
How do I Become an Online Proofreader?
While proofreading is an
easy side hustle to start, it can be tricky to figure out your successful path. The first step to becoming an online proofreader is to create a reading culture. Proofreading involves a ton of reading, and it pays if you love reading and learning—more often than not, you’ll have to read a document several times to catch the tiniest mistakes. As an avid reader, you can handle even the topics that don’t interest you.
Once you create a reading culture, it is important to understand your duties as a proofreader. Your job as an online proofreader is to ensure that your client’s document is crisp, direct to the point, and has zero spelling and grammar mistakes. Furthermore, some projects require you to be more than just a grammar nerd; you need to know how to fix the style, and errors, ensure proper word usage, and fact-check the document details.
As a beginner proofreader, you can take proofreading courses to improve your skills and give you a competitive advantage. It can also help you get up to date on the new style guides like the APA, MLA, Chicago, and AP. Find a proofreading course that offers comprehensive and authentic tips to succeed as an online proofreader.
Proofread Anywhere is our top choice for the best proofreading course. This course provides actionable tips on starting online proofreading, getting online proofreading jobs, and overall copyediting skills. Whether you want to learn general or transcription proofreading, Proofread Anywhere covers everything you need to know before launching your business.
You’ll qualify for a certificate of completion once you finish your course. The time it takes to complete this course varies depending on your commitment, and you can complete it within a month. Sign up for the introductory workshop to learn if the course fits your goals.
Have you got the necessary proofreading skills? Market your services to get on your potential client’s radar. But first, you need to decide on your proofreading niche. Do you want to proofread web content, blogs, essays, fiction, non-fiction books, technical documents, or resumes? Choosing an area of specialty narrows your client search and portrays you as a specialist worth their salt.
Effective marketing is key to a successful online proofreading business. Create a website to upload your portfolio and skills and boost credibility. You can use many platforms to find clients, like LinkedIn, social media, and job boards.
How do I Start Proofreading with No Experience?
Are you wondering how you can start proofreading with no experience? One of the most straightforward ways to find online proofreading jobs is to use marketplaces. Below are the best places to get your first online proofreading job. These sites offer a hassle-free way to get paid to proofread without experience.
1. Upwork
Upwork is one of the leading and most legit marketplaces for online proofreading jobs. It is free and a no-brainer to join this marketplace. Upwork boasts of having over
145k employers hiring freelancers—30% of these clients are Fortune 100 companies. Once you signup, you can complete your profile, stating your skills and experiences. Upwork will award you with free Connects you can use to send proposals, aka job applications, to potential clients.
You can earn $20/hr as a beginner proofreader on Upwork. Intermediates and experienced proofreaders’ rate is $30/hr and $60/hr, respectively.
Get started with Upwork now
2. Fiverr
Fiverr works like Upwork; the only difference is that you don’t send proposals. To be a proofreader on Fiverr, you must create your profile and gig offers. You price your offer and optimize it for SEO on Fiverr. A potential client will go through your offer, and if impressed, they’ll hire you.
Using Fiverr is relatively straightforward since you don’t need to send several bids. Once you create a gig, clients can find you through search. However, you must be slightly more aggressive to get your feet wet on this platform. Market your proofreading services on social media. Fiverr services start at $5, but you can sell for more.
Get started with Fiverr now
3. Flex Jobs
Flex jobs is another excellent platform to get legit online proofreading jobs. Unlike Upwork and Fiver, Flexjobs is a subscription-based website that links you up with companies needing proofreaders. FlexJobs will do the heavy work, marketing, attracting, and vetting legitimate clients and companies ready to hire you for a small fee.
Furthermore, you’ll enjoy resources like Q&A sessions, job fairs, webinars, skill tests, and articles. As the name suggests, FlexJobs focuses on remote and flexible jobs you can handle at home or during your part-time hours. Join Flex for only $9.95—sometimes they have discounts for new memberships.
Get started with Flex Jobs now
Scribe Media is one of the top publishing companies working with authors. This is your opportunity if your area of specialty is proofreading books. They have full-time and part-time remote proofreading jobs as long as you reside in one of the states. Sign up for the Scribe Media newsletter to get job alerts.
Get started with Scribe Media now
5. CACTUS
CACTUS is a technology company serving industries like academia and life sciences. If you enjoy proofreading journals, research papers, medical device manuals, and other academic papers. This proofreading job site can be your perfect shot if you enjoy reading technical documents. Moreover, you can access tons of free tutorials, articles, and tips from other proofreaders.
Get started with CACTUS now
6. Get Editing Jobs
Get Editing Jobs is a trustable job board for all remote jobs, including proofreading jobs. While companies post vacancies directly on this site, you can also find syndicated gigs from other job boards. You don’t have to sign up to apply for jobs, but you may need to sign up for email alerts on new job leads.
7. Scribendi
With over two decades in business, Scribendi is another top choice for proofreading jobs. They offer editing services to businesses, authors, ESL writers, and students. Whether you’re looking to edit academic work, books, business documents, or essays, Scribending offers in-house and freelance proofreading jobs. Email the hiring team at
Scribendi for more information.
Get started with Scribendi now
8. Proofreading Services
Proofreading Services help refine academic documents, books, academic papers, and resumes, and tutor ESL speakers. They’re looking for online proofreaders and ESL tutors to work part or full-time. Proofreading Services will pay you anything between $19 and $46 per hour; this rate can increase depending on the task urgency. You’ll need to take a 20-minute test, and if successful, you can work for this company.
Get started with Proofreading Services now
9. Indeed
If you’ve searched for a job online, you know that Indeed is one of the biggest free job boards. It features job categories from thousands of industries, and you can expect to find high-paying proofreading jobs.
A proofreader on
Indeed can snag jobs paying between $21 and $29 per hour. You must create an Indeed account and update your resume to apply for jobs. Indeed provides free tools and proficiency tests you can take to improve your chances of getting a job.
Get started with Indeed now
Media Bistro works with some of the biggest media and publishing companies, and you can find high-paying proofreading gigs. It is the best job site if you like working on media, marketing, and publishing content. What I like about this proofreading job board is you can narrow your search by location and sign up for email notifications on new jobs. It is a free job board, so you don’t have to pay even a cent to apply for jobs.
Get started with Media Bistro now
11. Scribbr
Scribbr is an award-winning proofreading and editing company serving academia. It is the best company for proofreaders with experience editing dissertations, essays, thesis, personal statements, and academic papers.
Scribbr pays between
$20 to $30 per hour, depending on the assignment and the urgency. Furthermore, they offer editing courses to help you hone your proofreading skills. Are you multilingual? Scribbr offers opportunities to proofread documents written in French, German, and Dutch.
Get started with Scribbr now
12. Proofreading Pal
Do you have experience with writing styles like APA, AP, MLA, CMS, or CSE?
Proofreading Pal is looking for you to proofread academic documents. You can proofread student documents, thesis, dissertation, books, essays, resumes, and much more. A typical Proofreading Pal earns between $500 to $3,000 per month.
Get started with Proofreading Pal now
13. Lion Bridge
Lion Bridge helps businesses worldwide break the language barrier through localized content. Give this company a shot if you’re considering a full-time proofreading job. Your job is to ensure the content is culturally appropriate, find, correct, and report linguistic errors, and verify the content accuracy.
Get started with Lion Bridge now
14. Edit Fast
Edit Fast is another legit company that is looking for freelance proofreaders. With this company, you work as an independent contractor/freelancer. First, you’ll need to register and wait for the approval. Once you get your account, Edit Fast will notify you of any available job opportunities. This can be an excellent option if you need to leverage an established agency without paying a subscription fee. But, there is a catch; you’ll part with 40% of every project earnings you make using this website.
Get started with Edit Fast now
15. Polished Paper
Do you love proofreading business documents, student essays, manuscripts, or personal documents, i.e., resume?
Polished Paper is another fully-fledged proofreading and editing company offering services across various industries. To join this company, you must fill out an application form and upload your resume. Once you have an account, you must complete an editor test with 35 questions.
Get started with Polished Paper now
Get Paid to Proofread Documents Online
With companies, authors, academicians, content creators, marketers, and other entities valuing effective communication, it is safe to say there’s an in-demand for proofreaders. Plus, proofreading can be an easy skill to master, and you can find location-independent jobs.
Are you interested in learning more about online copyediting and writing jobs? We strive to share helpful personal development,
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