You won’t be able to achieve the goals you set on your own as a newbie proofreader if you don’t focus on planning. If you think you’ve got a propensity for checking, you should develop a correct strategy to assist you discover more customers and recognition..
Keep checking out to discover 13 simple yet actionable tips that will assist you improve your confidence and allow you to achieve more in a short time!
1. Find Good Jobs
Working for pennies at a hazardous office is not your only option as a rookie proofreader. Instead of forcing yourself to deal with jobs you don’t like, you ought to think about discovering jobs that fit your choices and pay you well..
Going on the internet is the most convenient way to discover better gigs as a novice proofreader. You can check out remote proofreading tasks that allow you to work on versatile schedules and allow you to sharpen your abilities in a short time..
2. Improve Your Craft
As a proofreader, the most essential thing you require to concentrate on is your checking skills. Keep in mind that you will present your proofreading work as a portfolio to find new customers. You will only have the ability to have a strong portfolio to land better gigs if you are a strong proofreader..
Think about taking online or in-person courses to assist you sharpen your checking skills rapidly. Write more so you can internalize good composing practices and spot errors immediately..
3. Read More Books
3. Learn more Books.
Checking out fantastic books can help you discover what distinguishes excellent writing from bad writing. The more you check out, the easier it will be to identify an author’s voice and ensure you can check their work thoroughly..
You do not need to spend much money to find out more books. You can think about obtaining books from a digital or local library if you have a tight budget..
Ensure you allocate some time in your day-to-day routine to check out books without compromising on other activities you require to carry out..
4. Get Active on Socials.
A strong existence on social media channels can help you showcase your checking skills and discover brand-new customers easily..
The very best thing about getting active on social media is that it helps you strengthen your “individual brand” to assist you distinguish yourself from other proofreaders..
Getting active on socials does not need you to invest a great deal of money and time. Initially, you require to identify the social channels where the majority of people from your target audience invest their time. After that, you need to produce your social accounts and explore popular subjects to develop a proper social calendar..
5. Build Your Website.
A website is a great method to have a positive first impression on prospective clients. An attractive website that showcases your abilities and checking portfolio makes you more recognizable and permits you to command higher rates..
Building your website isn’t costly if you discover how to establish a site yourself. There is no lack of online tutorials to assist you rapidly establish your site. If you get stuck on something when developing your site, connect for aid to fix that problem in time..
6. Grow Your Network.
Including more authors, proofreaders, editors, and publishing specialists to your network will help you connect with possible customers easily. A strong network helps you with client acquisition and lets you get actionable suggestions whenever you desire..
Structure your network does not require you to invest much time everyday. If you can not sign up with in-person networking occasions due to your rigorous routine, you need to think about participating in online events to grow your network faster..
7. Concentrate On Getting Quality Sleep.
Completing your clients’ tasks on time and investing your energy in growing your network can impact your creativity and body. To guarantee you can keep providing the very best to your customers, you should sleep for 7-8 hours daily..
Attempt getting your work done during designated hours, so you do not need to stay awake till late during the night. Avoid having a heavy meal or exercising prior to bed so you can drop off to sleep quickly..
8. Follow a Style Guide.
Styling practices like APA Guidelines can be hard to follow when checking a writer’s work. It’s better to keep a Style Guide handy to guarantee you do not break any standards when proofreading. Make sure you buy a physical copy of a design guide to refer to it whenever you want..
9. Don’t Rush Through the Process.
Proofreading is time-consuming, needing you to inspect everything a writer finishes with excellent focus and precision. To guarantee you don’t overlook any mistakes when checking, you need to consider keeping things slow and smooth..
10. Examine the Facts.
Copyediting is not the only thing you will provide for your client. You will also need to check if they’ve used the right quotes, discussed the best dates, cited the right sources, etc, to make sure that their writing is factually appropriate..
Boost your online research skills to guarantee your customer’s writing is devoid of factual/logical errors..
11. Remove Jargon.
The usage of technical terms can never ever help an author engage their readers. When proofreading a customer’s work, you should change lingo with simple terms to guarantee the writing sounds natural and motivates the reader to read from start to end..
12. Keep the Sentences Short.
Numerous writers tend to write longer sentences to get their message throughout. Nevertheless, super-long sentences that extend to infinity can never make composing persuasive. You need to change complex, long sentences with short sentences that engage the readers..
13. Read Books about Proofreading.
A terrific method of improving your proofreading craft is by checking out books on checking. The assistance of skilled proofreaders can assist you prevent making mistakes when proofreading the works of your customers. Some of the famous books on proofreading are:.
The Chicago Manual of Style.
The best punctuation book, period.
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.
