Home > Distance Learning > Basic Proofreading
Case study
Trends in employment have been changing over the past few years. The idea of a ‘job for life’ is no longer the norm, with the majority of people experiencing at least one career change during their working life, and a steadily increasing number working part-time, flexitime or from home.
These developments run parallel to another trend; that of businesses contracting out services and employing individuals on temporary or fixed-term contracts to cut costs and improve efficiency.
The publishing industry is one of the areas following this general trend of outsourcing work.
The benefits to the publisher of outsourcing are clear – costs are reduced significantly by tailoring employment precisely to workflow – but this flexibility can also work in the favour of the freelance, giving them the freedom to organise their working life around other responsibilities and interests.
Phil Sanders, a freelance proofreader from Coventry, combined part-time work with a distance learning course, and gained a job which utilised both his interest in editorial work and his legal training.
"Five years ago I was working part-time in the transport section of my local authority. This allowed me time to tackle some of my various on-going creative writing projects, including a collection of verse I was about to publish. Proofreading this ignited my interest in the proofreading task itself, and as a result I joined the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP).
"After attending their Introduction to Proofreading course, I decided to do the Publishing Training Centre’s Basic Proofreading by Distance Learning course. On completion of the course, I wrote many letters to publishers in search of that first job, which eventually came in the shape of a job from a leading law publisher. I couldn’t believe my luck, as I had hoped to put my legal training to use. Since then I’ve undertaken several assignments for the same publisher."
If you can offer a potential client some expertise in a subject it certainly improves your chances of finding work with a publisher, but as Marjorie Clarke (pictured) from West Sussex found, with the right training – and perseverance – there are opportunities for those without a specialised field.
"A locally based international medical marketing company were advertising for editors, and the advertisement also mentioned that they wanted a freelance proofreader who would be available locally to work in-house or at home on an as-and-when basis. They gave me a test piece to do, and although the content was very specialised and technical, in a field that I know little about, I did well in the test and they took me on.
"That was last May, and since then I've been working regularly for this client. I feel that the Publishing Training Centre’s course had prepared me well for what has turned out to be quite demanding work."
The Basic Proofreading by Distance Learning course takes the student through the whole process of correcting texts using the British Standards Institution symbols. In addition it covers topics such as house style and design specifications, the processes involved in producing books or journals, and how to avoid problems that can arise from changes and corrections.
Regular exercises and assignments chart progress and the estimated study time for the course is around 35 hours. There is no entry qualification, but you do need an eye for detail, a good command of English grammar and accurate spelling.
"I found the PTC course challenging" said Mr Sanders, "it exposes your strengths but, more importantly, it exposes your weaknesses. Recognising them and giving greater attention to them is necessary if your technique is to be strengthened. In that regard, the feedback from the graded assignments that comprise the course is invaluable – as is the telephone contact with your tutor to resolve outstanding queries."