Other businesses that require a great deal of data transmission via computer or fax machine often send and receive data during the night when phone rates are the cheapest. These businesses also use evening - and night-shift proofreaders.
While many people can't-or won't-work these kinds of hours, such jobs offer a glorious opportunity for the adventuresome proofreader to break into the business. Since the hours are undesirable to many people, the competition isn't as stiff for the first-timer looking for work. Sometimes employers pay more for people willing to work late at night too.
If working at night isn't your cup of tea, there is plenty of daytime work available. Available work falls into four categories. There is straight freelance, in which the proofreader either picks up or is delivered the work to do at home. On-site freelance work is done at the employer's place of business, usually at the hours specified by the employer. The proofreader is not an employee of the company, however, and is probably called upon only in emergencies or on an as-needed basis. Part-time proofreaders generally are employees of the company, but they work either shorter hours or fewer days than full-timers. And then, of course, there are the fulltime jobs.
Rates of Pay
As with other types of editorial work, pay rates vary throughout the country and from industry to industry. For fulltime work, starting salaries for proofreaders range from the high teens to the low- to mid-twenties, with possibilities for advancement to much higher levels, especially if you move on to other types of editorial work like copy editing or production editing. Pay is generally higher on both coasts and in larger cities.
Freelance Rates
Companies who use freelance proofreaders a lot, e.g., book publishers, printers, law firms, usually have a set hourly rate that isn't negotiable, at least initially. Some employers pay more for experience and top-quality work; others don't, but they probably won't keep you if your work isn't up to snuff.
Hourly rates for freelancers range from about $6 per hour all the way to $25 per hour and up. We know one freelancer who got her first job without even knowing what a proofreading symbol was, and she started at $25 an hour! Needless to say, she learned fast.
Who Pays More?
In general, you can probably expect to be paid more to proofread for businesses than for publishers, but this isn't always so. Employers often pay more for more technical copy, but again, not always. After you get some experience, you should have no trouble earning from $12 to $20 an hour. Occasionally you might find a sweet deal that pays more.
Quoting a Rate
Many businesses will expect the proofreader to quote the rate, and in some cases, will get several quotes before assigning the work. You should be prepared for this; decide what fee you want to charge before looking for work. To get a feel for the going rate in your community, call a variety of businesses-you don't have to give your name-and ask what they pay for freelance proofreading. If there's a range-there probably will be-set your rate somewhere between the high and the low, at least until you get some experience. When you know you're really good, you can ask top dollar and get it, but don't try that until you're ready.
Fighting the Competition
If you know you're competing against other proofreaders for the opportunity to do a given job, it's tempting to cut your rate to the bone to ensure that you'll get the job. Unless you're desperate for work, this may not be a good idea. Remember that you're setting your rate for that particular company with the first job. If you do a lot of subsequent work for that company, you'll be stuck with starvation wages, and even if you later raise the rate, you usually can't make a gigantic leap to bring you up to par. Another thing: proofreaders often get work through referrals from satisfied clients. Do you really want your client to say, "Oh, I highly recommend Paula Proofreader. She does a wonderful job, and she only charges two-fifty an hour!" Something else to keep in mind: working for substandard rates contributes to holding down pay for everyone throughout the industry.
Ballpark Quotes
In most parts of the country, a good starting quote would be $15 to $17 an hour if you don't have other guidelines. Negotiating is common throughout the business: if you start about there, you can drop the rate a dollar or two and still feel decently compensated, and it's not so high a rate that it will scare off people who planned to pay less. Be sure to establish in your mind the bottom rate you'll be willing to accept before you start negotiating.
Package Price
Occasionally, you'll be asked to quote a package price for the entire job rather than an hourly rate. To do that, decide on the hourly rate you want to get and then figure the number of pages or galleys per hour that you can do. Multiply the number of hours the job will take-giving yourself a little leeway-by the hourly rate, and you have the package price. Seven pages an hour or four to six galleys is a good gauge; experienced proofreaders generally work at about this pace. If the work is very easy, you may be able to go faster.
You have to know the exact length of the job before you can quote a package price, and it's vastly preferable if you can see the work before you give a package quote. If there are tables, scientific formulas, charts, columns of figures, and things like that, the work will be much more difficult than straight copy, and you'll have to allow extra time.
Sometimes you can give a rough estimate over the phone with the promise of an exact quote when you go in to pick up the copy. A client will rarely turn you down if the quote is higher than the estimate when you're standing there with your hand out, waiting to take the work.
Fix the Rate First
It's surprising how many novice proofreaders forget to talk about pay before they take a job. If you don't find out about money upfront, you could be unpleasantly surprised when you get your paycheck.
Reasonable Time Limits
Before you've acquired real proficiency, your pace may be slower than the one we've suggested. You may work slower to begin with, and you may want to go over the work an extra time or two to be sure you've caught all the errors. Don't charge the client for your learning experience. Charge for your time roughly within the guidelines we've indicated. In the beginning, this may mean not invoicing for all the time you've spent, but look at it this way: You're learning, and you're being paid for it. If you charge for considerably more hours than an experienced proofreader would, you may not get future work from that client, even if your work is good. Before you know it, you'll be a demon proofreader, and you'll know exactly what your pace should be. Then, you can charge for every minute of your time!
Most proofreaders love their jobs. If you care about the printed word and you like to fine-tune a project, you will too. Imagine your pride in leafing through a perfectly typeset book that is error-free and without typos and knowing that it was you who made that possible!
