How can one market himself as a copy editor or proofreader?

Create a website/blog promoting your services, blitz Elance.com and other job sites for copy editing jobs (typically low paying), do good work, earn a reputation, ask for referrals, raise your rates, and become a superstar.

 

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-
IC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

First test. How many F's are in that paragraph?

 

Dang it. Nothing wrong. I could have picked on your extreme use of unnecessary commas but, by BBS standards, you have a Ph.D. in relation to the rest of the peeps here. Well done, sir.

I would like to offer you a position in the CFPRCAGNS (ClutchFans Proof-Reading Club And Grammar Nazi Society), sir . It has been born today.

Actually, it would have been born yesterday when I saw your thread, but I had to go home before I could respond to you.

Do you know other languages besides English? Maybe that can help you more in your marketing. I know Spanish and English. I would like to become a professional writer once in the future... I have already done the translation bit in Spanish, but not proofreading.

 

Some grammarians say it's fine. Others do not. How do you feel about ending sentences in a preposition?

 

You want to start a freelance proofreader? Good luck.

I don't think you are going to get much work, but your best bet would be to advertise your services in those writing magazines.

 

You can start with this guy:

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=164002

 

LOL. You catch the "for", I let it slide. I truly hate ending sentences with a preposition, and many companies THRIVE on those things:

"Where [sic] you at?" boost mobile

 

ill pay you some money to proofread my english papers this weekend

 

Do some work for free. Check out websites where you could improve the content or writing - and then contact them and say you will do it for free.

Then you can build up a portfolio as a copy-writer and say you've done work on these websites.

But copy-writing and proofing are too seperate things ya know?

 

Whence came all this anger?

 

He said copy editing. As far as I know (and I'm a copywriter), there's not a big difference between copy editing and proofreading.

 

Ha ha. I was thinking the same thing. If you're going to come in here bragging like that, you had better be able to back that ***** up.

Commas should not really be used like this. Dashes would be more appropriate, or just break it up into two sentences.

Another bad use of the comma.

 

If you guys really want to strip his credentials, here is a hint: Grammar teachers really look down on the so-called split infinitives.

Real English majors know this stuff.

 

Another thing: E.B White really frowns on the slow build up. One of the blankety blank type constructions.

 

I agree with some of the other posters' comments. If you seek a position as an editor or proofreader, you need to improve some of your grammar as illustrated in your post. It also depends upon the types of documents you will be proofreading. Do you want to edit technical documents or creative work? For technical documents, you need to be familiar with the jargon used within the particular industry. For creative work, many of the rules of grammar are broken under the "artistic license" guideline.

So, in fiction you can write something like:

"It was an inexorably slow wait. Of seconds and minutes. Dripping downward. Damn! It was too much to take after the ordeal of Saturday, so I raced out the door...."

However, for technical writing, one might see something like:

"I designed a 3-part system subsequently used by the U.S. Department of Energy to minimize power failures in government-run semiconductor plants, leading to a 30% reduction in errors and a commendation from the department for my efforts."

You have to know the rules of grammar inside and out, and you also have to be aware of when it is acceptable to break them.

I quote the movie D.C. Cab:

Mr T: "Why you always trying to shut us down? Where's a cat like you at?"
Inspector: "If you had any education, you would know that you don't end a sentence with a preposition."
Barnett: "Oh, OK. So, where's you at, a**hole?"




"Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function?"
"Tying up words and phrases and clauses"
"He cut loose the sandbag BUT the balloon wouldn't go any higher"
"Let's go up to the mountains OR down to the sea"
"You should always say 'Thank you' OR at least say 'Please.'"

"Verb- That's What's Happening"
"Give me a noun, I'll bend it- Bat, boat, rake, plow..."

Schoolhouse rock rules.

Sorry. for. the. tangent. Check out www.cyberedit.com. They're usually looking for editors. Elance is a good option, as well. There are many out there.

Too many options to consider is better than just two. You're just going to have to spend your time doing Google searches to find some of these. You have nothing to lose with a loose approach. There will always be individuals who need their work edited, and they're out there, believe me.

 

Hmmm... let's see:

When writing the name of a movie, either italicize or place the name of the movie inside quotes, like so:

Meh. I'm too busy to look for more.

Yes, I agree. Schoolhouse Rock rocks:

 

Not quotes- you either put it in italics or underline. Like the name of a TV show:

The Office

is underlined, but an episode from that show

"The Injury"

is put into quotes.

I'm too lazy to go up to the command above and underline or italicize on this board- since I'm not submitting this for a grade, a client review, or another evaluation-based situation, I'm not concerned about following every rule of grammar (besides the fact that many of them are not agreed upon by everyone- for example, the MLA Handbook and the Chicago Manual of Style have several instances in which the rule in one is not the same in another).

However, moreso, being that which this particular thread of discussion pertains to the proper adherence and utilization of standard grammatical rules, and furthermore complying with the mutually accepted practices of composition within contemporary society, I hereby offer the following as a commendable example from one of America's foremost linguists of the manner in which all wordsmiths should conduct their grammatical pursuits:

"Don't you think I realize what's going on here, miss? Who do you think I am, huh? Don't you think I know that if I was some hotshot from out of town that pulled inside here and you guys made a reservation mistake, I'd be the first one to get a room and I'd be upstairs relaxing right now. But I'm not some hotshot from out of town, I'm a small reporter from "Rolling Stone" magazine that's in town to do an exclusive interview with Michael Jackson that's gonna be picked up by every major magazine in the country. I was gonna call the article "Michael Jackson Is Sitting On Top of the World," but now I think I might as well just call it "Michael Jackson Can Sit On Top of the World Just As Long As He Doesn't Sit in the Beverly Palm Hotel 'Cause There's No N***ers Allowed in There!"

 

Nice post, sir, but...

that's the difference between you and me.

 

Oh, please, come on, now. I have a degree in English, I taught English for four years, and I have been a writer, editor, and proofreader for the past 10 years. I deliver seminars and workshops on grammar, for crying out loud. That being said, there are separate rules/guidelines of grammar for formal and informal writing. It'd be like saying Mark Twain is a bad grammarian based on his book Huckleberry Finn without having read any of his 100s of essays. I don't send out emails with obvious grammar mistakes, but at the same time, I don't have the time nor need to worry about non-essential grammar rules when sending email messages or posting on a message board. If that's your deal, more power to you.