How Much can I Earn as a Proofreader?

The National Union of Journalists suggests that freelance proofreaders can charge from £21 per hour, but this is only a rough guide and will change depending on the variables given below:

• how often you want to work – if you only want to work part-time hours you will not earn as much as you would if you work full-time.
  
  
• how much each job pays – you could work for a small, locally run publication and only earn a small amount per job, or a large multinational organisation and earn hundreds of pounds for each project.
  
  
• how much work is available – there may be times when more work is available, such as during a recession when companies may try to save money by outsourcing proofreading work to freelancers.
  
  
• how experienced your are – as is the case with most professions, the less experience you have the less you can charge for your services.
  
  
• whether you have a specialism – if you know about a niche area you may be able to charge more for your services.
  
  
• how much time and effort you are prepared to put into finding clients – if you sit back and hope that clients come and find you it’s likely that you will be disappointed.

Joining a society or registering your details on a well-respected professional website can boost your credibility by showing that you have achieved a certain level of training and adhere to a code of practice. This should give potential clients confidence in your skills and may allow you to charge a little more for your services.

Building a portfolio also helps gain new clients as they can see who you’ve previously worked for .

So, it’s not really possible to give any definite answer to this question – it really will depend on your skill and your determination to build a client base.

If you want to learn more about proofreading and how you can become a full or part-time proofreader why not request a free brochure about our course.