proofreading--online courses, who you'd hire, etc (thinking to WAH)

[moodymaximus]

i've been doing proofreading / critiques for several quite advanced but not yet well published fiction writers, who all know me from a writing workshop we attended--i really enjoy it, and i think i'm good at it. they keep coming back, so they think i suit their needs, it seems.

i'm thinking about a WAH opportunities, and i think it might be easier to get new clients if i had some sort of a certification, especially as english isn't my first language.

for example, i'm good at spotting errors in grammar and punctuation, and i'd also offer thoughts on plot, character, dialogue, pace, theme etc (for fiction writers). the thing is that the writers who hired me trusted my judgement and sharp eye, but were good enough not to make basic errors in word usage, for example (though there was quite a lot of work for me to do, sometimes i'd have corrections in every line). but i do know that as a non-native speaker, i sometimes miss certain awkward expressions that might sound just okay to my ears.

would you hire a proofreader whose first language wasn't english? why and why not?

would a certificate change your mind?

what if i had publication credits? (i don't have anything of importance now, but hoping, always hoping. and writing. )

there are so many courses offered online. anyone has any idea who is reputable?

ETA: don't tell me i am a poor proofreader if you find errors in this post .

[mamadaan]

Call yourself an editor!

Hi,

I have read your post, and I think it may be better if you call yourself an editor rather than a proofreader. My idea of a proofreader is someone who does really check all of the little points in grammar and things.

It sounds like you are doing what an editor does. You are giving suggestions on the whole structure of the work, rather than concentrating on the details of the grammar.

I am writing web content for someone whose first language is not English. He does pick out grammatical mistakes (I seem to write "the the" quite often), but tells me that he cannot tell whether something 'reads' well.

I have also given suggestions on how to improve the structure of Dutch language documents. They seem to have been well-recieved. However, I really need to have all of my writing in Dutch checked carefully.

I hope that my thoughts were useful to you!

[moodymaximus]

ah, okay, this makes more sense. even though i do check the little points in grammar, i might still miss one or two. though i think if i re-read a grammar text, i might brush up on those. i'm actually very good at grammar. .

"the the" would be more of a typo, than a grammatical error, though.

and i can tell if something doesn't read well, but again, there might be one instance that i might not. that's he problem. i know that from a proofreader one would expect 100%, not 97%.

but i think you are right, most of what i do is editing. thanks!

so the same type of question:

would you hire an editor whose english language wasn't his / her first?

would a certificate change your mind?

would posting a sample of my work on my site (if i were to have a site) help?

or it is still too much of a stretch?

Originally Posted by mamadaan

Hi,

I have read your post, and I think it may be better if you call yourself an editor rather than a proofreader. My idea of a proofreader is someone who does really check all of the little points in grammar and things.

It sounds like you are doing what an editor does. You are giving suggestions on the whole structure of the work, rather than concentrating on the details of the grammar.

I am writing web content for someone whose first language is not English. He does pick out grammatical mistakes (I seem to write "the the" quite often), but tells me that he cannot tell whether something 'reads' well.

I have also given suggestions on how to improve the structure of Dutch language documents. They seem to have been well-recieved. However, I really need to have all of my writing in Dutch checked carefully.

I hope that my thoughts were useful to you!