Looking for that Sweet Freelance Proofreading Gig Part I:

The Pathways to Publishers

The world is full of amazing writers who are constantly creating works that need proofreading. With every great writer and publisher, comes an even great proofreader. More times than not it is faster for a proofreader to find a writer who needs a second pair of eyes on their work but it is up to the proofreader to find the proper publisher that will give the proofreader gig after proofreading gig.

It is important to be established in the industry. Either through proofreading random documents here and there to doing one-time freelance proofreadings. Build your experience up. Once you take some time aside for that, you are eligible to start looking for a publisher house that will consistently give you work.

Publisher’s come in a variety of forms. Top honchos like The Penguin Random House, Hatchette Livre, and Harper Collins aren’t the only well-worth publishing companies to work under. There are hundreds of publishing companies that vary in size, style, and popularity all across the world.

The best way to find these publishing companies to reach out and apply to is by searching key phrases on Google. Looking for something small and local? Try typing in “Top 20 local publishing houses in my area”. Looking for something well-known but within a certain country? Try searching “Most well-known publishing companies in the UK”

Start clicking away at different publishing names and start jotting the ones that catch your eye down. Even targeting publishers of your favorite books can set you on the right path to proofreading books you would read anyway

If the options that are popping up aren’t meeting your job expectations then job search engines might be the next place you look to in finding that next proofreading gig. The best search engines to look at aren’t Indeed, Glassdoor, or LinkedIn, but search engines such as Monster.com, Nexxt.com, and MediaBistro.com. Here, employers can instantly post jobs and search resumes in no time.

Another way to get to know publishers is by taking a stroll through your local bookstore and/or library. Take note of all of the books that catch your eye from travel, nonfiction, self-help to new age, fiction, and children’s. Any genre of any type. All have a publisher they pertain to that could potentially be the publisher you’ll pertain to as well.

Since there are hundreds of publishing contacts out there it is helpful to have either a spreadsheet or an online notebook to keep track of all of them. Below is an example of what categories you should include in your notebook in order to successfully keep track of all of your contacts:

These are the first few steps when looking for a publisher to be your next employer in order to get a steady flow of proofreading gigs. To further your search for the right publisher, click here for part II or check out Sue Gilad’s Proofreading guide book here.

By Karla Cortes
www.karlamarianacortes.com