Looking for that Sweet Freelance Proofreading Gig Part II:
The Pathways to Publishers
As said in Sue Gilad’s Paid to Proofread guide, “Wherever writers look to get published, there is a job for you.” The only task you have is to find these publishers which have already been covered in part I. Now it’s time for you to take a look at the proofreading industry bibles which are Writer’s Market (WM) and Literary Marketplace(LMP).
Writer’s Market centers around selling what you are writing. Even though proofreading isn’t selling a written work of yours, those who use this resource are most likely going to be the people hiring you to proofread their or their client’s works.
Although WM lists secretions that have to do with being a writer, there are many sections past (and including) The Market section that has chuck loads of information on proofreading books that have already been accepted for publication. One of the most notable resources that the book holds is a completed list of mainstream book and even magazine publishers.
The beauty of WM is that it has a wide variety of options from nonfiction to fiction that encapsulate all areas of study and interest. Some publishers includetopics such as biology or women’s rights while others include publishers that publish works and art history and mechanics. So if you have a specific area of interest whether it derives from what you studied in college to what you worked in before choosing a proofreading career, you can implement your knowledge to increase your chances of getting hired by that publisher.
Aside from turning to the industry bibles as a pathway to a publisher, there are other places to look that might not be so obvious to take as an option and that is looking at advertisements. The ads you want to hone down on are the classified ads of a major online newspaper. Scroll to the Proofreader heading and voila, a list of companies to contact will be presented right before you.
Other sections to sort through in the major online newspaper of your choice are Copyeditor, Publishing, Editor, and Production Editor. The main ones you want to look at are for Copyeditor and PRoduction Editor positions. Major lines to keep an eye out for must include keywords such as “freelances”, “editor”, and “proofreader”.
Lastly, subsidy presses can become your best friends. They exist in the back of publishing magazines instead of proofreading books or the industry bibles. Publishing magazines usually advertise them on the back, and the major publishing magazines that do this are Writer’s Digest, Publisher’s Weekly, Poets & Writers, and Writers Journal.
These are the top, if not all, publishing pathways one can take to secure a proofreading job in the industry either as a freelancer or as a fulltime proofreader. There are incredible proofreading resources out there through any of the above paths you decide to take. For an overall understanding and guide to becoming a paid proofreader, check out Sue Gilad’s Paid to Proofread here or follow our Medium page for more articles on becoming a paid proofreader.
By Karla Cortes
www.karlamarianacortes.com
