Proofreading courses can be very expensive. Before signing-up for one, you must read this.I’ve been proofreading for over 20 years. As a freelancer I’ve proofread everything from novels and short fiction to complex clinical data and in-depth technical prospectuses. As Operations Manager in the publishing department of one of the UK’s largest retailers, I hired proofreaders, managed them and their workload, supported them and took responsibility for their professional development.
I understand proofreading, proofreaders and precisely what a potential employer will be looking for when considering hiring a proofreader. With all of that in mind, read on. Unless you have money to burn, that is...  Why are most proofreading courses so expensive?
Because they follow the traditional lesson-exercise-assessment-qualification route. This particular method incurs a great deal of cost for the course provider. The overheads of such a traditional operation – administration, salaries, correspondence, materials and the sheer logistics of it all – can be very steep indeed. That’s where your £150 (or more) is going. And the fact is, many people are only too willing to part with these exorbitant sums of money when they discover that proofreaders can charge more than £20 per hour for their services. But don't let these potential rewards tempt you into parting with more cash than you need to as you take your first steps on the road to becoming a proofreader. Is all this expense really necessary? No, it isn’t necessary, at all. There are two aspects of the above operational approach that are utterly dispensable: assessments and qualifications, both of which incur high costs for the course provider, costs which are passed onto you, the eager proofreader-in-waiting. Let’s take a look at each in turn. Assessments, what are they good for? Absolutely nothing. Most proofreading courses tell you how to proofread then assess your progress. You send course work in and someone marks it. By and large, this course work consists of proofreading exercises. These exercises are likely to take the form of out-of-copyright material – extracts from Pride and Prejudice or A Tale of Two Cities, for example – with deliberate errors incorporated into the text. You receive marks for spotting these deliberate mistakes. But wait a minute. What exactly are these assessors marking? With a proofreading exercise, you either spot the errors or you don’t. Do you really need someone to point out the errors you’ve identified and those you’ve missed? Surely, you can do this for yourself. As long as the answers are made available to you, you’re perfectly capable of assessing your own progress. Proofreading qualifications, are they worth the paper on which they’re printed? I have never once been asked to produce a proofreading qualification. Not once, and I’ve been proofreading, freelance and full time, since 1989. What’s more, whilst working as an operations manager, I never once asked a candidate to produce a proofreading qualification. Nor did the Human Resources department include the possession of a proofreading qualification in their recruitment criteria when producing the job specification for the proofreader role. But don’t take my word for it. Visit any online recruitment website, search for proofreader opportunities and see how often proofreading qualifications are mentioned. You’ll soon see just how useless these qualifications are. Don’t get me wrong, they may come into play as some kind of deal-breaker between equally matched candidates, but that’s about it. If I don’t need assessments and qualifications, what do I need to become a professional proofreader? It’s remarkably simple. You’ll need to learn the meaning and application of proofreading symbols. Then, you’ll need to learn a robust and effective proofreading methodology. Armed with these symbols and this methodology, you’ll need to practice. And practice. And practice. Once you’re confident you can proofread, you’ll need to gain some experience. Once you have a little experience behind you, you’ll just need to put yourself out there, market yourself. So, where can I find these ‘proofreading symbols’, and this ‘robust and effective proofreading methodology’? In The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course downloadable eBook. What’s more you’ll find an abundance of advice on how to gain proofreading experience and how to approach potential employers and make yourself visible in the freelance proofreading marketplace. As for proofreading exercises, you’ll find plenty of free regularly updated exercises, with answers, on this very website. Plus the eBook points you to a near-limitless supply of challenging proofreading ‘exercises’ that will not only sharpen your skills but will also provide your resume with a significant credibility boost. And all for just £19.99. Because you’ll be assessing your own progress and because I won’t be trying to sell you a qualification that’s of virtually no use in the proofreading job market, I don’t have any of the costly overheads that most proofreading courses pass onto their students. I’ve simply distilled 20 years of proofreading knowledge and experience into an easy-to-digest, simple to download eBook. It's packed with tips, techniques and sound advice. So confident am I that you’ll find everything you need in my eBook, I offer a 30-day money-back guarantee!  If, after reading my eBook, you don’t feel that it's set you on the road to confidently pursuing genuine, professional proofreading opportunities, just let me know within 30 days of purchase and I’ll refund you in full, no questions, no quibbles.
So far, I've only had one request for a refund, and that was from someone who, after reading the book, simply felt that "proofreading isn't for me!" Buy The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course right now! To find out more about precisely what's in The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course, click here. And don't forget to make the most of our free proofreading exercises, resource links and regularly updated proofreading blog. For a limited time only: order NOW and receive SIX classic eBooks ABSOLUTELY FREE!Most proofreading courses actually have the audacity to charge you a premium for the kind of grammar instruction you can easily find in relatively inexpensive books like Fowlers Modern English Usage. At The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course, we're giving you all the English grammar information you need, absolutely free! When you pay for the eBook, you'll find yourself directed to a download page which includes the course plus the six great eBooks below.
 Over 670 pages exploring the finer points of English grammar, punctuation and the role of the proofreader.
An English Grammar by W.M. Baskervill and J.W. Sewell Covers everything you need to know about English grammar, from the parts of speech, through sentence analysis to syntax. Packed with invaluable information as well as heaps of challenging exercises to help you hone your skills, this is an essential volume for any budding proofreader. The Importance of the Proof-Reader by John Wilson A paper read by John Wilson before the Club of Odd Volumes in Boston. Originally published by the Cambridge University Press. Here’s a little sample, “Many intelligent persons regard the duty of a proof-reader as consisting in simply following his copy and in securing the proper spelling of words. If this, however, were the sum of his accomplishments, many an author would come to grief.” Stops. Or How to Punctuate, a Practical Guide for Writers and Students by Paul Allardyce This handy guide details the uses (and abuses) of every punctuation mark: the full stop, comma, colon, semicolon, question mark, exclamation mark, parenthesis, inverted commas, apostrophe, ellipsis, dash and hyphen (and, yes, there is a difference between a dash and a hyphen). Write It Right by Ambrose Bierce This is a compendium of literary and linguistic pet peeves by Ambrose Bierce, the prolific satirist and journalist, author of the much-loved Devil’s Dictionary. Interestingly, some of his targets have now crept into popular usage, while others are still hotly debated. Bierce’s withering tones are irresistible. American and British English: Key Differences in Grammar and Spelling As a proofreader, you’ll doubtless be hunting for work online. This is almost certain to result in offers from the other side of the Atlantic. So, it helps to know your ‘tap’ from your ‘faucet’, your ‘nappy’ from your ‘diaper’ and your ‘boot’ from your ‘trunk’. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This eBook explores everything from verb morphology and use of tenses to vocabulary and idioms. Essential. A Spelling Book for Advanced Classes by William T. Adams Although we live in the age of the spell checker, there really is no substitute for the human brain. These 163 spelling tests will challenge and develop even the most enthusiastic Scrabble or Boggle fanatic, with words like ‘succedaneum’, ‘hornblende’, ‘mucilaginous’ and ‘auscultation’. Fun and educational. All of these volumes should form an essential part of any proofreader's arsenal before they set out to defend the written word. Most proofreading courses will charge you a pretty penny for this crucial information. But not The No-Nonsense Proofreading Course. Best of luck with all your proofreading endeavours! |
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It's packed with really useful information about and insights into the world of proofreading. Take a look at the excerpts below...  Why spend £150 or more when £19.99 will furnish you with all the proofreading training you require?
Just think about it. |
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