| want to set up as a home-based freelance | | | | quality reading lamp (preferably an angle-poise which |
| proofreader? Great! | | | | can be adjusted into a wide range of positions) is |
| Proofreading is in many respects the ideal | | | | highly recommended. |
| home-based business. You can work any time that | | | | * Together with the desk, you will also need a |
| suits you, perhaps fitting it around domestic | | | | comfy chair, preferably with a padded seat and |
| commitments. You can start part-time and go | | | | adjustable height and backrest. A plain dining room |
| full-time later if you wish. And while you won't make | | | | chair is likely to become uncomfortable after long |
| a fortune, you can certainly make a very good living. | | | | periods, interfering with your concentration. |
| Few special tools or equipment are required to set up | | | | * You should also have a telephone so that publishers |
| as a proofreader. The following are really all you need | | | | can contact you with offers of work and you can call |
| to get started: | | | | them with any queries. As soon as your budget will |
| * You will need a supply of colored pens (red, blue | | | | stretch to it, a telephone answering machine will |
| and black) for marking up proofs. Modern gel ink pens | | | | ensure that you never miss out on work due to |
| are ideal for this, though good-quality fiber-tips and | | | | being away from home. Alternatively, your telephone |
| the more expensive ballpoints which will not trail blobs | | | | service provider may offer a voicemail service you |
| of ink are also acceptable. | | | | can use when you are out. |
| * Pencils are needed for writing queries on proofs. | | | | * You will need a good dictionary. Not only will |
| For example, if the author spells another writer's | | | | dictionaries help you with spellings, they also advise |
| name as LARSSON in the main text but LARSSEN in | | | | on correct usage, capitalization, italicization, and so on. |
| the bibliography, you will need to put a note on the | | | | Don't be tempted to economize here -- any |
| proofs that the correct spelling should be confirmed | | | | dictionary you obtain should have at least 150,000 |
| with the author. | | | | word definitions. Shorter dictionaries (e.g. pocket and |
| * You will also need a good-sized desk or table on | | | | student editions) are simply not good enough. |
| which to work. The kitchen table might be OK at | | | | * Other reference books. If you intend to seek work |
| first, but it is much better to have your own desk | | | | in a specialist area of publishing such as medicine or |
| where you will not have to clear away all your | | | | the law, a dictionary of the relevant specialist terms |
| papers when mealtimes come around! Try to put | | | | will be an asset. You may also find it useful to |
| your desk near a source of natural light. Especially if | | | | purchase some basic guides to grammar and |
| you plan to work at night or in the evenings, a good | | | | punctuation. |