Can you earn a living from proofreading?

Freelance proofreading won’t make you rich, but you can earn a reasonable wage from the job if you can build up a bank of regular, trustworthy clients.

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The big question

With few set-up costs, no travelling expenses and pretty much all the flexibility you want, freelance proofreading can be an exciting and fulfilling way to earn a crust.

And it's therefore probably no surprise that the question I'm most often asked by those looking to break into our industry is 'How much can you earn?'

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Different models of pricing

In the UK, the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) updates its suggested minimum hourly rates for proofreading and other editorial services each year.

Whether you can earn its suggestion will depend on who you work for, what pricing model is in play and what skills you have.

If you're working for clients who are price-setters (for example, publishers, packagers and agencies), some of them might offer a set project fee. Whether you complete the work in 10 hours or 100 won't change the number on your invoice.

If you're working for clients where you're the price-setter (for example, independent authors) you might charge per 1,000 words, but at least you'll be able to evaluate the project first, assess how many words you'll be able to do per hour and create a quotation for your services (hourly rate or set fee) that properly reflects the time it takes to complete the work.

Your ability to work efficiently in different formats (for example, Word, PDF or a content management system) and to use supporting software (for example, macros and PerfectIt) f will, of course, affect how long a project takes and therefore what your hourly rate works out at.

You’ll probably improve your efficiency as you become more experienced, too. And if you work for a client on a regular basis, you’ll become familiar with their style, which will speed you up.

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Different rates for different specialisms

Publisher and packager rates
In my experience, you can expect to earn higher rates if you proofread science, technical or medical materials. Clients tend to prefer people with a background in these fields, and the level of technical expertise required can mean earnings at the higher end of the rates spectrum.

Some of my colleagues have also found the educational publishing sector to be lucrative.

However, in the social sciences the rates tend to average out lower. 

And as for the trade publishing sector, the fee rarely gets anywhere near the CIEP recommended rates. The books are diverse and fun, but you’ll have to compromise on the pay!

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Setting your own rates

If you're visible to other types of clients (for example indie authors, students and corporate clients) via directories, the search engines, the answer engines or professional bodies, you'll be able to set your own rates, and you can build your pricing model in whatever way you want, whether that's per word, per hour, per day or per project.

Bear in mind that when you proofread directly with a client, the text might not have been through previous levels of editing, so it may require more intervention.

Make sure your client understands how you define the scope of a proofreading project,. That way you won't end up setting a proofreading rate only to discover that you're actually carrying out copyediting, line editing or developmental editing.

When you're the price-setter, you can also consider higher rates for out-of-hours work (however you define them) or for a fast turnaround. You can also elect to offer different rates for different client types (for example, higher-income corporates versus lower-income creatives).

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Why don’t some publishers and packagers pay more?

Publishers, packagers and project-management agencies usually set their own proofreading rates. Should they decide to accept your services, you’ll have to decide whether to accept their rates. They vary enormously.

There's frequently talk in the editorial community about poor rates of pay in this sector. Here's something you should know:

Book publishing is an expensive business, and those publisher clients that don’t have other revenue streams (subscription-based products like journals, for example) have very tight margins. Controlling editorial costs is crucial if they're to ensure their businesses remain sustainable.

That might mean that you're going to be disappointed with some of the rates being offered. But think about how disappointed an in-house employee would be if they were made redundant. All businesses – including ours - have to balance their budgets, and that might mean a particular client just isn't a good fit for you.

There’s little point in grouching about it – you’re self-employed now. No one’s forcing you to take the rate so think about:

• what your goals are
  
• how important the client is to you
  
• whether they can offer you repeat work
  
• what their name will look like on your CV
  

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and make your decision accordingly.

Try negotiating by all means, but if your client won’t budge, consider this: The highest rate isn’t always the best deal in the long run. One client offering a one-off job worth £60 per hour isn’t as financially rewarding on an annual basis as another who’ll give you monthly projects at an hourly rate of £30.

Repeat work means you don’t have to spend money and time on marketing yourself quite as vigorously, so do the maths.

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Taking a lower rate or working for free to get experience

When you’re starting out, you need experience. This is not a good time to be worrying about whether you’re getting a professional organisation's suggested minimum rate.

Instead, think long term – go for whatever jobs you can get to beef up your portfolio; work for free if you need to.

Experience counts for a lot, as do good references. Working for little now will pay off in the future, allowing you to attract new clients and be pickier about who you want to work for and what rates you’re prepared to accept.

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Should you work for below the suggested minimums?

Some freelance editors and proofreaders think that every time one of us accepts a ‘low’ rate we undermine the entire industry, forcing down the price.

My opinion is that it’s up to you. Once you become freelance, you’re running your own business. Don't waste time worrying about what others are charging. 

You have to decide how best to achieve your strategic goals. If accepting a rate that is considered ‘low’, or is below a suggested minimum, enables you to acquire clients who provide you with regular work, clear briefs and timely payment, then you may consider this an acceptable compromise, and it's not for me to tell you otherwise.

Plus, what's 'low' anyway? What's low to you might seem okay to me because I live in a different location and my circumstances are different to yours in multiple ways.

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Take the long view

When assessing a rate, don’t just think about the rate per job – think about what you might earn from this client over the course of a year … two years … five years.

In the past I've accepted work from clients who were paying below the CIEP's suggested rates, but:

• I loved the books they published
• I trusted them to put the money in my account as agreed
• they contacted me time and again.

I wouldn't accept their rates now because my business is in a different place, but it's those clients and the work I did for them twenty years ago that enabled me to build and grow my business. Because of them I was self-employed, not self-unemployed. ​

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So can you earn a living from proofreading?

Can you earn a living from proofreading? That depends on:

• what you want to earn
• what you need to earn
• whether you're visible to the types of clients who will pay you what you want and need
  
• and whether you're prepared to do the work to create that visibility: marketing.

Tens of thousands of editorial freelancers across the globe do have sustainable editorial businesses, so the possibility of earning a living is absolutely within reach.

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About Louise Harnby

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

• Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
• Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Learn: Books and courses
• Discover: Resources for authors and editors

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