Proofreading: How to Choose the Right Training Course

16/2/2012

A short question on this blog about which training course I would recommend for someone considering a career in proofreading prompted a rather long reply from me. It made me realize that the issue deserved a post of its own.

Professional proofreading training
Please note that this article isn’t designed to recommend one particular course over another. What you choose will depend on a number of factors, e.g. location, career stage.

Readers of this blog who’ve searched my training archive will know the course I chose – the Publishing Training Centre's Basic Proofreading (which is anything but basic!).

While I found this course to be outstanding, this accolade is based on my business plan, my place of residence, my knowledge of the market I chose to focus on, and my training budget. It won’t necessarily be the right choice for, say, a Belgian with a different niche market in mind, or a Canadian whose pockets are feeling a little shallow at the moment.

Instead, the aim here is to give voice to some of the basic issues that are worth considering when choosing what, where and how to train for a career as a freelance proofreader, wherever you live and whatever your budget.

What’s on Offer?
The options are numerous. Distance learning and on-site; online and book-based; and DIY and professionally assessed. Some cost hundreds of pounds while other options cost less than the price of a family cinema outing. Googling for proofreading training courses throws up lots of information but little guidance on how to make a choice. Here are some ideas to get you on the right track.

Is there a national or regional professional society you can contact?
This is probably the best place to start. Get in touch with your national editing/proofreading society and see what they recommend. Their membership is full of people who were once in your position, so they will have some great advice to share, and at no cost. Visit my Editing & Proofreading Societies page to locate your national association or regional chapter.

At what stage are you in the process?
Consider what point you’re at in the process of your career change. Are you definitely looking to become a professional proofreader or are you at the earlier stage of considering it as one of several options? If the latter, you might opt for a cheaper, preliminary short course to see if the work suits you before you invest a larger amount of money in a more time-consuming distance learning course.

If you've recently completed some training you might want to consider a mentoring programme. The SfEP runs a mentoring programme in the UK. Contact your national editing and proofreading society for more details on mentoring opportunities in your own country.

What kind of client are you hoping to target?
Case study 1
You’re an ex-solicitor/attorney who’s decided that the law’s not your bag after all. You decide you want to focus on publisher clients, possibly those with lists in criminology, law and policing.

Do some research to find out which houses publish in these fields and give them a call. Ask to speak to the production manager, or the person in charge of hiring freelance editorial staff. Ask that person what their criteria are for freelancers. They'll be able to tell you the training providers they recognize.

They’ll also be able to give you some ideas about any experience or expertise they are looking for. You may be surprised to find that they accept a qualification that you hadn’t considered.

And it may not be the most expensive one on the market. Even if you do find out that you would be better off going for one of the more expensive training courses, at least you know that it will be money well spent and that you’ll get the return on your investment once you start applying for paid work.

Getting a feel for what publishers want is a good start because they are one type of client that is in a position to offer you repeat work.

Case study 2
You’ve worked as an English-language teacher for years in a school or college, helping young adults improve their literacy skills. You decide to focus on independent fiction and creative non-fiction authors who are looking for the final polish before they submit their manuscript to an agent, in-house commissioning editor, or custom-publishing organization. You need to do the same research.

Start networking with writers’ groups and online networks and ask the people themselves what training and experience they expect a proofreader to have. They may have a set of very different preferred externals based on their experiences of commissioning freelance editorial services.

Join social networking forums such as LinkedIn where existing freelancers congregate and ask what training routes other freelance proofreaders in your country, who work with the type of client you’re interested in, took to get their careers off the ground.

The point is to research your market and find out what people want and expect. Every training provider on the market will tell you that their course is the best, and they wouldn’t be doing a good job of marketing themselves if they claimed otherwise. Asking the end-users, however, is the key to ensuring you make the decision that best suits your business strategy.

Assessed or not?
Assuming you’ve decided proofreading is the job for you, and you need a training course that is going to give you the confidence and readiness to do the job to a professional standard, find out whether your training provider offers an assessment element.

It’s best to iron out the creases while you are training, rather than alienating unhappy clients further down the line.

Or to quote an old proverb: What the fool does in the end, the wise man does in the beginning.

Marketing training for editors and proofreaders
For information about marketing your editorial business visit my training page and take a look at the Craft Your Editorial Fingerprint series, online classes created specifically for editors and proofreaders.

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with independent authors of commercial fiction, particularly crime, thriller and mystery writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.

31 Comments

Linda Slasberg link

17/2/2012 08:18:30 am

Louise, thank you so much for this web site, I have rarely seen such great information and resources, and I have only scratched the surface!!

Thanks again

Louise Harnby | Proofreader link

17/2/2012 09:17:19 am

Why, thank you so much, Linda - lovely to have positive feedback. This blog and and the Resources section of the website were designed to help others - comments like this encourage me to continue adding new content in the knowledge that I'm achieving my objective. Thanks again!

Ruth Ekblom link

21/2/2012 04:51:35 am

Louise,
As always, you have a great article here, which is well reasoned and clear. I am delighted that it confirms the route I have taken - first a cheap course comparable in price to the family evening out, and then the same distance learning course you did. It certainly did show me just where my weaknesses lie - always a good thing when learning.

21/2/2012 05:18:19 am

Thanks so much, Ruth - good to hear an endorsement of the article's advice from someone else who's had to make these difficult decisions.

mathew

26/11/2012 08:28:41 am

Can you suggest some Providers who provide training courses for Proof Reading/ Editorial Service/ Indexing. How good is 'writersbureau.com'?

Louise Harnby

26/11/2012 09:14:56 am

Without knowing which country you live in, Mathew, it's difficult to point you in the direction of particular training providers. There's a list of UK providers here: http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/4/post/2011/12/proofreader-training-courses.html; some information about what UK publishers have to say about training here: http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/4/post/2011/11/does-training-matter-what-publishers-say-about-proofreading-editing-courses.html; and information about US training here: http://www.kokedit.com/ckb_2.php. I can't comment on which particular course is good or not because I only know about the one I did: The PTC's Basic Proofreading by Distance Learning. I thought this was outstanding and more info about that can be found here: http://www.train4publishing.co.uk/courses/distance-learning/basic-proofreading. They also do a distance learning copy-editing course.

If you live elsewhere then I suggest you ask your national editing society for guidance. A list of these can be found here: http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/editing--proofreading-societies.html.

Hope this helps.

Stuart Sanders

8/9/2013 02:04:45 am

Dear Louise,

Many of the distance proofreading/editing courses are geared towards those looking to find work, and the course content reflects this. I want to improve my skills within an existing job - can you recommend and courses or companies?
Thanks,
Stuart Sanders

8/9/2013 03:43:44 am

Hi Stuart.

If you live in the UK, the SfEP runs self-improvement courses. Take a look at this link: http://www.sfep.org.uk/pub/train/which_course.asp. It outlines the courses available and what level they are aimed at -- beginners, improvers or advanced practitioners.

The PTC also offers a number of courses that help editorial freelancers expand their range of skills, too: http://www.train4publishing.co.uk/courses/short-courses/editorial.

I realise that not all these are available via the distance learning route, but I nevertheless recommend these two organizations in the UK because publishers recognize them. When I worked in-house in the 1990s and early 2000s, they were the bodies to which management turned when they wanted to commission editorial training for their staff. I think this says something about the quality of the learning provided.

Hope that helps.

Louise

Stuart

8/9/2013 03:45:26 am

Hi Louise,

I live in Bahrain in the Middle East ....

Stuart

8/9/2013 04:08:09 am

Hi Stuart. If you look at these two organizations' websites, you will be able to identify which courses are available via the distance learning route, and whether they are suitable for your skill level. You could also check the Editorial Freelancers Association website. The EFA is based in the US -- keeping a look-out on their training schedule may help. It's difficult to give accurate advice without knowing specifically what area of your skill set you are looking to improve. The Editorial Bootcamp runs a series of webinars that may be of interest. I've heard my US colleagues talk highly of this company: http://www.editorialbootcamp.com/webinars/. And the people at Copyediting.com (whom I follow via social media) always have great information to share, and they host a range of online audio conferences: http://www.copyediting.com/courses-events.

ann link

26/10/2013 06:46:11 am

can you recommend a legal proofreading course

26/10/2013 07:42:07 am

Your national editorial society would be the best place to enquire: there's a list here: http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/editing--proofreading-societies.html. Many former lawyers specialize in this type of work, though I proofread legal books for publishers. See this article: http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/4/post/2012/10/proofreading-law-books.html. I don't have specialist legal training, and for that reason I won't take on legal work for non-publisher clients.

Hope that helps.

Kenny Jacket

25/3/2014 09:36:00 am

I have heard Chapterhouse Publishing are quite good? Have you had any dealings with them?

25/3/2014 03:48:07 pm

I haven't, Kenny, so I can't offer an evaluation of the course. Sorry! Perhaps ask around on some of the LinkedIn discussion boards. Or call up a few publishers and ask which training organizations they rate highly.

Desrae Watson

5/9/2014 03:44:00 am

Hi just to alert you that case study 2, first word, last line I think should be 'off'. Cheers.

LucyGray link

11/9/2014 01:04:49 am

Good to find your blog with wonderful article.

Lorna

26/1/2015 03:25:46 pm

Hello. Thank you so much for all of the fantastic information on this site. I was a Fiction Editor with D C Thomson 15 years ago, then left to go into law - a career I've detested for pretty much the entire 15 years. I've now escaped, due to redundancy, and am hoping to find some proofreading work. I didn't have a clue where to start, especially as DCT did all their training in-house and I have no relevant formal qualifications, but your site makes it all seem a little less intimidating! Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction - your efforts are much appreciated.

Dan Hartin

28/1/2015 06:20:45 am

Hello Louise, I'm a 57 year old Canadian man considering a new career path, and the idea of becoming a proofreader is an intriguing one for me. The question I have for you, in your opinion is advancing technology a viable threat to professional proofreaders? We already have a myriad of spellcheck programs to clean up sloppy spelling, grammar and sentence structure, do you foresee the day technology will render this field as relevant as the horse and buggy? Thanks, Dan.

28/1/2015 07:11:33 am

Hi Dan.

Thanks for your question!

I think it’s unlikely that any software will be developed in my lifetime that replaces the human eye. Digital tools are fabulous – I use them myself when commissioned to proofread. They can alert the writers (and editorial folk) to possible incorrect homophones, point out inconsistencies in hyphenation and capitalization (PerfectIt is an excellent example), suggest missing references (ReferenceChecker is my favourite), and indicate repletion of identical words (Word will do this). And we haven’t even started on macros! But what about the incorrect styling of a section head, an inconsistent chapter drop, a missing page number, an incorrect (but correctly spelled) running head, a word break at the bottom of a recto page, a page number placed in the wrong position, a word break in a proper noun, an incorrect spelling in a piece of quoted original material, a missing table or figure caption, an empty cell in a table, an incorrect cross-reference (e.g. “see Figure 4.1” when the author meant 4.2), a missing attribution to a quotation, a paragraph of text that the typesetter has inadvertently deleted (such that the text is perfectly punctuated but illogical?) The list goes on. My point is that a human brain is needed to make decisions about these issues because the “rules” about what is right and what is wrong can’t necessarily be digitized.

Proofreading is not just about checking Word files. Publishers hire me to check typeset page proofs. It’s more than spelling and grammar; I’m checking layout too – that the book “works” according to industry-recognized standards. And even then there are still considerations of what to change and what the impact will be. If I make a change on a page that knocks all the text that follows down by one line, might I introduce other problems (like widows or orphans, bad word breaks, or unbalanced facing pages) that the publisher wishes to avoid? Might I damage an index that’s being done by someone else simultaneously? Software can’t make these decisions because we’re not dealing here with “rules”; rather, we’re dealing with preferences concerning logic, layout and house style. My proofreading work requires me to work out what to change, but it also requires me to work out what to leave well enough alone.

You might be interested in the following articles that address these issues:
• Not all proofreading is the same: Part I – Working with page proofs http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/not-all-proofreading-is-the-same-part-i-working-with-page-proofs
• Not all proofreading is the same: Part II – Working directly in Word http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/not-all-proofreading-is-the-same-part-ii-working-directly-in-word
• Thoughts on proofreading and the art of leaving well enough alone http://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/thoughts-on-proofreading-and-the-art-of-leaving-well-enough-alone
• The Proofreader’s Corner: Page Proofs and the Domino Effect https://americaneditor.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/the-proofreaders-corner-page-proofs-and-the-domino-effect/

Even when we’re working directly in Word, software can’t spot everything. Imagine an academic paper co-written by two scholars. They both push it through several software tools that check for grammar, punctuation and spelling. During the final read-through, one author places a square-bracketed comment in the text that’s meant for her colleague. It says: “Should we cite the article by Joe Bloggs? It’s rubbish, but he’s the editor-in-chief of the journal we’re submitting to so perhaps we should include it! You decide.” I can’t imagine any type of software that could pick this up. And if the colleague only skims the final draft and gives the go-ahead for it to be submitted to Joe Bloggs’s journal, that’s a spanner in the works! It’s an extreme example, I know, but I think the point is well made.

I’m completely pro tools that help writers, editors, proofreaders and indexers do their jobs more efficiently and productively. But I really do believe they’re a complement rather than a replacement, and I don’t see this changing.

If you do decide to join the editorial community, there are plenty of of Canadian editors and proofreaders on Facebook's Editors' Association of Earth page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/442424952497363/?fref=ts

You might also check out the EAC website at http://www.editors.ca/

Hope that helps!

Patricia

13/4/2017 10:46:17 am

Hello Louise and thank you. Something positive, informative and free! I recently paid for a Proofreading course having done a certain amount of research but I am disappointed. Having read your article Louise, I feel more positive and ready to take the next step.

Thank you.

13/4/2017 12:12:38 pm

Hi, Patricia! So glad you found it useful. Check out the Training and Starting Out archives on this blog too. I've offered some other approaches to thinking about the issue. Sorry to hear that you've been disappointed with a previous course. That's always so frustrating and demotivating. Finding the right training 'home' is essential. I know this from my own experience - we need to feel that our investment's really taking us forward in the right direction. If you're in the UK, you might like to consider joining the SfEP. It's a brilliant community of editors at all stages of career development, and there's a ton of support that goes well beyond training.

Hope that helps!

Janet MacMillan link

22/6/2017 12:01:13 am

Even if someone is not in the UK, SfEP is well worth joining. It's an editorial association with a great international outlook, and excellent provisions for those not in the UK.

Maria Conti

24/5/2017 09:51:57 am

Hello Louise
Are there online proofreading and editing courses you would recommend (or not recommend)? I've looked at Chapterhouse, which some people on online forums seem rather critical about, and the College of Media and Publishing (CMP).
I know getting work in this field is very competitive, regardless of training and certificates (especially for someone with no proven experience), but I want to learn the basics, and something that is geared to the reality of the type of work available. With online courses costing several hundred pounds, I'd like to know if it's wasted money!
My grammar and spelling is strong, and my job involves a lot of editing and informal proofreading of other people's documents, as well as writing everything from strategic plans to visitor information.

Many thanks for any advice!

Maria

24/5/2017 11:23:59 am

Hi, Maria!

I'd recommend the Publishing Training Centre and the SfEP. They're recognized by the UK publishing industry (though I'm not saying others aren't). I have personal experience of their training, too. I'm not criticizing other courses; rather, it's that I've nothing on which to base an opinion.

Hope that helps!

Louise

Janicd Ward

28/6/2017 11:53:28 pm

Hi,
I've just recently retired as a court shorthand writer in the Scottish law courts. The job entailed proofreading the typewritten record of proceedings. I would like to keep working, as retirement at 61 is just not for me! I wondered if you could recommend a proofreading course? Many thanks.

29/6/2017 11:01:28 am

Hi, Janice! See these posts, which will answer that question and more:

https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/qa-with-louise-which-online-proofreading-and-copyediting-courses-do-you-recommend

https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/qa-with-louise-can-a-teacher-get-work-as-a-proofreader-even-with-no-publishing-experience

https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/qa-with-louise-how-do-i-get-proofreading-and-copyediting-work-with-academic-publishers

https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/you-asked-i-answered-how-do-i-become-a-freelance-proofreader

Hope that helps!

katie

15/8/2017 10:52:30 am

Great post. Have you heard of chapterhouse proofreading course? I was thinking of taking it but I'm not sure how helpful it would be in me gearing towards proofing as I don't know if tge certificate hold any weight. Any advice would be helpful.

Theresa Harvey link

25/6/2018 10:22:02 pm

Do you have any up-to-date training info for Proofreaders for 2018?

25/6/2018 10:31:15 pm

Hi, Theresa!

If you go to the training archive in the side bar, and the Q&As, you'll see some recent advice.

Hope that helps!

Steve Verster link

20/7/2018 09:21:25 pm

To Louise Harnby, Proofreader & Copyeditor

Friday 20.7.2018.

Good day Louise,

I am a 79-year old retired electrical engineer living with my wife in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

I am looking for an centre where I can get affordable, but good, proofreading training online. Being an engineering type, I have good attention to detail. I also have a good knowledge of both English and Afrikaans.

Any ideas that you may have of suitable training centres in either South Africa or the UK will be very welcome.

Thank you and kind regards,

Steve

Louise Harnby link

20/7/2018 09:47:30 pm

Hi, Steve. In the first instance, seek the advice of the Professional Editors Guild in South Africa to find out what they recommend: https://www.editors.org.za/Default.aspx

As for the UK, I recommend the training courses of the SfEP and the Publishing Training Centre. There are others but those are the two I have direct experience of.

Hope that helps!