Thinking of trying to get into some freelance english proofreading work..

[SocoAL87]

Hi all,

 

I have been living in Beijing for nearly 2 years, but am currently back home for 2-3 months. I will be returning to BJ around March/April time. I want to try and make some money while I am back home, and my girlfriend and I had the thought that I could charge for some proofreading of portfolios/uni application letters etc., for Chinese students wanting to go and study abroad. We had this idea when I was helping my girlfriend with her own portfolio (she is studying fashion design). She thinks that there is good money to be made doing this kind of thing.

 

I'm not looking to make a career out of it, but if I could get a few jobs proofreading over the next couple of months, it would be great. My girlfriend's English is fairly good, and the idea is that she can translate from mandarin to English if need be, and then I can provide the "finishing touches". She would then collect payment from the customer and deal with any queries they might have.

 

To be honest, money is an issue right now; I'm hourly-paid in China, which means I'm currently not earning anything whilst I'm back home, and so far my attempts to find a couple of months of temporary work back here have been futile. I don't know how realistic this idea is, I'm still trying to weigh up the pros and cons.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone with experiences doing this kind of thing.

 

My main questions are:

 

1) What are some good places (online or otherwise) to find proofreading jobs?

2) How would you usually charge for this kind of work? (by page/word/hour? and how much?)

3) What's the best way to advertise for this kind of service?

 

Any help or comments would be appreciated.

 

Thanks