The Proofreader in us

[Izuchukwu Okorie]

You are the person who picks up the newspaper, a magazine, or a book and shakes your head every time your brain stumbles over a typo, incorrect punctuation, a poorly worded sentence, or lousy page layout and design. Your eye wanders down the right-hand margin taking note of the excessive word breaks and you turn the page only to find an orphaned line perched at the top of the page, sitting there all by its lonesome. "Didn't anybody proofread this?" you lament.

What is it that you do for a living? What trade journals or newsletters are there that pertain to and are published for people in your profession? What literature do you read that relates to what you do? Someone wrote it, someone did the page layout, and someone probably proofread it. That proofreader could be someone like you.

What around-the-town publications do you encounter other than the daily newspaper? Does your town produce a monthly magazine? Are there any graphic design businesses in town that produce brochures, meeting materials, or advertising catalogs? Are there local organizations that put out newsletter? Is there a college or university in or near your area where there are students writing research papers? Does the company for whom you presently work have an in-house newsletter?

Does your church or your kids' school hand out flyers or news bulletins? Who does the newspaper inserts? When the local stores advertise, who does the advertisements?

If you think about it, printed text surrounds you. You encounter printed matter for almost everything you do. What you need to do now is narrow the field and determine where to find a likely starting place.

If you think about it, printed text surrounds you.
Second, consider taking on some volunteer proofreading work.

Third, do some self-advertising.

Get a web page!

Get a plain-paper fax machine!

Fourth, be prepared for this to take a while.

As with any work-at-home job, it is not for everyone. You have to be self-disciplined and able to devote quality time and concentration to the job at hand.

Izuchukwu Okorie is an accoplished proofreader with a diverse portfolio spanning fourteen years.