A portfolio is nothing more than a collection of your work that potential clients can review to get a sense of the value you provide. There are no defined requirements or necessary formats for one, but there are a number of tips for building a proofreading portfolio that can help you attract new clients.
There are many ways you can go about building a portfolio, even as someone new to the field. These include signing up for programs like Distributed Proofreaders, editing Wikipedia articles, and collaborating with friends, colleagues, and clients.
Sign up for Distributed Proofreaders
This is a great place to start when building a proofreading portfolio.
Project Gutenberg is dedicated to digitally preserving books, particularly old works that are no longer in print or under copyright. They currently have over 70,000 titles and are adding more daily.
In order to create eBooks, a process that includes proofreading is utilized. The association uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to scan paper copies of books and produce digital copies of them. Human volunteers must then review the scanned digital text and fix any errors. The group that does this work is called Distributed Proofreaders, and anyone can join for free.
Volunteering with this organization is a great way to begin honing your skills, collecting a list of titles you can advertise that you have worked on, and helping preserve important cultural artifacts at the same time. The process itself is also very structured, so getting started is easy. You will receive feedback from other proofreaders as a bonus.
Proofread random Wikipedia articles
There are over six million articles on Wikipedia. While the major articles about popular subjects are generally very well-written, the vast majority of them are neither well-maintained nor visited often and are in desperate need of proofreading. You can use the URL “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:%20Randompage” to find random articles in need of grammar and spelling fixes and begin to edit them after you sign up for a free account.
This tip can provide you with endless copy to review while also serving the greater good.
Reach out to friends and family for content to proofread in exchange for reviews
Proofreaders often start out by reviewing documents for friends and family at no charge. You can leverage this work by asking them to provide you with a positive review that you can share with potential clients.
Perhaps you have a friend with a personal blog; you can offer to proofread a few of their posts. Or maybe you have a family member who needs to write a professional letter or even an obituary. All of these could use a second set of eyes, and most people are more than willing to let you help them in return for a short review of your services.
Use AI to generate content to proofread
The next tip for building a proofreading portfolio is a bit out of the box, but it is still worth trying. With the rise of programs like ChatGPT, anyone can utilize artificial intelligence (AI). ChatGPT in particular can write essays on any topic. What it can’t yet do, however, is write compelling or interesting content—or even get all of the facts right. You can use this to your advantage by prompting an AI program to write a small amount of text and then edit it into something that a person would actually read. In this context, that means primarily addressing factual inaccuracies and updating poor word choice.
Ask clients to use examples of your work and solicit their reviews
Once you begin to land your first clients, you can reach out to them to help grow your portfolio as well.
You can ask to use a document or portion of text to show the original and updated text in your portfolio (be sure to respect their wishes if they decline). You can also ask them to provide you with feedback or a review that you can use in marketing your services. Assuming you have a good relationship with your clients, many are happy to help you in any way they can.
How to organize a proofreading portfolio
Once you have a selection of your proofreading work—whether it’s a list of titles you’ve worked on, testimonials from clients you’ve served, examples of your actual proofreading work, or, ideally, all of the above—how can you organize and advertise it? There are several options to consider.
First, keep your portfolio as a folder of documents on your hard drive or Google Drive. Save them as PDFs, which are easy to open and view on almost any device or system. You can then email a copy of the files (or a link to them) to any potential clients with whom you are working (If you use Google Drive, be sure to set the link-sharing policy to “view only”).
Additionally, if you have a website or an online profile, you can list; attach; or otherwise display your portfolio there. Sites like Upwork have a specific area, when you create a freelancer profile, for uploading examples of work. If you have your own website, you will have to determine the best approach given your specific situation.
When it comes to proofreading customer reviews or feedback, you can include your portfolio in several places, like your resume, online profile, website, or applications and cover letters for particular jobs.
Summing it up: Tips for building a proofreading portfolio
Until you can build up a history of satisfied clients, and even afterward, a solid portfolio can help show potential clients the value you bring to the table. Some tips for building a proofreading portfolio include signing up for Distributed Proofreaders, editing Wikipedia articles, asking for work in exchange for reviews, using AI-generated text, and asking clients about using a portion of your work or to provide feedback or reviews. Once you have assembled a portfolio, you can share it via email; websites; or in the text of job-related documents like resumes and cover letters.
There are many other sources and tips for building a proofreading portfolio, so don’t be afraid to think creatively and discover unique ways to document your proofreading skills.