The Surprising Secret to How to Succeed as a Freelance Proofreader

As much as we proofreaders love finding and fixing mistakes for its own sake, as a freelancer, the ultimate goal is to make an income. When thinking about how to succeed as a freelance proofreader, then, you must consider it from multiple angles. 

And when it comes right down to it, having the technical skills and knowledge to proofread a text is necessary to be a successful freelancer, but it is not sufficient. There is another attribute you must develop if you want to tip the odds of long-term success in your favor: perseverance.

The importance of technical skills in freelance proofreading

When you think about the qualities that make for a good proofreader, the first thing that comes to mind is likely their technical abilities. That is, in order to be an excellent proofreader, you need to have a strong command of the English language. This means being dialed in with respect to spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting.

And you would be absolutely correct. Having or developing these skills is critical. After all, who would hire someone to review their work who wasn’t an expert at finding and fixing mistakes? Clients are looking for proofreaders who can immediately spot that missing period or extra hyphen. They know that’s how they get their content to really shine.

But as foundational as that skill set is, if you only have the ability to find and fix errors, you very likely won’t get very far as a freelancer. You are likely to remain doing volunteer or pro bono work for friends and family. 

This is because the technical-knowledge aspects of the job are akin to the “you must be this tall to ride” signs often posted around the various attractions at a theme park. They serve as a barrier to entry, keeping out people who don’t possess the ability to do the most basic of tasks in the field. But they do little to help you differentiate yourself from the crowd when everyone in the crowd has them.

You must bring something else to the table to find long-term success—and the most important “something else” is perseverance.

Perseverance: The key to long-term success as a freelance proofreader

Perseverance is simply the ability to keep moving forward regardless of the situation. So how does this help you succeed as a freelance proofreader?

As a freelancer, you are really operating a business of one. And when you operate a business of any size, it comes with sizable challenges. You have to grapple with questions like “Who is my target market?”, “What rates will I charge?”, and “How do I find clients?” These are not easy questions to answer. It often takes a lot of time and determination to lock in on a trajectory. It’s especially hard when there is no one holding you accountable other than yourself. 

During Hell Week, Navy SEAL trainees are pushed to the limits of their endurance and beyond. They are deprived of sleep, subjected to almost torturous physical challenges, and constantly under psychological duress. They are also kept within sight of a bell attached to a pole. At any time, a trainee can decide they’ve had enough, walk over to the bell, and ring it. As soon as they do, they are done. They can go back to the barracks, take a hot shower, and sleep in a warm bed. It takes a tremendous amount of perseverance and determination for these trainees to not ring the bell. In fact, around 75 percent of them fail to complete the training.

While obviously freelance proofreading is not as intense as Navy SEAL training, there is one commonality. Most people who try freelancing give it up. Confronting the obstacles of starting from the ground up, finding clients, adjusting to the reality of self-management, and more is just too much for many people who would otherwise be excellent proofreaders if technical skills were all that mattered.

Strategies to develop perseverance as a freelance proofreader

So how can you succeed as a freelance proofreader? How can you grow in your ability to persevere through all the ups and downs you will experience?

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to developing perseverance. There are a number of things you can do to grow in this area, however. 

1. Have the right mindset. 

Mindset is key to success in any endeavor, including freelance proofreading. At the core, there are two basic mindsets you can adopt: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. 

A fixed mindset is characterized by scarcity and fear. Someone with such a mindset believes their knowledge and ability can’t be significantly improved upon. People with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges, fear failure, and believe that their abilities are predetermined. They may be resistant to learning new things or putting in effort because they believe their capabilities are fixed.

A growth mindset, on the other hand, is the belief that your abilities and intelligence can be developed and improved through effort, perseverance, and learning from mistakes. People with a growth mindset embrace challenges, see failures as opportunities to learn, and are motivated to continuously improve and develop their skills.

As you can imagine, people with a growth mindset tend to be more successful over the long term. Developing a growth mindset is an essential part of developing perseverance.

2. Understand that success is rarely linear.

Everyone experiences ups and downs in their journey. Michael Jordan may go down in history as the greatest basketball player of all time, but even he was famously cut from his high school team. The Black Keys once played to an audience of just eight people. Yet now they are among the most influential rock bands in the US. And there were undoubtedly times when Jeff Bezos was sitting in his “office” (aka garage) in the earliest days of Amazon that he wondered if the business would ever take off.

Setbacks are a normal part of growth. Rejection is a real risk you must take whenever you step out in faith or attempt to grow. True success is more often a marathon than a sprint. But to experience setbacks or rejection says nothing about who you are as a person or the quality of your idea or plan. 

Or to put it another way—hard is hard; hard is not bad.

3. Seek strength in numbers.

As a freelance proofreader, you are a business of one. But this doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. You can find people to help.

This could mean telling a spouse or best friend about your plans and goals and asking them to check up with you about your progress on a regular basis. Or you could find a group of other local freelancers (from any industry) and start a group text or support group to encourage and help one another. You can also reach out to more-experienced proofreaders on Facebook or LinkedIn to ask for help or advice. 

It is almost always easier to accomplish your goals and persevere when you have a support group in place.

4. Read good books on personal growth.

There are a number of quality books on the subject of perseverance. Two books are especially great places to start: Rejection Proof by Jia Jang and Grit by Angela Duckworth. Both of these books are written by experts. They can help you jump-start your own journey when it comes to perseverance.

Wrapping it up: How to succeed as a freelance proofreader

Having the technical skills to dissect a text, find all errors, and fix them is foundational to your success as a freelance proofreader. Without these skills, you’re guaranteed to fail before you ever start. However, if you can combine these skills with a well-developed attitude of perseverance, you can set yourself apart from the crowd and see real success. Be sure, then, to spend time developing this key attribute alongside your technical skills.  

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