Make a Full Time Income From Home Proofreading – How one woman chased her dreams and found a new career that she loved.
Today, my friend, Adrienne, shares her amazing story of how she went from a starving actress to a full-time earning proofreader. She is able to earn a full-time income just from her proofreading. And the best part is that her story isn’t an anomaly!
There are so many people who make a full time income from home proofreading. Adrienne shares her story of what it took, how long it will take, and the ins and outs of her days.
You can check out the class that Adrienne took to become a full-time proofreader here and sign up for the free webinar all about proofreading here.
Make a Full Time Income From Home Proofreading
“What have I gotten myself into?”
It was a thought that hit me unexpectedly. I had moved from Miami to Los Angeles to be an actress and film producer. It was the most thrilling time of my life.
I didn’t really ask myself how I was going to make a living. “I’ll make it work,” I thought.
As it turns out, this quest to finance my dream life ended up revealing an even bigger dream.
I’m Adrienne, and I’m an actress-turned-freelancer/entrepreneur.
Car-less and penniless, I did what most millennials would do: I Googled how to make money.
That’s when I found Proofread Anywhere, a course that claimed it could teach me how to be a freelance transcript proofreader for court reporters and do it all from home.
First I needed to figure out what that even meant.
Related Post: Make a Full-Time Income Proofreading
What is court transcript proofreading?
In essence, most court proceedings are typed up verbatim by a court reporter. Now, court reporters are busy bees and often don’t have time to proofread their transcripts before turning them in. That’s where freelance proofreaders come in.
It sounds simple, and in a way it is, but proofreading transcripts for court reporters is a different ballgame than general proofreading. There are new grammar and punctuation rules that only courts use; there are transcript-specific errors only a court transcript proofreader would know to look for.
I have a transcript with some errors marked which you can take a look at.
What really blew my mind was that all I needed was an iPad to proofread on and an internet connection!
I really could proofread anywhere.
So with a strange feeling urging me to do this, I sent up a fervent prayer that this was the answer I was looking for, and I enrolled.
Learning this skill set was more difficult than I expected it to be, but it was not impossible.
I graduated a couple months later, and on August 7th, 2015, I opened my virtual doors for business.
In my first month, I made $3,200.
I never forgot the feeling I got when I saw that number.
I had found a way to finance my dreams.
Proofreading for court reporters has its perks:
Part-time hours for a full-time income. I make anywhere from $25-75/hour.
I choose my hours. Most court reporters want the transcripts back two days after they send them to you; this means you get it done when you choose to get it done.
However, sometimes the court reporters need the transcript back ASAP. This means you generally need to drop what you’re doing and proofread. The good thing about this is that you charge a much higher rate per page.
I also love the mobility.
Being able to proofread on an iPad means I can proofread in my car while I’m parked waiting to pick up my little brother from school. It means I can proofread on planes and at beaches.
Many of the transcripts are interesting! I once proofread a murder trial. It read more like a thriller screenplay than anything else.
Proofreading for court reporters also has its downsides:
I did say many of the transcripts are interesting. Some are not. Some are actually mind-numbingly boring.
I get through those by going, “Ka-ching!” every time I turn the page. At least I’m making money.
I’m not really comfortable when it comes to marketing or pitching to potential clients. Luckily, Proofread Anywhere teaches you exactly how to do it, but it’s still not something I enjoy.
Although, I don’t have to do it anymore because I have all the clients that I can handle, and one of the great things about this job is you get repeat clients who then refer you to their friends.
What does this mean? Do a good job, and your clients will market for you.
Once, I got an email from a court reporter who asked me if I was taking on any clients, would I pretty please take her on, and she even attached her resume so I’d know she was a “serious reporter.” It was surreal.
How proofreading changed my life:
I made $32,000 in my first year of proofreading for court reporters part time.
Proofreading became a part of my daily life. I rehearsed for plays and acted for the camera and proofread on the side. I paid my expenses. And I even leased a car.
Now, I was neither car-less nor penniless.
And I found myself with an even bigger dream than that of acting and producing
I wanted to start another business and help people like me: millennials who need to supplement or replace their income with something flexible while they chase their dreams.
So I started Fruitfully Alive exactly one year later, and it’s my second business and passion project.
Proofreading gave me the flexibility and income I needed to live my life the way I had envisioned it.
The right person for proofreading is the person who is diligent, meticulous, friendly, and patient.
But here’s a secret:
If you’re a very restless person, this might not be the right job for you.
You’re gonna sit and read, and it won’t always be interesting and fun.
You’re going to be tired some days and then you’ll hear a ping in your inbox; a client asking if you can please proofread this 180-pager by morning. (You should say yes.)
If you’re interested in proofreading, I recommend you sign up for Proofread Anywhere’s free course that will also help you decide if this is the right move for you.
If it is, take the course. It’s a game-changer!
Course Recommendations:
- Elite Blog Academy – (how to make money blogging)
- Proofread Anywhere – (how to make a full-time income proofreading)
- Free email series on how to sell on Amazon FBA – (learn how to sell on Amazon and make a full-time income)
More work from home ideas:
- Make Money Freelance Writing
- Why You Need to Side Hustle
- Make Money Taking Surveys
- Pay for Back to School Watching Videos
- Start a Home Daycare
- Review Websites, Get Paid
- Secret Shopping from Home
- 5 Side Hustles That Pay For My Groceries (and More!)
- 30+ Real Ways to Earn Money From Home
- Make a Full Time Income Proofreading
- The Blogging Class that Made Me a Full Time Blogger
- How I Made a Full-Time Income From My Blog in 2016
- How to Earn a Full-Time Income from Etsy
About the Author:
Adrienne runs Fruitfully Alive, a blog where she helps millennials finance their dream life and escape the cubicle 9-to-5. Check out her free resource library! In her free time, she tries to perfect an Irish dialect and plans for the day she’ll adopt a mini pig.
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