I recently had the privilege of interviewing THE Chandler Bolt of Self-Publishing School.
The king of self-publishing — in the flesh.
Why did I want to chat with Chandler? Well, we just launched the brand-new General Proofreading: Theory and Practice™ course…
…because PA community members had been pushing me for what seemed like forever to create an alternative course that would help them create a business that helped them not proofread transcripts but books.
And it turns out that some folks love to proofread but (GASP!) don’t want to proofread transcripts.
Some folks do not want to invest 2-4 months into learning a more technical skill — they’d rather start with the basics first and build from there.
In short, they wanted to develop their proofreading skills in a way that would get them paid for doing what they were already doing: reading books!
I kept this new course mostly under wraps. It was a big secret.
A surprise.
And because of that, I knew when we finally launched it that we’d have a lot of questions.
Questions like:
- Is proofreading for books really in demand?
- Do authors really hire proofreaders? Why?
- What makes a great book proofreader? Not so great?
- Can I really make money proofreading books?
So that’s why I decided to interview Chandler Bolt — I knew that if anyone could give me proof that general proofreaders were in demand, he could!
And well… he delivered that proof. I recorded our interview, and it’s here for you to watch right now! If you LOVE reading books and love finding errors, you’ll want to watch this video with Chandler.
Here’s the video of our interview (25 minutes).
(NOTE: You might notice Chandler uses “copy editing” and “proofreading” interchangeably. It’s common to mix these two up, and you’ll most likely see others doing the same thing when you start your proofreading businesses. Just know that he means “proofreading” in this interview. :-))
Don’t feel like watching the 25-minute interview? Download the transcript here.
Interested in publishing a book yourself? Grab the free Self-Publishing School video series, check out this blog post, or snag Chandler’s book on Amazon.
Your Turn!
Are YOU digging the idea of proofreading books to earn some cash? Any questions for me? Leave a comment below!
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Hi there!
I actually decided to take up the General Proofreading course BECAUSE I was interested in proofreading books. I currently work in the book publishing industry, and I would like to stay involved in it somehow. This new course is offering me the opportunity to do just that, so I decided to take the leap and see where it takes me!
Thank you for posting this video with Chandler. I am in the Ignite Plus course because of the extra benefits it offers, and I wanted to know more about SPS and the opportunities it provides for PA proofreaders. If I have any questions along the way, I’m sure I’ll be in touch! (:
-Khelsea
Sounds great, Khelsea!! Love the way you spell your name!! 😀
Thank you! (:
Hi Caitlyn,
I really enjoyed the interview with Chandler. It is very encouraging to receive first-hand confirmation of the numerous opportunities in proofreading. Thanks so much for creating this course and sharing your wealth of knowledge in the area of proofreading.
Really, thanks for all the various and widespread opportunities you expose us to! I live in the McAllen area in wayyyyy South Texas (Northern Mexico) so transcript proofreading is not an option unless you speak both English and Spanish, unfortunately that is not me. The book lead however is fantastic. Can’t wait to actually start your course, but have to wait for income to meet outflow. Thanks again. jm
Caitlyn, is there any chance you might add a copy editing course to your arsenal? I think it would help the average proofreader make more money. You always say to add skills. Is there a course or book you would recommend if you don’t plan on making a course?
Hi, Leslie,
At this point, Caitlin doesn’t have any plans for a copy editing course, but she is working on a project where she will talk more about expanding your work at home skills. In this post, she talks about a copy editing course that she recommends. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi Caitlin, I am VERY interested in proofreading books and I have previous experience editing for scientific journals. Can you please point me in the right direction? Thanks!
Hi, Cori,
:Editing for scientific journals sounds amazing! Here is a link to the free intro workshop for the General Proofreading course:
https://learn.proofreadanywhere.com/registergptp
That should get you started in the right direction! 🙂
I'm very interested in proofreading as a career.