[Nick's Writing Blog] Review: Make Money Editing From Home

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Nick

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Oct 13, 2010, 8:06:45 AM10/13/10

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I recently received a review copy of this e-book by Michael LaRocca, a member of my forum at www.mywriterscircle.com.

Michael lives in Asia, where he makes a full-time living from proofreading and editing (though he does admit that he is helped by the lower cost of living there).

At just 28 pages, Make Money Editing From Home is quite concise, but it is full of interesting insights into how Michael makes his green (or whatever color the currency may be over there).

As you might expect, the book is well written, in a chatty, entertaining style. I should present one note of caution at the outset, however - this is NOT a guide to how to proofread or edit - Michael assumes you have those skills already. Rather, it is a guide to how to get work, negotiate rates, boost your earnings, and so on.

Michael starts by telling us a bit about his own background, and how he ended up a professional freelance proofreader and editor (this is actually quite an interesting tale). He goes on to reveal the top two freelance job sites for finding work in this field. This is followed by a discussion about building your own website to market your services, and how to promote it via search engines and directories.

A very interesting chapter covers a website Michael uses as a backup source of work when he doesn't have anything else on. This pays less than his normal work (apparently), but Michael says there are always jobs available there, though you need to be an experienced editor to be accepted. If that applies to you, however, this is definitely a site you'll want to check out.

The manual concludes with a selection of tips and resources. The latter include a link to a free PDF about using the tracking feature in Microsoft Word, which - as Michael says - you might find useful to give to any writing clients who are unfamiliar with this.

Overall, Make Money Editing From Home is a valuable guide for anyone looking to establish themselves as a freelance proofreader/editor working for a world-wide clientele. You could argue that $25 is a bit pricey for just 28 pages, but on the other hand just one job gained by following Michael's advice would cover this and more.

Disclosure Notice: I do not have any commercial link with Michael LaRocca, and will not receive any financial recompense from sales of his e-book.