OddsyncSide Hustles

Proofreading & Editing (UK English)

5
Setup steps
3
AI prompts
8
Tools & links

What it is

Reviewing academic papers, self-published novels, or business reports for perfect UK English spelling, grammar, and formatting.

Watch this first

How I Became a Proofreader | Full-Time & Remote

Step by step

  1. 1

    Learn style guides

    Familiarise yourself with Hart's Rules or the Oxford Style Manual (e.g., single vs. double quotation marks in UK publishing).

  2. 2

    Master Track Changes

    Become an expert in Microsoft Word's 'Track Changes' and 'Comments'.

  3. 3

    Join CIEP

    Look into the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading for foundational courses.

  4. 4

    Apply to Reedsy

    Highly competitive but pays very well for book proofreading.

  5. 5

    Target UK niche

    Set up Upwork/Fiverr profiles specifically targeting 'UK English Proofreading' and 'British Spelling Correction.'

AI prompts to try

Copy one of these into ChatGPT, Claude or your AI tool of choice and adapt it to your situation.

US vs UK checker
“Identify every instance of American English in this 500-word text and suggest the correct UK English equivalent. Text: [PASTE TEXT]”
Style sheet template
“Create a blank 'Editorial Style Sheet' template with sections for spelling variations (-ise vs -ize), capitalisation, numbers/dates, and punctuation.”
Client feedback
“Write a constructive email to an author returning their manuscript. Praise the story, but note frequent comma splices and tense shifts corrected in Track Changes.”

Get help setting it up

Hand the fiddly setup to a freelancer on Fiverr and start earning sooner.

Useful links

Project Gutenberg (free practice manuscripts)↗Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) — global rate chart↗Find A Proofreader (UK-specific vetted directory)↗Reedsy↗CIEP↗Upwork↗Proofreading Pal↗Oxford Dictionaries↗
Started? Run it from one place

A free OddSync account gives you a booking page, quotes and invoices sent as a link, and a running tax estimate for your side hustle.

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