I see the same words misspelled time after time after time. On these boards, with a cross-section of members of above-average intelligence, am I really so unusual that I can spell most words correctly? If so, why can’t I make some kind of living with my superpowers? Can I become, like, a freelance speller? A spelling consultant? And what kind of world do we live in where my one true talent is something I can’t make a living with?
And the first person to tell me that spelling isn’t important gets a kick in the arse.
Spelling properly is important. But being able to read it is just as important. For instance, I read the title of this thread as “If being able to sperm properly is such an unusual talent,” thus making me much more interested.
I was expecting to hear some bizarre Valentine’s night gone wrong.
Come down to New York, sweetie. mischief-lover makes nearly six digits, with no college degree, proofreading financial documents. You don’t have to know financials, he just took a three-day tutorial in proofreading markup and his native spelling ability. It’s sick.
Copy editing is MY dream job! I have become a kind of unpaid spelling consultant among my friends and coworkers. That’s it, now I’m definitely moving to New York- I knew it was the place for me. Thanks, guys.
I’m making money as a copy editor! And you’re right, it’s the perfect job for us anal-retentive grammar geeks.
Admittedly, I’m making much more money as a translator, but copy editing gigs come up from time to time, and I’m sure you could find a nice magazine or newspaper that needs one.
Yeah, but I can’t edit my own work. Can’t proof it either. It’s like you’re too close to it. It makes it that much more difficult for me when someoner I consider inferior (A snob, who me?) is considered my “Editor” and she doesn’t catch ANY of my mistakes. I always have to proof them before the zine goes live.
Aargh. Plus, I can’t type. We self-taught typists who’ve developed a form of touch-typing after years of hunt-n-peck should be given SOME credit, non?
How does one go about getting a job as a copy editor? What kind of requirements do you need? What kind of things do employers look for? I’ve always been a grammar and spelling nerd, and this is something that has always appealed to me.
It doesn’t necessarily take a lot, usually just a demonstration that you have attention to detail. Usually a Bachelor’s in language-related subjects is required from employers; my employer was looking for someone with an English or Journalism degree, but my Linguistics degree also suited.
It’s good to have a strong knowledge of the subject that is being written about. I proofread business conference transcriptions, and the business classes I took alongside Linguistics have already proven more than helpful. Likewise, having a background in the sciences can help you catch mistakes more easily when proofing science textbooks, as another example. At the least, you need to be a quick learner, good at research, and able to adapt to different situations.
The best thing overall, I think, is that you can demonstrate you’re intelligent and able to make judgement calls on what is or is not correct, and have the patience to deal with this stuff all day.
Also, I imagine an error-free cover letter also helps.
[sub]On a tangential note: I just went through an entire piece of work where every single instance of ‘would have,’ ‘could have,’ ‘should have,’ or ‘might have’ had ‘of’ instead of ‘have’. Being the professional that I am, I merely whimpered and corrected it, with a mental note to smack the writer later on. :D[/sub]
