I took a freelance job I hated and got more than I bargained for…

There are very few things I hate about my job. But proofreading is top of the list.

I recently accepted the biggest proofreading job I’ve ever done. As soon as I said yes, my heart dropped.

I’m a long-term victim of Proofreading Paranoia. Not only that, but my mind frequently wanders of its own accord — not great when you’re trying to work on a task that requires epic focus and concentration.

At first glance, it looked like I was in for a nightmarish time. But here’s the thing…

This job ended up being one of the most beneficial I’ve ever had.

Here’s what I learned when I took a freelance job I hated and why you might like to consider giving it a try.

1) Forced me to find a faster, better process

I mentioned that I hate proofreading, right? Because I hate it so much, I haven’t invested much time or effort in finding a better process. I just get it done and get it out of the way, accepting my paranoia as part of the task.

But not for this job. It was waaaaay too big for that nonsense.

Luckily, fate was in my corner.

One of my wonderful LinkedIn writer connections (I forget who!) shared a post on their experiences with a downloadable guide from my pal Lorraine Williams at Lighthouse Proofreading.

Don’t you love it when that happens? So bloody timely!

Thanks to Lorraine’s wicked Proofreading for Marketing guide, I could see which of my current tactics was ‘professional proofreader approved’ and which areas could be beefed up.

I downloaded a few more pieces of software on her recommendation and developed a quick, thorough process to root out errors. And just like that, my Proofreading Paranoia was dead and the job was running along at a nice pace.

Halle-bloody-lujah, guys!

2) Taught me how to be a better writer

Weeks of looking at overly wordy prose drilled better writing practice into me. I’m more cautious about complex sentence structures and ultra-academic-speak.

My editing skills got sharpened, too. I use them on a daily basis, sure. But that’s mostly when I’m editing my own work. Editing someone else’s stuff? Different ball game!

I was being paid to proofread, not edit, so I had to be careful not to change too much of the original copy. How could I correct this sentence without overstepping the mark? It was a delicate art.

3) Showed me my value

I’m not here to ‘error shame’ anyone. If there weren’t errors in copy, writers like me wouldn’t be needed. That being said…I never appreciated my own skills until I realised that not everyone can write. Of course, I’ve always ‘known’ this, but when you’re correcting pages of copy a week, the point is really drilled home.

Since working on this job, I no longer feel shy or embarrassed about my rates or the quotes I give.

I’m worth it, baby!

4) Helped me figure out how to work according to my strengths and weaknesses

I’ve already told you that I struggle to focus for long periods. That’s one of the main reasons that I hate proofreading so much and it’s one of the key factors in my Proofreading Paranoia — what if I zoned out and completely missed a glaring mistake?

I. Would. Die.

I also know that: a) I struggle with self-doubt b) proofreading takes me ages c) I’m not great at high-focus work at the end of the day.

But forewarned is forearmed.

I made a plan to give myself the best possible chance of success while eliminating some of the anticipated hellishness.

I blocked out time at the start of every day and just after lunch (my best focus periods) and made sure to tackle the work in batches when I knew my concentration and motivation would be high.

I plugged into some Pomodoro playlists to help me stay focused and to ensure I was taking regular 5-minute breaks from the work to keep my concentration sharp.

And whaddaya know, guys? It worked. The job didn’t feel hellish at all. It was a nice, reassuring routine that became immensely satisfying to do.

Who would have thought?!

5) Loads of ideas for my own content

Fun writing tips are some of my favourite posts to share on LinkedIn, but I’ll be honest with you — the well was running a little dry until this bad boy of a job came along.

Suddenly I had a wealth of knowledge on the most common errors that non-professional writers make. So, I boshed out a couple of posts on ‘em!

LinkedIn isn’t the only platform that benefited from the rich content mine of my ‘nightmare job’. I also turned some of my learnings into a video for my YouTube channel, encouraging writers to charge more by giving them confidence in the value of their services (as per point three in this article!).

All in all, I reckon the job was more than worth it. What do you think? Find me on Twitter and let me know.

Emma CownleyApril 16, 2021