Hi Cassandra, Sorry to hear about being laid off from your job! Yes, the pandemic is here and many are unemployed at the moment. But, happy to know that you can do online business and make money! Good luck on finding online editing jobs because I know you can gain some based on your experience!Reply to Elna
Best ways to find online, remote, and freelance editing jobs right now
The past year has upended our world. The economic changes are going to be felt for years and have permanently changed how we look at “work” and “the office”. Many, many people have been working from home for a year now. For some, working from home gave everyone a chance to try a side hustle.
There is no better time than now to try online and remote jobs like editing, proofreading, writing, and researching. The demand for great writing has exploded in the past year and so has the demand for great editing.
As budding writers of all stripes are working on their first books or articles, they need editors to get the books into shape. With good freelance editors in short supply, the only thing left to wonder is:
Where to find remote and freelance editing jobs
There are pros and cons to each approach, so you need to find the right balance that gives you the best results. Freelancing sites give you a quick way to get experience and earn some money, but might not be the most lucrative. Job boards are going to be hit and miss, and will likely have a bias towards full-time jobs. Remote-focused job boards separate the wheat from the chaff, but you won’t see a lot of jobs posted.
Using freelance sites to build your freelance editing career
Freelancing sites like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and Guru can be good places to pick up a lot of work quickly—but might not pay well. On these freelancing sites you’re competing with other freelance editors for a client you haven’t met or spoken with, and can encounter language barriers. You see the job, you put in your bit, and you see if you get accepted.
Editors who are successful on these sites do earn good money, but there is also a little more risk. First is the bidding war to the bottom. A freelance editor needs to have their “I won’t do it for less than…” number. And they need to stick to it. Sticking to staying above your bottom number isn’t about inflexibility. Every freelancer has rates that slide up and down depending on the work and client. Your bottom number is doing too much work for too little money, and leaves you little time to build your business. But if you’re a bit too low too often, you’ll wind up editing pieces at a breakneck pace to earn enough to live.
The second risk is the clients. You don’t have the same vetting process as an editor as you would if you had a call or Zoom meeting with them. All the sites have client ratings, but you still have to make sure you get paid and the client is good to work with. There are a lot of unknowns you need to consider. No matter how careful you are, you’ll have a bad client or two. At least when you connect with the client yourself there’s less chance of it happening.
Gig work sites give you a chance to practice, build a portfolio, and earn money too. And some people do make a lot of money focusing on building a reputation on gig work sites with content editor skills. If you find success there—don’t knock it! Give freelance gig sites a try, you might even find a great long-term client there.
Using job boards to find editing jobs
Job boards like Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor, are a staple of all job hunts. Using them to find freelance or contract content editing work can be trickier. Starting off with terms like “freelance editor” or “freelance writer” will get a lot of results, but to narrow your search your need to use filters.
Adding filters for region, industry, and making sure you weed out full-time permanent work (if you’re not interested in it) is the first step. These filters save you the time of looking through listings you’re not interested in. Don’t forget to turn on email alerts so you get a heads up when new editing jobs come up.
If you’re open to a full-time or part-time positions, apply to those editing jobs as well. Sometimes you might not be right for the role, but you can offer to freelance, part-time, or contract editing for them while they find a permanent person. Just be careful how you do it.
Remote-focused boards are a go-to in niche online editing jobs
In the past five years, remote-focused job boards—like WeWorkRemotely—have sprung up to serve remote-first companies. These job boards are only for remote jobs. Permanent, full-time, part-time, contract, and high quality freelance work are all there. But remote-focused job boards don’t have the same volume “traditional” job boards do. You have to be patient to see what editing jobs pop up.
Because this is a niche job board you might not find content editing, copywriting, or content writing job very often. And when a job does pop up from a good company, it might not fit (geographically or the kind of role). It doesn’t hurt to get email updates when editing jobs are posted, though.
Tip: Subscribe to email updates for the latest editing job postings
Make sure you sign up for email updates when new editing jobs are posted based on your search criteria. All the sites give you the option and it will save you from needing to visit the sites all the time to see if there is something new.
The Top Sites for Online Editing Jobs
1. Freelancer
2. FlexJobs
Flexjobs is similar to Freelancer with one key difference: they vet all of the job postings so that you only see the very best freelance and remote opportunities. Whether you’re an assistant editor or an Editor-in-Chief, Flexjobs has your back.
3. Cambridge Proofreading and Editing LLC
If editing academic papers and business communications sets your heart alight, blaze a trail to Cambridge Proofreading and Editing. They do the nitty-gritty by linking you up with job proposals, allowing you to focus solely on the editing.
4. The Muse
The Muse believes the key to job satisfaction is aligning your values with those of the company you work for. To aid you, they provide a regularly updated job board (featuring roles from startups to Fortune 500 companies), careers advice, and detailed information about every company’s culture.
5. Reedsy
6. Wordvice
Wordvice helps ESL (English as a Second Language) students achieve their goals. You’ll edit essays, theses, and term papers for mechanical issues, grammar, and improved readability whilst maintaining the author’s voice and meaning.
A fast turnaround time is expected, along with a bachelor’s degree, working knowledge of popular style guides, and 2 years of professional editing experience. In return, Wordvice promises a steady flow of work, flexibility, and ongoing training and feedback.
7. Scribendi
8. LinkedIn
9. Scribbr
10. Writer Access
11. CareerBuilder
12. Jobs For Editors
13. Freelance Writing Jobs
Set up by writers for writers (and editors), they support the community by sharing a wealth of information for both the seasoned freelancer and beginners alike. You’ll find business advice, get help setting up your online editing portfolio and receive job hunting tips.
Sources:
https://www.waveapps.com/freelancing/editing/editing-job-websites
https://smartblogger.com/editing-jobs/
https://elnacain.com/blog/online-editing-jobs/
