This is the first feature in the Self-Employment Series!
I’m interviewing myself because proofreading for court reporters changed my life.
What is court transcript proofreading?
Most proceedings in a courthouse are typed up verbatim by a court reporter.
The result is a transcript that can look a lot like a film script.
A proofreader’s job is to go through that transcript looking for errors in grammar, punctuation, and other things.
Because it’s a verbatim record of what was said in court, incorrect usage is not corrected.
For instance, if the line says, “I cooked a egg” instead of “I cooked an egg,” you can highlight it for the court reporter to double-check with audio, but if the speaker really said “a egg,” it stays in that way.
That makes our job easier than a normal proofreader.
Why and how did you decide to pursue this career?
I was living in Hollywood trying to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Rather than take the stereotypical job of waitress, I decided I wanted to try to find a job where I could work from home.
My search led me to court transcript proofreading and the rest is history.
I have no regrets.
Why did you choose this niche?
I discovered the niche because I went hunting online for at-home business ideas.
It immediately caught my attention for a few reasons:
- You could work from home…You could work from wherever you wanted, actually.
- You could make your own hours.
- You’d be your own boss.
- The job would be the same but the work would always be different.
- Pay ranges from $18/hour to $70/hour.
- You can do it all from an iPad.
Personally, this idea appealed to me for a few reasons:
- I was always good at grammar and punctuation; I often proofread the papers of my classmates in school.
- I found the idea of proofreading court transcripts exciting! In fact, my first client gave me a transcript about a pharmaceutical company who knowingly sold a harmful drug…crazy stuff!
- The pay was way higher than any other job I could find while still in college.
Before I was ready to jump in , I needed to do my research. I soon discovered that proofreading court transcripts was a different ballgame than usual proofreading.
There’s a reason why this niche is so unknown: It requires a skill set which has to be learned. If I wanted to do this, I needed to make the investment and learn exactly how to do it.
My gut was telling me that if I made the jump, it could change my life.
I was right.
I learned everything I needed to; my first client emailed me after the first few transcripts I proofread for her, and she said, “Just wanted to say, Damn, you’re good. So impressed with your work.”
She said that only because I knew what I was doing, and I knew what I was doing because I took the time to learn.
I joined Facebook groups with colleagues. I was expecting competitiveness, an unwillingness to help, no friendships to be made. I was dead wrong. I have never encountered a group so willing to help and so encouraging. No matter how many times I asked a grammar question, no matter how many times I pestered, someone was always there to virtually lend a hand. When I succeeded, I had the group cheering me on. I’ve made friends, and we refer each other to our clients when we’re swamped with work.
But this wasn’t easy. Learning the skill set took time and energy and commitment. Sometimes I felt like quitting.
Considering I made $3,200 in my first month, I’d say my efforts were worth it.
How much do you make a month? Do you work part time or full time?
I made $3,200 in my first month as a proofreader and averaged about $2,900/month after that. I worked no more than 20 hours a week.
I’ve recently decreased my hours even more and let go of a few clients so I can focus on Fruitfully Alive, and now I average about $1,400/month.
What are your business-related expenses?
No more than $30/month.
What are your duties? Can you describe a day in your life?
When I receive a transcript, I respond to confirm receipt.
Then I’ll plan out my day and decide when I’ll proofread.
I’ll proofread no more than 4 hours a day.
I send out invoices once a week or once every two weeks for certain clients.
I proofread everything from medical depositions to criminal trials.
What is your favorite part of being a transcript proofreader for court reporters?
I’m going to have to give more than one answer.
I like saving the court reporter.
Sometimes they make embarrassing errors and it makes me the hero when I catch them.
Pre-me the transcript might say, “Did you snow?”
Post-me it *might say, “Did you know?”
*see my first note at the beginning of the transcript about it being a verbatim record*
I love the independence and flexibility I have being able to support myself from home.
I like reading interesting cases!
Do you have any advice for someone considering this as a career?
Do your research! Really decide if you want to do this and if you are willing to put in the time and investment to obtain the skill set.
Reach out! Feel free to email me: adrienne@fruitfullyalive.com
How did proofreading transcripts change my life?
I’m currently living the happily ever after. It’s given me a part-time job that gives me a full-time income; I’ve earned $32,000 in my first year. It’s the springboard I needed to embrace independence and start pursuing my dreams. I can do this because I know I’m financially stable with this job.
FAQs:
Check out the top FAQs about proofreading for court reporters.
Is it a boring job? Sometimes. I read two transcripts in one day; one of them was a murder trial that read more like a thriller screenplay. The other was an insurance case about a toilet that overflowed and damaged the bathroom rug (mind-numbingly boring). It just depends. At least I always learn something new!
If you’ve been searching for an at-home job where you make your own hours, this might really be the thing for you. I so encourage you to do your research.
Any other questions? Feel free to comment or shoot me an email!
Latoya @ Life and A Budget says
August 11, 2016 at 5:57 amI’ve never heard of this type of work frome home job! Great job on describing the course and sharing your experience with it. It sounds demanding, but fun. I have a friend who is excellent at grammer and actually loves a good Matlock or Murder She Wrote episode, so I’ll for ward this to her. I know she will find it intriguing.
Adrienne says
August 11, 2016 at 6:57 amGlad you liked it, Latoya, and I hope she will too 🙂
Julie @ Millennial Boss says
August 11, 2016 at 3:26 pmI love that you pointed out “success depends on you.” Buying a course doesn’t guarantee your results. You have to put in the effort too! Great reminder!
Dana says
August 14, 2016 at 11:18 amI’ve come to expect nothing less than the best from you. Great post with wonderful insight into the struggle to find well-paying, flexible ways to earn an income.
Patty says
September 8, 2016 at 11:23 amThis sounds like a great option for me since I’m still trying to be a stay-at-home mom but earn an income at the same time! I was an English major in college so it sounds like it would at least be something I might be good at. Now I have to do is convince my husband that it’s a good idea. LOL!
Adrienne says
September 8, 2016 at 11:27 amHi Patty! It definitely sounds like you’re a good fit; try the free 7-day course! It’s especially designed to give you a better idea as to whether this might be the right niche for you. And feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. 🙂
Monica says
September 9, 2016 at 6:56 amI’d be interested in this. Sounds right up my alley.
Amelia says
January 6, 2017 at 3:52 amHi there, this is a really inspiring post! I found your site through another website that talks about the Proofread Anywhere program. I am British and wondering whether it is worth me taking the leap and embarking on this course? I have been teaching American-style English in Asia for the past few years so I am good at American grammar and spelling. I wondered if you knew of any fellow students in the Facebook group who were British but still managing to get clients after completing the course? Thank you 🙂
Adrienne says
January 6, 2017 at 7:15 amHello Amelia! Thank you for your kind words. As a matter of fact, I do know someone proofreading in England! Check out Ashley’s story: https://proofreadanywhere.com/how-ashley-made-it-happen-from-across-the-pond-in-the-uk/?ap_id=proofread
Amelia says
January 11, 2017 at 10:13 amThanks for the link. It definitely boosted my confidence reading it! 🙂
Adrienne says
January 11, 2017 at 10:17 amI’m glad! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. By the way, I loved reading your article about South Korea. Major wanderlust trigger. 🙂
Megan says
January 25, 2017 at 7:41 amHi! Thanks for the post, it was helpful. I am currently a Paralegal, and have been toying with the idea of taking this course. I think it could be a good fit for me. I’m curious to know how you define “part time”? 20 hours a week? 30 hours a week?
Also, when you say you made $32,000 a year… Was that your gross income or net income? As in, was that before or after you took taxes out?
Just trying to get an idea of whether this is a viable option for me. Thanks in advance!
Adrienne says
January 25, 2017 at 7:50 amHi Megan! My part-time hours were no more than 20 a week. I made $32,000 before taxes. Bonnie was a paralegal, too, and you can read about her proofreading journey here: https://proofreadanywhere.com/paralegal-turned-proofreader-my-past-life-and-my-now/?ap_id=proofread
Hope this helps! Please let me know if I may be of further assistance. Good luck!
Allison says
March 3, 2017 at 8:21 amHave you had a hard time getting clients? Is there a lot of competition?
Adrienne says
March 3, 2017 at 8:57 amHi Allison! No and no. In my experience, court reporters want proofreaders, and it’s not hard to get clients. As for competition, there are too few court reporters in the industry. What that means is that they are getting overloaded with work and have less and less time to proofread their own transcripts. They need proofreaders. This is an extremely specific niche which not a lot of people know about. There are not enough proofreaders to meet the demand. Competition is not a problem. Please let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!
Jesse Sulam says
March 23, 2017 at 10:30 amHey Adrienne!
Thanks so much for the informative post–super awesome! I was wondering if I could ask a few questions:
1. Do you think that those people who are already pretty good with grammar are the only ones that can succeed at this? I think my grammar is not horrible, but it definitely is not great, lol. I am a bit of a comma whore–as well as the em dash, haha.
2. What do you find the hardest part about this job? How hard was it for you to get an eye for the small details of combing through a piece?
3. Finally, on a scale of 1-10 ( 10 being the hardest) how hard did you find getting clients?
Adrienne says
March 29, 2017 at 12:14 pmHi Jesse! Sorry for the delay.
1. Not necessarily. Some of the grammar rules are different than the ones used in day-to-day life. All you have to do is learn them. If you apply yourself, I’m sure you can succeed. You just might have to put in extra time so you know them really well.
2. Having the discipline to not rush through a boring transcript. I have to fight the temptation to skim or breeze through it. Must resist!!! Caitlin’s course provides a TON of practice transcripts. Your first few transcripts will be a mess of missed errors. But the more you practice, the more you know what to look for, and you’ll develop an instinct for it.
3. 3-4. It was the set up that was the hardest. Once I was ready to launch, it was pretty easy to do so. I knew exactly what to do.
Best of luck! Don’t hesitate to get in contact with me if you have any other questions!
Jesse Sulam says
March 30, 2017 at 6:30 amYay~~~ Thank you SO MUCH for getting back to me 😀 These answers are crazy helpful!! I DO have one last batch set of questions, lulz.
–Compared to when you first started, how much quicker are you now? Is it one of those things which you generally improve at slowly, or did you find rapid growth in your skills within the first few months?
–What is the setup part of it that you mentioned? What made it so difficult? Do you HAVE to have a website (please say no, ugh)
–How long did it take you to complete the course? How many hours a day/week were you putting in?
–How much time do you spend marketing yourself now?
Adrienne says
March 30, 2017 at 8:31 amThanks! I’m glad it’s helpful.
1. When I first started, I could read 35-40 pages an hour. I can now read 60-75. I think the speed of improvement depends on how much and how consistently you proofread in those first few months. I landed a HUGE client in my first week of proofreading and was proofing almost 1,000 pages a week for almost three months. So I got better fast.
2. It’s the little tasks that you have to do. For example, I needed to put together a professional rate sheet, set up a good email account, etc. I wouldn’t say you HAVE to have a site, but I’d really recommend it. It makes you look more professional when you’re pitching to a client, and it’s a good place to send them. I made mine all by myself and I’d never made one before. You can check it out at: http://www.proofreadingtranscripts.com. I promise it’s not too hard. I’ll be writing a post soon on how to start a website. 🙂
3. It took me about 2.5 months to finish the course. I think I was putting in an hour or two a day. No more than 10 hours a week. I took the course back when it had half the content it has now, so if you put in the time, you can probably finish around there or a little less.
4. I don’t spend any time marketing. I have all the clients I can handle for now, and I get new ones when my existing clients refer me to their friends. In fact, I’ve been sending clients to other proofreaders I’m friends with because I have all I can handle and can’t take on any more.
You got this!!
Elizabeth says
March 28, 2017 at 4:07 pmHi there! I saw in one of your responses to another commenter that you worked no more than 20 hours a week. Can you explain in a little more detail what your part-time work schedule looked like? I’m taking the course and I wanted to see how other graduates were managing their time.
Adrienne says
March 29, 2017 at 12:19 pmHi Elizabeth! I try to do the transcript as soon as it comes in, even though it may be due in two days. This is because in two days, I might suddenly receive a request to proofread something ASAP. It would be unfortunate to turn it down because of another that could have been done.
I’m taking classes now, so I proofread afterwards. Sometimes when I get to class early, I proofread until class starts.
I don’t often proofread for more than 3 hours a day.
Congrats on taking the course!!!
Callie says
June 11, 2017 at 1:11 pmHello! Thank you for this comprehensive and informative post. I’m very interested in starting this program as my husband and I are planning to start a family in the near future and I would like to be able to stay home with the baby to cut down on day care costs; however, I would still need some form of an income. Just one question for now, did you complete the program with a tablet or a laptop?
Adrienne says
June 12, 2017 at 8:24 amHi Callie! Thank you for reading. I took the course on my laptop and proofread on my iPad (as we are taught). I believe there are some people that take the course on their iPads, too; I just prefer my laptop. Feel free to get in touch for any other questions! Good luck to you! Best wishes!
Melissa says
July 12, 2017 at 10:54 amHi, I’ve been reading about this course for some time and have always been curious about it. I have a background in English and Library Science so this seems like a good fit, especially now that I have a toddler in daycare and I’m looking for something flexible. My question is, as a freelancer, did you make 32,000 per year before taxes or after? Do you tax your clients or do you pay taxes quarterly/annually?
Thanks for your review!
Adrienne says
August 2, 2017 at 12:53 pmHi Melissa,
That was before taxes, and I pay taxes quarterly. 🙂
JD Wynn says
August 7, 2017 at 12:17 pmHello, I am debating on trying this out. How many days or months did it take you to complete the courses and did you receive work right away after you finished the exam? What happens if I am not able to pass the exam the first time do I get a chance to do the test again?
Thanks!
Mike Morgan says
March 5, 2018 at 7:46 pmExcellent post. Thank you. I’m considering taking the PA course & have been looking for some feedback about it. Did you take the general course first, or jump straight in with the transcript course?
Adrienne says
March 6, 2018 at 3:20 pmHi Mike! The general course didn’t exist when I found PA, and I took only the transcript proofreading course because I only wanted to proofread for court reporters. 🙂
Sandra says
March 9, 2018 at 11:44 amHi there…thanks for the interesting and informative post. Just to clarify…are you proof-reading work that a “scopist” has already transcribed? Do you typically work for these people or for the court reporter?
Thanks so much,
Sandra
Adrienne says
April 2, 2018 at 12:51 pmHi Sandra! Yes, I am proofreading work that a scopist has already scoped/edited. I only work for the court reporter. The CR sometimes scopes her own work. She may also send her transcript to a scopist; the scopist then scopes and sends it back to her and then she she sends it to me. 🙂
You never work for the scopist!
Sandra Gray says
April 2, 2018 at 1:42 pmThanks for the reply Adrienne. That is great! Did you find clients fairly quickly? I am currently considering the course but am still on the fence.
Thx,
Sandra
Adrienne says
April 19, 2018 at 8:42 pmYes, I did. I got clients within my first week of launching my business. I ran a poll on graduates recently, and the majority got their first client within the first month.
Sandra says
April 19, 2018 at 9:29 pmThat’s positive! Thanks for your feedback.
Sandra
Sandra says
April 19, 2018 at 9:30 pmThat’s positive! Thanks for the feedback.
Sandra
Travis says
April 3, 2018 at 4:59 pmAdrienne:
Thanks for sharing your experience. My main concern before diving into this course and committing to it is finding clients.
1. Did you have connections in the business already or were you starting from scratch?
2. If it’s the latter, does the course teach you how to find clients?
3. I don’t expect you to give specific details on how you found your clients but can you provide some general info on how you do it (i.e. did you get leads from certain websites, cold call, send out marketing pieces, etc.)?
Thanks!
Adrienne says
April 19, 2018 at 8:44 pmHi Travis! I had zero connections in the business and started completely from scratch. The course taught me how to find all of my clients. I got them through email exchanges and social media interactions.
Victoria Burris says
May 30, 2018 at 5:17 pmHi, Adrienne! I’m a full-time college student, and I have the summer off. I have a few questions before I dive in and purchase the course.
1. What ipad do you use? The ipad pro with the apple pencil?
2. How do you manage proofreading and college work? I can imagine after 3 hours of proofreading that you would be too exhausted to read for school.
Thank you!!
Yvonne says
June 14, 2018 at 10:08 pmInteresting job. Actually, I signed up for the 7 days trial course. Hope this one’s for me.
Miki Patel says
August 27, 2018 at 1:52 amI’ve taken the Transcript Proofreading course too and I have to say it really is worth the investment. I thought I was a proofreading expert, but I really became an expert after I took this course. I also got my first client two months later. This course also teaches you how to market yourself so that you can get clients. It’s not easy, but it is worth it.
Adrienne says
September 5, 2018 at 8:44 amSo glad you took the course and are getting work. Keep it up! Well done!
Shannon Elwell says
October 10, 2019 at 1:23 pmPlease contact me. I have taken a proofreading course and did 30+ years proofreading on the job for BellSouth/AT&T.