I feel vaguely qualified to advise for once. I have a proofreading qualification from the Publishing Training Centre, with is UK based. In the UK, the PTC and CIEP are the two organisations that offer well-respected certificates in proofreading and copy-editing. To be honest, some publishers won't accept proofreaders with one from anywhere else. If you're based in the US, it's be worthwhile finding out if there's a US equivalent, because you don't want to waste time getting a piece of paper that no-one recognises. Even if you're intending to work with self-pub authors, they do talk among one another, and I've noticed people advising each other on internet forums, reddit etc., to stick to editors with recognised qualifications.
The PTC qualification was quite tough, and also focused on some technical issues such as page layout for traditional print books, some of which you mightn't need if you just want to proofread novels for self-pub, or for submitting to agents. Although bear in mind that a lot of authors who plan to go down the traditional publishing route say they wouldn't hire an editor/proofreader first, as the agent or publisher will take care of it if an agent sees enough promise in the work.
I strongly advise you to stick to the respectable companies for qualifications. And here's why... cautionary tale incoming. I spent £275 on another proofreading course that I kind of suspected was a scam, but wasn't 100% sure. Even though I already had the PTC qualification, I decided to risk it because of their guarantee of 'work', and because I was lucky enough to be able to write off the £275. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to name the company, but basically they promised guaranteed work if you got over 80% or 90% or something in their test.
Well anyway, I passsed the test, and they sent me a contract. The rates of pay were pretty low, but the real kick in the teeth was the fact that I wouldn't be allowed to work for
anyone else while I worked for them, or within a year of quitting!! So obviously I didn't sign the contract, since they were in no way guaranteeing me a living wage. Watch out for companies like that.
Here are a couple of websites that might help you.
https://aceseditors.org The homepage of the editorial freelancers association.
https://aceseditors.org/ An international society for editors.
On these websites, you should be able to find minimum recommended prices for work, etc. It can be tempting to sell yourself short at the start, but you can get caught in a trap and then it's 'never the right time' to raise prices. I agree with Maryn that a contract is important. I also read on another editor's blog that sometimes a polite follow-up email reminding the client that they 'have not yet paid' can work wonders. You'll probably get people trying to haggle you down by saying that so-and-so from fiverr or upwork will line edit their entire novel for $200, which is obnoxious, since so-and-so is clearly intending to farm out most of the work to low-cost, unskilled workers or their kids or something.
If you choose to take payment by paypal, I'm not sure how much protection you have if someone refuses to pay. I think I've heard
@ChaseJxyz talk about that before. Maybe he'll come along and advise on that.
At the beginning of your career, some editors get a foothold by advertising their services on fiverr, but again you'll be competing with some low-pricers. But once people start to see that you're good, you should be able to raise your prices. Unfortuately, reedsy seems to only take on editors with a lot of experience, unless it's changed since the last time I checked.
And that's all I can think of right now, but if anything else comes to me, I'll be back! Best of luck
