5 reasons why transcript proofreading will be your new favorite way to make money
Are you someone who’s always loved grammar and spelling? Whether it’s an email, a social media post, or a newspaper article, if there are words in front of you, are you looking for typos and correcting grammar in your head?
Better yet, does our legal system fascinate you? Are you always reading mysteries, listening to the latest true crime podcast, or watching a crime show?
(There’s a good reason I’m asking all these oddly specific questions!)
If you’re saying YES to yourself right now, then transcript proofreading may be the side hustle you never knew existed…but is the perfect fit for you.
So what is this magic called transcript proofreading anyway? It is proofreading for court reporters. As a transcript proofreader, you get a behind-the-scenes look at the legal world and get to read witness testimony. It’s the most advanced type of proofreading because you are working with the verbatim spoken word and can’t change the testimony. The focus is on fixing typos, dropped and wrong words, punctuation for readability, and making sure everything is consistent.
Sound exciting? It gets even better! Here are five reasons why being a transcript proofreader will be your new favorite side hustle (or full-time business).
You can do something you love to do.
Life’s too short to be stuck in a job you hate. Your job affects everything about your life. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t go after a career that lights your soul on fire and gets you excited about waking up on Mondays. When you love what you do instead of showing up to a job that just brings in a paycheck, you’ll have a joy that touches everything in your life.
If you love reading and fixing typos, then why not turn that into income you can rely on to pay off debt, afford a car payment, support your family, or let you splurge on vacations?
You can have the flexibility you want.
Transcript proofreading lets you work on your own schedule, on your own terms, wherever you want, and at any time of day.
If you want to take the holidays and weekends off – heck, even take a random Tuesday off – you can without having to check if you have vacation days or ask for permission from a boss. Because you work for yourself as a transcript proofreader, you set your own schedule. If you want to take time off, you can! Or if you want to work extra during the week to bring in some more income, you can do that too.
Whether you like working at night when everyone’s asleep or you’re an early bird, you can proofread whenever you want. No confining 9-to-5 schedule. Work when it works best for you. As long as you turn jobs in on time, your court reporter clients don’t care if you proof late into the night, early in the morning, or over your lunch break.
And it keeps getting better! You can work wherever you want too. No more commutes, stuffy cubicles, and frustrating coworkers. You can proof in your recliner, in the school pickup line, on an airplane, sitting on a beach…wherever you can take your laptop or iPad, you can proofread!
You can have a consistent workflow (without marketing all the time!).
As long as there are legal issues, there will be court reporters – and as long as there are court reporters, there will be plenty of work to proofread. Unlike general proofreading which typically involves hunting for clients on a regular basis, having court reporters for clients means your projects will be steady. Some court reporters can write several hundred pages a week – that’s a lot of pages for you to proofread!
Also, because it’s the same type of work (i.e., transcripts) every time, you can save a little more mental energy by focusing on this one type of proofreading instead of switching from books to articles to emails as a general proofreader would.
You can invest as little or as much time as you want.
Transcript proofreading is a dream job – and it’s still a job that takes diligence and willingness to be successful. Proofreading isn’t a “get rich quick doing nothing” side hustle.
Just because it takes work to grow a successful business though doesn’t mean you have to have hours and hours a day of availability. You can set your own pace while starting and growing your business! If you have a lot going on in life but still need some extra cash, you only need to work with one or two court reporters a month. Want to turn it into a full-time job? Build up your client base until you have the income you need a month to support yourself!
Transcript proofreading also requires less marketing which means more time to focus on the work itself and less stress about promoting your business! Court reporters often like to work with the same proofreaders to make it easier on themselves not having to find a new proofer for every transcript and having to get that proofer up to speed on their writing style. That means once you have the number of clients you want to work with, you can settle into proofreading and not worry about marketing all the time.
You can build meaningful relationships.
Whether you’re a part-time or a full-time proofreader, one of the most meaningful parts of this work is the relationships you will build. Knowing that I help court reporters feel more confident and have more time to spend on what they want by proofreading their transcripts is its own joy – let alone the personal friendships I have formed with my court reporters over the years. We talk cats, college football, fun events, and family together in between sending transcripts back and forth.
It’s so rewarding to know that not only am I making a great income being my own boss and doing something I love, I’m also making a big difference in my clients’ lives and making good friends in the process.
Want to learn more about transcript proofreading and if it’s a good fit for you?
Transcript proofreading is a fun and fulfilling way to earn consistent income on the side while having the freedom to be in control of your own life. If you’re ready to learn more and see if it’s the right fit for you, watch my free workshop today!
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