IPEd member Marin Rymer shares her editing story, from the film industry to proofreading.
I became a professional proofreader in September this year, after a lifetime of correcting errors for fun. I can’t believe it never occurred to me sooner, to do this for a living! My skin crawls and my brain shouts if I don’t right wrongs, and I’ve always loved stories – reading them and writing them – so fixing words has just always been my thing.
I spent over a decade writing spec screenplays and being pretty active in the South Australian film industry, but when COVID hit I re-evaluated my life and decided it just wasn’t where I wanted to be or what I wanted to do. Since then, I’ve been (very) slowly working on adapting one of my scripts into a novel and I hope to become a published author eventually. That’s the new dream, one I don’t think will ever change.
Right On Proofreading has put me firmly on a new career path. I’m working as a proofreader only at this point but have in the past edited people’s writing to help them out, from essays to outlines to blog posts. I do enjoy more comprehensive editing, but I feel that authors often overlook proofreading and that’s why so many mistakes are out there, so I want to focus on that for now.
The most challenging part of the profession for me is marketing and securing clients. I’ve never enjoyed talking about myself or putting myself out there, so I find it tricky to promote my business. It’s something I’m working on, but I don’t think I’ll ever be very comfortable with it.
I want to build my skills in that area (marketing) and I’m planning on doing some short courses or workshops and the like – basically learning as much as I can and developing knowledge and skills as I go.
I joined IPEd to feel like a part of a community and, to be honest, look more professional! I’ve so far been quite overwhelmed (in a good way) with all the information, resources, courses and friendly people that have come with the membership. I’ve been a member of other organisations in the past, including some very big and renowned ones, and have never felt anywhere near as welcome and included as I do with IPEd. That tells me I’ve made the right decision, starting my own proofreading business and aiming for a real career in this important field.
I’m looking forward to meeting other members in real life at upcoming events and to continuing to grow as a proofreader with IPEd’s support.