The Importance of Backing Up Your Proofreading Files

The Importance of Backing Up Your Proofreading Files as Freelancer
It is always essential to back up your work, so once you have all the documents for a new proofreading job carefully filed in their own job folder on your computer, you should back up the new folder on an external jump drive or hard drive. It is not advisable, however, to use online backup systems. While working as a proofreader, you are in a privileged position and confidentiality is essential. You are reading work that is not yet published and available to the public, and it is your responsibility to keep that writing completely private, which cannot be guaranteed if you store it online. You therefore need to use your own external hard drive or jump drive and back up your files and work personally. Since word processing documents tend to take up very little digital space, an inexpensive 32 gigabyte jump drive will last a very long time indeed.

It is also a good idea to save a working file of each of the new documents before you begin proofreading and making changes. This can be done simply by resaving all of the files in the same job folder, but with different names. Adding the letters WF (for ‘working file’) to each file name – for example, ‘Jones_Structural Analysis_03.03.2015_WF’ and ‘Jones_Structural Analysis_Tables & Figures_WF’ – is an effective way of doing this that provides a means of easily identifying the working file of a document at a glance. With such working files, you can proofread and edit documents while retaining the unaltered original versions in your computer at all times (without recourse to your email account or the internet) so that you can return to the originals if the need arises. Be sure, however, to back up the working files as well on your external hard drive or jump drive and to open them rather than the originals whenever you work on the documents.

You may also want to start a file for comments or queries that you would like to share with the author, especially if you are dealing directly with an author rather than working though a proofreading service, in which case this file can ultimately become a covering letter to be returned to the author with the edited documents. Even if you are working for a service, however, such a file might prove helpful if you find that you are adding a great deal of commentary to a document. It is easier to write lengthy explanations and advice in a main document than in marginal comments, and it is also easier for the author to read and use such a document as he or she makes decisions regarding your comments. This file might be labelled ‘covering letter’ or ‘comments for author’ – for instance, ‘Jones_Structural Analysis_comments for author’ – and can become as you work a repository for notes on any matter or concern you wish to raise with the author, so do remember to back up this file as well.

We are recruiting Proofreaders, Editors and Copyeditors
We are currently seeking experienced proofreaders who are available to proofread professional documents written by non-native English-speaking academic staff from all over the world.

This is a good opportunity for people who wish to supplement their income while working from home in their free time, for instance parents who have spare time available when looking after their children or retired professors/lecturers/scientists who still wish to be connected to their field of expertise while earning additional income.

Only a native English speaker educated to a master’s or PhD level should apply for this position and it is necessary to be familiar with academic and scientific reference styles, such as Harvard referencing, APA style, Chicago referencing, Vancouver style, AMA style, MLA style and many others.