Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved travelling. I don’t know if it’s the actual journey, the destination, the excitement of exploring, or a combination of all three. But I know that I’m happiest in an airport, on a plane, arriving in a new country, and taking those first, tentative steps to discovering the culture of a new place.
That desire to travel has followed me my entire life. All through university and into my first job. Onto my second job. And my third. And on it went. My itchy feet syndrome came up regularly in conversation: Have I booked another trip yet? When am I next flying off? What fun stories can I regale people with from my last trip? I would take notes on my travels and dream of writing a book of short stories one day.
This is the story of how I retrained to become a proofreader so I could travel the world.
The first career years
I put my wanderlust to the back of my mind and proceeded to build a career for myself in the environmental industry. That was my second love – the environment. When I graduated with an environmental degree, I got my first lucky break. I found a job with the then Department for Environment working in the policy team. The job was interesting, but policy work bored me to tears. Things moved at a glacial speed whereas I thrived on the excitement and fast pace of project work.
Soon enough, I got lucky again. An internal move landed me a job where I could combine the two: promoting the environmental sector and travelling to Asia to do it. I got the excitement and the travels!
But cutbacks meant it couldn’t last forever, so after a couple of years I moved into environmental exhibitions marketing. That was my first experience of copyediting. In fact, it was probably the first time I’d ever heard the term. I wrote and edited ad copy, worked with designers on banners and flyers, and cut deals with trade magazines on placement and promotion. When the time came to proofread the show catalogue before it went to the printer I relished the detailed work and the opportunity to set things straight. This was other people’s businesses we were dealing with; we had to get it right.
I loved it, but not enough. Exhibitions were fun, but not what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The environment sector pulled me back in and I settled into consultancy for the next decade. It had everything that I loved: I worked on all sorts of projects, large and small; I managed teams of specialists, juggling information and acting as the liaison between them and clients; I compiled reports from multiple authors, copyediting and proofreading before they went into the public domain. I even got to do a little travelling from time to time to unusual and exciting places.
Those itchy feet win… training to become a proofreader
By now I had hit my forties. Life has a funny way of reminding you what’s important when you get there. Call it a mid-life crisis, call it reality hitting. A little seed planted itself in my mind and this time it wouldn’t go away – travel. Just get on a plane and go! Before long, that niggling thought became a screaming siren that I could no longer ignore.
I quit my job and booked a one-way ticket to Colombia. I was going to spend four months travelling around South America to get this out of my system and then get back to work. Even if it was only to save enough money for the next adventure. I blogged my way around six countries, documenting the stories that could one day make their way into that book, assuming I ever get around to writing it.
It was a bright afternoon in Cusco, Peru, and I was walking up a cobblestone street filled with tourist shops when I made the decision. I realised that I couldn’t face another job and another decade of living in London, so I had to find a way of working while I travelled. I had met all sorts of people on my journey and one of them was a proofreader. It got me thinking … Don’t I already do that – at least in some form?
On my return, I made a call to the then SfEP (now the CIEP): What did I need to do to become a proofreader? They recommended the Publishing Training Centre, so I enrolled onto their Basic Proofreading course and studied before and after work. I gave myself a year to complete it, save up enough money and make a start on finding some clients.
It took 18 months. By the time my bags were packed I had a new career as a proofreader and copywriter and four regular clients. I also had a one-way ticket to Cambodia and a plan to spend the next few months travelling around Asia. After that, who knew?
Seven years on since I packed up my flat and my bags, I haven’t looked back. I now run a copyediting and proofreading business, specialising in environmental and sustainability work. Next stop is to branch out into editing for the travel sector – surely I know a thing or two about travelling by now? If you want to go freelance and become a digital nomad too, start by reading my recent blog A Leap of Faith: So You Want to Go Freelance? If you have the job lined up or are already working remotely and want to travel, then How to Start Out as a Digital Nomad may help you get going.
And maybe I’ll see you on the road one day…
This blog has been updated from the original, which was published by the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.