Yup, this is she: Jo, the nerdiest freelance French proofreader in Ontario!
Let’s play “2 truths and a lie”, shall we?
a) I am fluent in English and German and I can speak 5 more languages because my brain loves words.
b) I am open to full-time opportunities on site because I hate freedom and solitude.
c) I will be your last-minute lifesaver 24/7 because not having a life is the life that I chose.
The answer is in the FAQs! ツ
It’s b). I am not open to any full-time opportunities and I only work remotely. This has been my life since 2015 and it makes me very happy! The other two are true though: I love and need the flexibility of my work schedule and locations, and I have always been very good with languages. (During my teenage years, I memorised the entire English-French Harrap’s & Shorter dictionary. One of my favorite birthday presents so far is the Dictionary of the Traps and Difficulties of the French Language.)
Yes, I used to offer marketing, copywriting and translation services as well, but proofreading is one of my favorite hobbies in the world! (It’s like Where’s Waldo? for words!) Offering language services to clients in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Cameroon and Canada since 2015 has allowed me to perfectly master the rules of typography and all the nerdy linguistic specificities of each country. My proofreading includes rewriting and editing when needed.
My business is incorporated in the province of Ontario (Canada). I live in Toronto, but I spend several months a year in France and Cameroon. I work on EST and CET time zones on a daily basis and I do not charge taxes to non-Canadian businesses.
Yes. French is my mother tongue and I am certainly the nerdiest freelance French proofreader in Ontario. I am afraid I can’t claim that title in English or German proofreading. Also, I proofread French Canadian, Belgian French, Swiss French, Cameroonian French and French from France: what do you mean “only”?!
All kinds. But my favourites are marketing collaterals (I am a retired marketer), creative writing (I am an award-winning published writer), educational content (I have a blog in education) and even screenplays (I am a script coordinator and a professional screenwriter). I will lay my 4 eyes on any copies you send me and I will enjoy every dopamine rush for each mistake I find.
I have a M.Sc. in management from HEC Paris (2011) in France. I also studied journalism, literature and Japanese at Keio University in Tokyo (Japan) and marketing and innovation management at the Technical University of Munich (Germany). I have been taking a lot of online classes on Coursera these past few years for professional development and for my own personal curiosity (visit my LinkedIn profile).
I thought you’d never ask. I mainly charge on a per-word basis, ranging from CAD $0.20 to $0.40 per word (+HST for Canadian businesses). The price depends on the density of errors and whether I am expected to explain my changes or not. I might charge extra for the word count. Email me an example of a copy to proofread to get a cost estimate.