I’ve been doing some digging into freelance platforms lately, and I came across this one called PenguinFreelancers. It’s run by the Penguin Publishing Group, and they’re looking for remote freelancers for roles like copy editing, proofreading, and cold reading. At first glance, it seems like a golden opportunity to get my foot in the door of a major publishing house. But as with everything in life, I wanted to do a bit more research before jumping in headfirst.
The Good: What I Liked About It
So here’s what I found out about the application process: it's pretty straightforward. You send them an email with your résumé and a list of titles you've worked on (if any). They also ask you to specify which role you're interested in and if you have any genre preferences. If they like what they see, they invite you to take a test. Pass that test, and you get added to their database.
And let me tell you—the rates are not bad at all! They pay $36 per hour for copy editing and $31 per hour for proofreading/cold reading. That’s actually better than some other platforms I’ve seen where the rates are much lower.
The Bad: What Made Me Hesitate
But here’s where it gets tricky: according to some sources I found (like the Editorial Freelancers Association), those rates are actually lower than the median rates out there—especially for people who have been freelancing for a while. And while it’s nice that they offer competitive rates within their own company, it makes me wonder if I'm selling myself short by accepting those terms.
Also, it seems like there's a huge pool of applicants since they add you to a database after passing the test. So unless you're super lucky or specific editors need your exact skill set at that moment, you might be waiting around for quite some time before getting an actual job from them.
Summary: Still Undecided
So yeah—PenguinFreelancers seems like it could be a good option among freelance websites out there but maybe not THE best one? I'm still weighing my options about applying there against other platforms I've come across (like Upwork or Fiverr).
Has anyone here had experience with them? Would love to hear thoughts from fellow freelancers!
