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Kickstart a Freelance Editor & Proofreader Career on Upwork (Udemy.com)

The Complete Guide to Satisfying Clients and Growing Your Freelancing Business

Created by: Duncan Koerber

Last updated August 2026

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What you will learn

  • Create an effective bid proposal cover letter to attract clients.
  • Win contracts with sound bidding principles.
  • Gain good ratings quickly to improve bidding chances.
  • Impress clients through simple editing philosophies and approaches.
  • Cultivate repeat clients for further business.
  • Fast-track your online editing and proofreading career.
  • Avoid the typical mistakes that cost new freelancers money.

How it compares

Against the other 150 rated Udemy courses in Entrepreneurship on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 70% of them
  • Reviews1,277#26 of 151 by number of reviews
  • Length1.8 hoursshorter than 72% of them
  • Last updatedAugust 2026more recently than 90% of them

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Course Description

  • One of the HIGHEST RATED freelancing courses on Udemy 
  • 50 5-star reviews
  • 4.57 out of 5 rating all time (91.4%)
  • Taught by a UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR with 14 years of experience in traditional and online editing and proofreading

What students are saying…

“Duncan does a great job of giving you the realities of this business, the good, the bad, and the ugly.” — SIERRA RENEA, UDEMY STUDENT

“Very valuable information.” — GERRY ROBERTSON, UDEMY STUDENT

“The presentation and details of the subject was a perfect pace for any student to easily follow. Well done, Duncan.” — HEATHER CAIN, UDEMY STUDENT

“I found this course to be enlightening and reassuring that I do have the skill set to be a proofreader.” — ROWENA D. SANDERS, UDEMY STUDENT

“Clear voice, insightful tips, easy to follow.” — LEON ATKINS, UDEMY STUDENT

“The course was very interesting and offered good tips on how to get those first crucial jobs on Upwork.” — NATALIE PSAILA, UDEMY STUDENT

“Clear, concise, practical advice.” — BONNY NAPOLITANO, UDEMY STUDENT

“He really prepares you to go into business for yourself.” — WILBUR ROBINSON, UDEMY STUDENT

“Duncan's class is well worth the money I paid.” — STACI WADDLE, UDEMY STUDENT

“This is a great, informative course on Upwork and how to begin your career on there.” — REBECCA FRANCESE, UDEMY STUDENT

“Informative and visually appealing course that covered a wide range of topics relevant to editing through Upwork. Thanks!” — VICTORIA A., UDEMY STUDENT

“Instructor knows his craft and is easy to listen to and follow along with. The videos are informative and structured well.” — DONNA ANSLEY, UDEMY STUDENT

“Fabulous intro course.” — CHRISTY, UDEMY STUDENT

Do you want to make side income from home in your spare time? Do you have a good eye for detail in English writing? Become an editor and proofreader on the #1 freelance site in the world, Upwork. 

In this course, I use my own experience on Upwork to show you how to get up to speed quickly as an editing & proofreading category freelancer. The course discusses how to create an effective bid cover letter, what bidding principles work well, and how much to bid to win as many job contracts as possible. 

I present insights from my writing textbook, Clear, Precise, Direct: Strategies for Writing (Oxford University Press, 2015) to help you satisfy clients and thus earn high ratings. Earning high ratings leads to a domino effect of more and more jobs. These insights also include my philosophy of editing that preserves clients' ideas and meanings while removing troubling "weeds" from their writing. 

The course additionally provides more approaches, philosophies, and tips for editing and proofreading that have led me to a 97% client satisfaction rating on Upwork. 

Build your online freelance editing and proofreading career today and develop a stable of repeat clients.

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Instructor Details

Duncan Koerber

Dr. Duncan Koerber has taught writing and communication courses to thousands of students for almost twenty years at eight Canadian universities.

Oxford University Press recently published his writing textbook, Clear, Precise, Direct: Strategies for Writing (2015). Available on Amazon, the book considers the seven most common errors (interfering factors) in writing and how to improve them (enhancing factors). His second book, Crisis Communication in Canada, was published by University of Toronto Press in 2017. 

Currently an Associate Professor at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, Duncan Koerber worked for nearly 10 years in reporting and editing roles for the London Free Press, the Mississauga News, and the University of Toronto Medium. He has freelanced for magazines and newspapers, including the Toronto Star.

Duncan Koerber has been a successful freelance editor, earning a 95% success rating on Upwork. 

Duncan Koerber has a bachelor of arts degree in English, Professional Writing, and Political Science from the University of Toronto (2001), a master of arts degree in Journalism from the University of Western Ontario (2003), and a Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from York University and Ryerson University (2009).

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Reviews

4.6

1,277 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Elizabeth Ng on 12/30/2020

I took this course because I wanted to build an online career as a freelancer. Duncan's course is clear and has actionable steps that one can take and apply. He is also very responsive via the message system and when there was a hiccup in my application to Upwork, Duncan provided advice that helped get the ball rolling for me. Excellent course, and help. Much appreciated.

By Kimberley Rancie on 6/13/2020

The video presentation could not be viewed larger than a thumbnail, even when going to full screen mode, via the desktop. This made reading material either very difficult or impossible. I was able to expand the presentation screen via iPhone. This made for better viewing, but was still small. Each succeeding lesson did not play automatically on the iPhone, but the lessons do continue automatically on the desktop. As for the content, it was well laid out, understandable, easy to follow and thorough. I would like more specific information on how to determine an appropriate rate. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

By Anonymized User on 12/8/2019

This is not what I was expecting being my very 1st Udemy course. Being very new and inexperienced to Upwork, this course gives you a kickstart to the platform itself. The Course itself also gives you better insight as far as expectations you have and its benefits. So far, its also given me a lot more perspective on the Upwork platform and areas I need to work on further to gain more confidence on an Upwork platform.

By Gary Townsend on 10/22/2019

An excellent course. I managed to compile tons of notes. This is not a "dig" against the course, but based on things I've learned, it would seem that Upwork has changed since this course was first published, and they've become more picky about the applications they accept. I haven't yet opened an account or applied, but that is something that those considering this course should understand. Visit the Upwork site and investigate it. I don't believe, however, that it is absolutely necessary to use Upwork to start an editing/proofreading career, even if your aim is only to do it part-time. This will mean having to learn how to get a business started just as anyone else does, starting a blog, building an email list, etc. That said, the instruction in this course on editing and proofreading alone is well-worth the price of the course.

By Toni L Duke on 10/19/2019

Pros: Teacher shared a lot of great specifics about how to begin and grow on Upwork. He was very clearly understood. Loved graphics. Cons: Slides need to be updated. In some cases, the slides look nothing like the actual site. Also, he tended to share too much about specifically what HE made. His education and skills are above what most workers will have, therefore, are not that relative. Great course!

By Tracy Cockcroft on 8/6/2019

I did the course last year (August 2019) as this was one of my interests. I have done work for a USA based publisher. I am now in the process of being retrenched (Covid19 has taken its toll on my mainstream industry), so rekindled this option. I have submitted quite a few proposals during the last week - and had no reply. Feeling a bit disheartened, I opted to redo your course. Now it makes much more sense, and I will keep going. I am attaching a great written reference from a publisher - but as yet, I have no rating with Upwork. I will endeavour to get this done. Another field I am considering and busy with some practice - is transcribing audio to text. Thank you so much

By Yanick Gelin on 6/28/2019

This course has some useful tips but I was expecting more details on Proofreading. Please advise on the following: - Do I send a draft of the document I have proofread with the track changes for the client to review and authorize? - Once I get the job, what is important to remember during my primary discussion with the client? - On the job duration: Your advice is to select "less than a week". What if the client believes it is true when it is not? - Can I register on other platforms besides Upwork? Thank you for your reply.

By Terise Lang on 2/8/2019

This course provided a thorough introduction to successful Upwork strategies, a good review of writing basics and additional tips that can make editors and proofreaders more competitive. I loved the attention to detail and the frank discussion of how much work is required in earning and maintaining a great job rating. Although I am not quite set up to use the tool at this time, I predict that I will feel confident when I am ready to start. This class demonstrates Duncan's status as a professor who actually knows how to teach.

By Jessica Stevens on 7/19/2018

Wow, this course was more than I expected. I had never heard of Upwork before and was anxious to learn more. After this course, I am excited to get to work as a freelancer and feel confident that what I learned in this course will help me provide tremendous value to clients. I highly recommend this course if you are curious about sharpening your skills and utilizing your talents.

By Emilia Di Luca on 11/19/2017

Clear and concise, Duncan’s course “Kickstart a Freelance Editor & Proofreader Career on Upwork” informs and inspires its audience – perfect for both new freelancers and experts who are new to Upwork. Duncan offers a well-rounded course, which includes: a detailed explanation of how Upwork works, expert advice on editing and proofreading best practices, and practical tips for success as a freelancer. For me, the real-world examples and advice Duncan shares are the highlights of the course. As a seasoned professional, he’s down-to-earth and up-to-date on the latest in editing and proofreading. This course is definitely worth the time of anyone interested in freelancing on Upwork.

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Overall Score : 92 / 100