What Is Scope Creep in Proofreading? (And How to Avoid It)

As a proofreader, have you ever been caught up in endless rounds of reviews? Or has a client added more services to a job without reassessing the fee they originally agreed to pay you?

If the answer is yes, your freelancing services have been subject to scope creep. Keep reading to know more about what scope creep in proofreading is and how to avoid it.

What Is Scope Creep?

It is normal to offer some follow-up after proofreading or editing a document. And if this simply involves checking a few minor revisions that your client has made based on feedback you left in their document, you might be happy to do this for free.

However, you should still look out for scope creep when working on a proofreading or editing project! This occurs when the scope of the work that you and your client have agreed on gradually increases. In proofreading, that might mean:

• Clients asking for extra rounds of edits for free after making significant changes.
• Clients requesting services or tasks (e.g., line editing, formatting, more in-depth proofreading) that were not mentioned in the original contract or brief.
• Clients adding material that wasn’t initially included in the word count.

Additional requests like these can be acceptable, but only when the client agrees to make the necessary changes to the contract, deadline, and pay.

However, if they refuse or ignore your requests, your proofreading project falls in the scope creep category. Although it’s not necessarily a deliberate freelance scam, it means your client is not acting in good faith (and that you are losing money).

Luckily, there are ways to avoid this situation.

How to Avoid Scope Creep

Scope creep is an unfortunate situation for any proofreader. It adds unplanned time to your project, which might interfere with your other freelance work (not to mention your free time). Besides, it reduces your profitability, as you’re doing extra work for free.

To avoid becoming the victim of scope creep, make sure to:

• Agree on and sign a proofreading contract with your client. The contract should define the scope of your work and its deadline(s). You might also want to add a clause that outlines a fee for any additional work. You can use online templates if you haven’t got one already!
• Clear any briefing issues and clarify your tasks (i.e., your scope) before you start working.
• Communicate any suspicion of scope creep as soon as possible. This may mean quoting a price upfront for any extra work that your client requests.

If you do realize you’ve been asked to do work outside your original brief, consider it carefully, especially if you’re just starting out as a proofreader. If you think the requests fall under scope creep, bring up the issue with the client straight away.

And in the unlikely event that a client refuses your requests for additional pay, there are still some options you can take.

Becoming A Proofreader

Ready to kickstart your career as a freelance proofreader? If you achieve a distinction score of 80% or above on both Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor, you are guaranteed work opportunities with our partner company, Proofed! Sign up for a free trial today.