Pricing
Back in 2011, I wrote this post about how much freelance translators earn. After almost seven years, it’s still the most popular post on this site, with over 21,000 views. A reader recently sent me a series of questions about translator income: “I’m in college and deciding whether to try to make a career as […]
One of the most heated debates within the realm of freelancing is whether you should charge hourly or per project (flat fee). While both sides of the coin have legitimate arguments, charging hourly can potentially hinder your ability to advance your entrepreneurial career. Below, I will point out some of the main arguments frequently presented […]
“How should I charge my clients?” This is the age-old freelancers debate, and the answers vary – sometimes from client to client. There are many factors to this question, and it can depend on your previous experiences, your skills, how efficiently you get work done, and even how much your salary goal is, or if […]
The US Government’s General Services Administration (GSA) used to dispose of war surplus goods in 1949; now it is the independent, centralized procurement agency of the US government―and it provides “billions of dollars worth of products, services, and facilities” to US federal agencies. Home
Whether you are a company or individual, if you need to translate something from one language into another the first thing you want to know is the cost of translation. The translation market is very complex and inhomogeneous. There are many factors that can influence the translation rates and prices — from the country of […]
On your TM-Town profile, you have the option to set a rate range (both a per word range and also a per hour range). This field is optional, and when a translator does choose to show their rate range, we accompany it with the following text: https://www.tm-town.com
A recent argument with an agency about the word count for a job handed in weeks previously has driven home just how sordid this practice of counting words really is. Thankfully, this type of situation doesn’t rear its ugly head that often, and this particular client is not one of my main sources of income. […]
After fielding yet another “proposal” to translate a book for a fee I found offensive, I thought it might be time to start offering a special, low-cost fare to publishers and other clients who are looking to save money on translations. Details of the low-cost package: https://nopeanuts.wordpress.com
When a translator quotes for a job, (s)he should compare the quote to the actual work when it is done. When you look at your job using numbers, you can learn to make quotes in a better way. This post-calculation Excel template can get you started. Home
Research and observations on geographical, ethnic-linguistic and geopolitical supply-demand principles dictating pricing of translations. According to the Linguistic Society of America, referring to Ethnologue – the most extensive catalogue of the world’s languages, there are over 6,900 distinct languages spoken on Earth. Do you know which the most widely spoken languages of those are? Home
Are you unsure about how to price your translation services? Chris Durban shared her valuable insights on this thorny topic in her presentation on ‘Pricing issues in translation: is this where you want to be?’ for the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters in January 2016. Here’s a round-up of the key points from […]
Pricing is a controversial and complex subject, and one that all linguists need to think about very seriously. In order to make a good living in the profession that we love, it is essential to figure out how to price our services. It is not about the price someone tells you to charge, but rather … […]
“Proz is dead.” I bet you’ve heard that one before. This is what people say in 2015. This is what they’ve said in 2010. And I bet that this is what they will be saying in 2020. Many translators have somewhat of a love-hate relationship with Proz. With hate probably playing the key role. […]
Breaking up isn’t hard when your “partner” is a cheapskate I received an e-mail last week from a long-standing and once quite important agency client. It began brightly. The company was undergoing a process of change with a view to growing and becoming a world leader in translation. http://www.sjbtranslations.com
If you are a freelance translator, putting yourself in a position to do high quality work on an ongoing basis requires that you approach the job from an effective commercial standpoint. While the question “What rates should I charge?” is one that ultimately only you can answer, as a professional in the industry… http://wiki.proz.com […]
Article sur l’importance de faire appel à des traducteurs professionnels. Quelques chiffres intéressants sont également indiqués à la fin de l’article (basés sur le “Rapport de l’enquête sur les conditions de travail et tarifs des langagiers en 2012”). http://affaires.lapresse.ca
Quelques remarques de marketing et de droit autour de la question de la fixation de tarifs de traduction différents selon les clients. Les agences de traduction peuvent souvent être tentées de pratiquer, pour leurs services linguistiques, des tarifs différents en fonction des différentes caractéristiques de leurs clients. Translation & Interpretation Agency
My thoughts about translation rates, working for peanuts and learning to embrace your fears and demons. Me. Seriously, blame me. I’m that asshole who is responsible for low translation rates. I’m sorry guys, but I can’t help it. It’s been a very bad habit for a very long time. A habit that I’ve developed over […]
For some, the answer is obvious. For others, it’s not that easy. I personally For some, the answer is obvious. For others, it’s not that easy. I personally think that it is a case-by-case decision, depending not only on you, but also on the client and on the specific project. Let’s try to analyse this […]
Stop me if this sounds familiar: I really needed work, so I decided to take whatever came through the door. I decided that applying to mega-agencies/advertising on Fiverr/racing to the bottom on translation job boards was the fastest way to get full-time freelance work. But now I’m stuck; I have to translate 10-12 hours a […]
It’s the most common question I hear when talking with translators and interpreters: How much should I charge? The question comes from everywhere in the industry, from the recent graduate just starting out in a career in translation and interpreting to the seasoned professional who needs to renegotiate his or her rates with a client. […]
Like many simple questions, this is one with no easy answer. For one thing, it’ll depend whether it’s a complex technical report, a novel, or just an email in another language. The answer to “how much does translation cost” also depends on how accurate it needs to be. […]
Quotation prepared by a translation agency for a translation project consisting of one document to be translated into one language. Description Translation agency: based in Brussels, Belgium Client company: based in Dublin, Ireland Product: Mch29TR2 Files to be localised: documents in Adobe Indesign® format Source language: English Target language: German … Solution and explanations […]
Figuring out rates can be tough. There is discussion forum after discussion forum where newbies are asking how much they should charge and veteran translators keep giving them the same apparently meaningless formula: too much and you won’t land the client, too little and they will assume you’re bad at what you do. […]
After “How do I find some clients?,” I think that the most common question I get from beginning (and for that matter, experienced) translators is “How much should I charge?” My sense is that most people want an answer like “If you work for agencies, charge 16 cents. If you work for direct clients, charge […]
When I first started in translation and was about to write my first invoice, I asked a colleague and friend to check if I had forgotten to put anything on the invoice. He gave me his template as an example and there I saw that he had a checkbox for a “Minimum fee”, which in […]
