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This month, I discuss how to prepare for negotiations and how to carry them out, but let’s start with an overview of the most common mistakes, all of them I’ve been guilty of myself. I’m hoping that browsing through this list will challenge some of your assumptions about how you work and get paid for […]
It seems like everyone with a business is an entrepreneur these days. The truth is, you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to run a business. There are plenty of other options that are lower risk, and that allow you to fit your work around your lifestyle – such as being a freelancer. In this […]
When we receive a request to quote a translation project clients sometimes also mention their schedule requirement, or at least a goal. When the desired schedule is unrealistic do we still quote the project? Yes of course. Even if we know we can’t meet a client’s schedule objective we still send a quote with the most […]
Translation memory (TM) and machine translation (MT) continue to change the translation industry. Pricing is evolving, too, as clients, translators, and agencies offer and accept consideration for translation services. But what goes through the minds of the players as we haggle? One way to puzzle this out is to consider how the players view the […]
If you enjoy this blog, you might also enjoy… My online courses Getting Started as a Freelance Translator: for beginning translators who want to launch and run a successful freelance business. For a full description and the start date of the next session, visit my business website’s online course page. http://thoughtsontranslation.com
Dear colleagues: We are very fortunate to live at a time when there are so many developments that make our lives more comfortable; this includes our profession. Most interpreters realize that there are many positive changes: From the way we now research our assignments, … https://rpstranslations.wordpress.com
What are the costs incurred in translation services that ultimately factor into the price paid? Among the ones I can identify, listed in no particular order are: 1. The translator. http://www.affinitytranslation.com
If you’re a professional translator or interpreter and keen on developing your career, it makes sense to join a professional association. You might even consider joining more than one. Here’s why I joined four (!) professional associations for translators, and some pointers to help decide which ones might be right for you. […]
It’s been several months since my last Korean translation tip because, well, I’ve been busy translating… and have also spent this time working hard to improve my skills and credentials. http://nojeokhill.koreanconsulting.com
Despite several companies claiming to have achieved parity with human translation this particular frontier at present remains wild and unconquered. It’s both strange and fascinating that with all the smart technology in our lives today, machines still haven’t conquered the complex art of language translation. Home
When I come to the end of my Translation Project Management courses, I usually explain to the students the main skills I expect from translation project managers. I use star ratings to illustrate what, according to me, they should mainly master in order to work as Translation Project Managers (TPMs). Home page […]
(e-book extract) The translator’s job is carried out under various guises and in different environments. Some translators are employed in institutions or in the public sector. Others are in the employment of private companies that occasionally have an internal translation department. In both cases, when the “in-house” workload becomes too heavy, the company may opt […]
Learn what cost factors go into a document translation services quote and the reasons for the price differences from one agency to another. http://blog.vengaglobal.com
I was talking to a global marketing director recently, and he told me he was worried that his translation agencies were damaging his brand. Here’s a flavour of what he said: “My existing agency just churns the words in and out – they don’t understand the brand” Home | International campaigns without […]
So, if you think terminology is something you want to do, I recommend the following training courses. For university careers check out TermCoord’s Terminology at Universities all over Europe. 1. The Pavel tutorial (free) , offered by the Government of Canada’s Translation Bureau… Read More http://inmyownterms.com
5 hacks and tips to help freelancers improving their daily productivity. December is upon us, and the pre-Christmas working craze has begun. Busy months are usually a blessing to a freelancer’s wallet, but can also be very stressful and energy draining – and we all have our fair share of late night working hours, multiple […]
Trello is a free tool that helps you see what needs to be done and organize collaboration on projects. Learn how it can be useful for translators. Source: http://wordsboutique.com
In the translation industry two pricing techniques seem to dominate: cost plus and competitive pricing. Before looking deeper into these and other pricing techniques, it is important to remember that price is one of the P’s described by Philip Kotler as the fundamental elements of every marketing mix. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141205180943-748070-pricing-techniques-in-the-translation-industry
(e-book extract) Devising the project schedule Each project, in principle, comes with a deadline. This may be set by the client and, where necessary, may be adapted depending on the availability of the sub-contractor. Conversely, it may be set by the translation company when the client requests an estimate of the time required to bring the […]
A reader asks: On my website and resumé, is it OK to use my clients’ names? Does it matter if I worked for them directly or through an agency? Short answer: To be safe, never use a client’s name without their permission. http://thoughtsontranslation.com
Having attended a significant number of industry events, I often hear the question: “What should I expect from a next-gen Translation Management System?”. This in my opinion is a very important issue to explore, since there are no universal benchmarks allowing a user to objectively identify the threshold of optimum translation management software. Recently I managed to narrow […]
The freelancer-large agency relationship is often an ambivalent one. On the one hand, the industry behemoths can provide a steady flow of work, which is a good thing if you have bills to pay. On the other hand, larger also means more layers of organization, so the people you talk to don’t have the authority […]
An extensive list of translator resources for those who enjoy acquiring new skills. Webinars, MOOCS, websites, blogs, books and more. Mainly English. Image source: Stock.xchng, Ivan Prole http://www.sprachrausch.com
Ruined nights, tones of e-mails sent to clients with apologies, family life in pieces, no time for yourself, empty fridge, stress overload. How many times did that happen to you? (It must have happened at least once to everybody, so be honest here!) Terminology Coordination Unit
© The Financial Times Limited 2015. A message goes out regularly from the Financial Times picture desk: is there a Finnish or Greek or some-other-language speaker in the building? The aim is to check a photograph the FT plans to run: do protesters’ banners or background graffiti… http://www.ft.com
Le texte de presse est peut-être l’un des domaines les moins discutés du point de vue traductologique. Le vrai problème, de nos jours, est le fait qu’il n’y a pas de traduction journalistique proprement dite, mais des adaptations au contexte social, économique ou culturel de la langue cible. http://journals.openedition.org
