Freelance translators have their say: Is it better to work with agencies or direct clients? Part of the joy of being a freelancer is being able to choose exactly who to work with – no more difficult bosses, unreasonable line managers or slacking co-workers, hooray! Illustration: Copyright (c) Translators Family Home
To celebrate Rare Disease Day, in this post I briefly discuss rare diseases and list resources on rare diseases and orphan drugs for medical translators. Life Science Translation Services | Medicine, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology
Today, I want to talk a little bit about a term used by work-providers and which greatly irritates many translators: that term is ‘proof-reading’. I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked to ‘proof-read’ a text, only to find that what is actually meant is something else entirely. http://spotlightontranslation.blogspot.be
As one of the more visible proponents for moving upmarket into the premium translation market sector — a position I’ve argued since 1997, but one that is just now finding traction as we can reach increasingly larger populations of translators with the message — I think it’s crucial to discuss why premium-market translators have volunteered […]
Are you a translator or an entrepreneur? 5 ½ lessons of the Business School for Translators course will put you on the right track to make the most of your skills, training and passion. If you’re committed to becoming a translator and entrepreneur, join us for 7 weeks of practical business training, months of motivation […]
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
We said it before here — In machines translation you get what you pay for! Takeda Random House Japan Co., Ltd has been forced into bankruptcy with 930 million yen in liabilities. About the Author Ivan Vandermerwe is the CEO of SAECULII YK, the owner of Japan Translation Services TokyoVisit SAECULII for the latest professional […]
Standing out in a competitive market is a must, no matter the industry you work in. The translation industry is no exception, and it’s not just translation companies that need to stand out, but translators too, maybe even more so, especially if your language combination is not exactly rare. http://caroltranslation.com
Freelance translators should think of themselves as business people. As such, they should pay serious attention to risk management, including the actions needed to minimize the risk of being the victims of a scam. http://prozcomblog.com
Our guest writer Ricardo Souza discusses the role of the translation and localization project manager in the contemporary translation industry. http://www.translationclientzone.com
Can translation quality be inferred from where a translator is located? Does it matter where translators live? The fabled in-country translators “We only work with translators who are native speakers and live in the country you want to connect with!” Home
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 […]
A reader asks: I come across lots of bad translations in my language pairs. How can I use these to pitch my freelance services to new clients without sounding like a hyper-critical tattletale? This is a regular topic of conversation among translators who work with direct clients, and bad translations can be a great marketing […]
Whilst there are lots of benefits to working as a freelance translator, there’s also significant amounts of less-romanticised, hard work that’s also involved. This post will ask some of the hard questions that aspiring freelance translators will have to consider themselves, prompting you to evaluate yourself and see if this is the sort of job […]
Sound project management is crucial to taking possession of a quality, error free project. If you’ve undertaken a translation or localization project, even a small project, without the aid of a project management system, you may be guilty of contributing to translation errors that have cost your company in lost revenue. http://japan-translators.saeculii.com
The key to a successful translation project is getting the right people to do the job. Highly qualified translators make up the core of a translation team. Certified Translation Services
When you request a translation quote, you are given a price you probably do not understand. You also want to know why translators ask you about the number of words in your document, why the type of file matters and why some translators ask for a minimum charge. Let us then take a closer look […]
One of the biggest challenges that any business faces is how to find and attract clients. You cannot help people or attract clients if they do not know your business exists. Sounds simple, but you would be surprised at just how many translators struggle to show up on their ideal clients’ radar. https://alexandria-translation-resources.com
One of the main purposes of this blog when we recently created it was bringing the translators community closer and promote the sharing of different ideas and experiences. Given that we don’t want to turn this blog into something “closed” and only ours, we decided to extend the invitation to recognized translation and translation project […]
Once upon a time some translators had one or more cardboard boxes where handwritten and alphabetically ordered terms ─ including their definitions, sources, synonyms and etymology ─ were kept on cards of different colour. Some colleagues kept them in their notebooks we also used to use as phone directories. http://www.maslias.eu
Last week, Letraduct authored a post about one of the problems that your target customer (the translation agency) has, which is lack of time and desire to read lengthy cover letters, CVs and translation portfolios. The advice was clear: be a translator that makes it quick and easy for the project manager to see key […]
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the overriding factor causing translators to end their relationship with an agency is not being paid at all (no-brainer really, as continuing to work for a client that is not paying you—whatever their excuses and promises—just doesn’t make good business sense), and secondly being paid late. […]
Here you can download my free e-books for translators including Working for high-end clients demystified, Working for agencies demystified, and the entire Little Books for Translators series. This series contains bite-size information on business and marketing strategies for budding freelance translators to help you get established and grow your client base. They are short, concise […]
I have recently seen a link posted by Ral (thank you, Ral!) to a really interesting article on setting consultancy rates. It is clear, helpful, and even if it does not teach you anything new (which would actually be quite a bit surprising because it approaches fee-setting from seven angles), you will still have a better […]
Avoiding translation minimum fees It can sometimes be difficult in the translation industry to get the translation of a single word or sentence without it becoming very costly. Many agencies and freelance translators have very hefty minimum fees in most cases. http://ferristranslations.com
Linguists – The best translation project managers are linguists. (I can think of only one notable exception that I worked with). Many translation project managers have trained as translators. They have either found that project management suits their characters better or that it is a good first career step. Some turn freelance translator after gaining […]