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Abstracts & Bios

The Translation Company Unveiled
This educational session is sponsored by LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc.

Working with a translation agency, bureau, or company can be a steady, lucrative source of business for a freelance translator. How does one start and maintain a successful relationship with a translation company? This presentation will help demystify the process, starting with the résumé, the initial registration paperwork (questionnaires, tax forms, confidentiality and work agreements), and billing procedures. We will then move on to the esoteric realm of "relationships" with project managers. What do they expect and require from you as a language professional? And in return, what can (and should) you expect from a project manager and translation company?

Leah Ruggiero earned her stripes in the field of project management over the course of eight years working at a busy New York City translation company. As senior project manager, she worked on a diverse range of projects in areas such as the arts, government, and law. She received her undergraduate degree in French from the University of Minnesota, and completed coursework in the Master's program in French Studies at New York University. After obtaining a certificate in French to English translation from NYU in 2000, she returned to teach project management for the language industry for NYU's Translation Studies program. She has had several opportunities to speak about the project management industry, notably at Kent State University and at ATA conferences. Among her favorite talks was one she co-presented titled "40 Ways Project Managers Drive Translators Crazy/40 Ways Translators Drive Project Managers Crazy." Energized by the diverse immigrant populations of New York City, Leah is particularly intrigued by the creation of hybrid words that develop and become part of the larger community's vocabulary. Her latest linguistic endeavor has been a crash course in baby talk taught by her 5-month-old-daughter.

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Contracts and the Freelance Translator and Interpreter
This educational session is sponsored by LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc.

This workshop addresses the practical aspects of negotiating contracts and agreements with translation agencies/bureaus/companies, other independent contractors, book publishers, and other end-clients. Topics include: independent contractor issues, terms of payment, liability, copyright, confidentiality, credits, royalties, and disputes. If time allows the speaker will conduct small group exercises in which participants analyze sample contracts and role-play negotiations with clients. Contracts used in discussions will include the good, the bad, and the ridiculous, all of which are actual contracts currently used by agencies, bureaus, book publishers, and other end-clients.

Courtney Searls-Ridge is a bureau owner and project manager (German Language Services, Seattle), freelance translator, and translation instructor. She has translated and edited numerous trade books from German into English, several in collaboration with other freelance translators. She teaches Ethics and Business Practices of T&I at the Translation and Interpretation Institute in Seattle where she is also Academic Director of Translation. She served two terms as Secretary and one term as Director on the ATA Board of Directors. She is co-chair of the ATA Mentoring Committee. She has presented similar contract workshops in Austin, Chicago, Nashville, and Seattle. This presentation is being completely updated to reflect the most recent changes in the business climate and industry.

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Building Your Freelance Translation Business
This educational session is sponsored by LinguaLinx Language Solutions, Inc.

This presentation will focus on tips for establishing your freelance translation business including creating an effective freelance résumé, how to build your client base, working with translation companies, calculating what your services are worth, and producing quality translations. Bring along details of your favorite reference sources so that we can all share our knowledge. This session will include a lengthy question-and-answer period and will generate a lively discussion. While the main focus will be on translation, many of the topics will also apply to interpreting.

Marian S. Greenfield serves as ATA president. She also chairs the ATA's Professional Development Committee. She is the owner of msgreenfield Translations. Formerly the manager of Translation Services at JPMorgan, she translated in New York's Financial District for 20 years. She is now a full-time translation industry consultant and freelancer, translating financial documents from Spanish, Portuguese, and French into English. She is also an adjunct associate professor of translation at New York University.