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… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes Ben Franklin, in a letter written in 1789 How can we prepare to get through the storms of life? My mother-in-law, my husband and my mom died in the last six years. While I was deeply saddened by this, I still had to take care of most administrative issues for them and keep looking to the future. I wanted to have work and clients after this was over. As freelancers, our clients disappear when we disappear. How did I keep clients through these crises? Years…
Translation Commons: A Community for Language Professionals
Reblogged from The ATA Chronicle, with permission Translation Commons is a nonprofit, volunteer-based online community designed to facilitate collaboration among diverse sectors and stakeholders of the language industry and encourage transparency, trust, and free knowledge sharing. It was established with the idea that translated data and memories truly belong to the translators who create them and that they should be…
Mental Health in Freelance Translation: Imposter Syndrome
“Maybe just another run through, just to be safe.” I had already checked that .srt file around 16 times in the past couple of hours and it still didn’t feel like enough. It was the first subtitle I had ever made, following a subtitling workshop at an agency, a test that determined whether or not I would enter their base of…
My Personal Style Guide for the ATA Translation Exam into Spanish
This post was originally published on the Gaucha Translations blog. It is reposted with permission from the author. Based on the comments from a failed exam. I am writing this to help others not fail the same way! Include necessary clarifying information to reduce ambiguity. (register former inmates/registrar para votar a los que habían sido…) (spread the word to thousands……
Are you who you say you are? Being honest about your credentials and skills
You turn on your computer, take a sip of coffee and see a potential project come in. What are the chances, knowing nothing about the project, that you will accept it? If your answer is close to 100%, it might be time to re-think your strategy. You may be providing subpar service to your clients and hurting your potential future…
3 Myths About Who Should Edit Your Translation
Some translation projects involve a lone translator, while others allow the translator to choose an editor. My own experience comes from working for direct clients, where I almost always choose an editor to work closely on my translation with me, or we switch roles and I’m the one who edits my colleague’s translation. Even if you don’t work for direct…
Spider marketing – How to get clients to come to you
Reblogged from SJB Translations’ blog, with permission (incl. the image) How to get clients to come to you Adapted from my presentation at METM 16 entitled “Spinning your web” Last year at METM15 in Coimbra I was inspired by a presentation by a very experienced translator called Graham Cross, which I wrote about here. Graham was talking about churn, the marketing…
Translators vs. Translation Agencies: How Falling Rates Have Turned Once-Allies into Enemies (and What We Can Do to Fix it)
We’ve noticed something strange: though demand has risen for language services, it would appear that prices are falling. Whether due to advances in technology, economic issues, global supply, or simply more aggressive buyers, we find ourselves in an industry that’s never been more in demand and yet has never been more precarious. This understandably leaves many of us overworked, underpaid,…
Freelancers: 7 Things to Know Before Your Next Negotiation
This post was originally published on the Copyediting.com website on June 20, 2017. It is reposted with permission of ACES, The Society for Editing. Editorial business owners are always negotiating. Whether it’s terms for an upcoming project or an existing contract that’s gone out of scope, having these tough conversations is part of the job. Here are 7 things to…
Look Out(!) for these Red Flags in Client Communications
Over the years I’ve received a lot of spam emails from would-be “clients” requesting my services. Here are just a few of the red flags I look for to determine whether an email is from a legitimate client or a scammer. Ambiguous requests “Hello, I’m contacting you in regard to an English content document worth 11,633 words (44 Pages). I…
So You Want to be a Freelance Translator or Interpreter: Tech and Tools
So You Want to be a Freelance Translator (or Interpreter): Tech and Tools When an artist sits down to begin a new project, he collects his paints and paintbrushes, selects the right canvas, sets up an easel, and sits down at a chair that’s just the right height. He also chooses the right setting to work in. What about translators…