The Savvy Linguist serves a worldwide community of translators and interpreters who are looking for practical solutions to everyday problems, ideas for growing their business, and support as they achieve their career goals. With high-quality, peer-reviewed content, you will find the answers to the questions you face as an innovative language professional.
In professional associations, you can often publish a public profile. Clients use this profile to decide who to work with. It should be brief, but it has to tell your story. However, sometimes our public profile is not visible. Go to your profile settings on the platform your association uses and verify that your profile is visible. You can generally select items from your profile to share publicly, such as your phone, address, email, and social media profiles. Be intentional about what you share. This information can be seen by the public. That means both your clients and other people…
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…
Pursuing the Translation Dream: Professional Demeanor
Your translation career is moving right along: you have a growing slate of repeat customers and a modest circle of close colleagues. You can even hear a little voice in your head wondering whether you’ve finally “made it.” But that little voice has a devilish counterpart that doubts work will always be plentiful and that you’ll earn enough to meet…
ATA59: Making the Most of my First Conference
I finally found the perfect opportunity to attend the ATA’s flagship event, the ATA Annual Conference: ATA59 in New Orleans. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more! As you think ahead to attending your first conference, I thought it might help to learn a bit about how I prepared for, attended, and followed-up on my first…
[Guide] How to Become a Game Translator
Reblogged from IT Translator Blog, with permission This is the text version of the presentation I showed on Crowdcast with Smartcat (video available here). It is based on the notes I took to prepare for the webinar, hence the disjointed writing style. Still hope you will find it useful to start your journey toward a career as a professional translator!…
ATA59 Session & Book Review: The Business of Translation
When I attended the ATA59 conference in NOLA, many colleagues encouraged me to attend a session about a topic outside my specialty. So, I browsed the booklet trying to choose a session about a topic that I’d like to know more about. I chose the “Business of Translation” session listed under Language Services Companies and Independent Contractors, and I’m glad…
ATA’s Virtual Conference Is Back
Did you miss out on ATA’s 59th Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana? Or maybe you attended but weren’t able to make it to as many sessions as you would have liked. Don’t fear! The ATA Virtual Conference is here and back for its second round. What is the Virtual Conference? The 2018 Virtual Conference is a collection of 50…
Ergonomics for ATA’s Certification Exam: Unspoken Advice with Untold Benefits
Reblogged from The ATA Chronicle, with permission Shortly after I took the computerized version of ATA’s certification exam in 2017, I received an e-mail from one of the proctors—whom I had thanked for stepping up to proctor at the last minute—in which she commented on the contrast between my “ergonomic” setup and the hunched posture of my fellow test takers.…
Presentation Proposal Resources for #ATA60 in Palm Springs
ATA speakers bring a broad variety of topics and perspectives to the conference. This is what makes it interesting! When you present as a team, you can discuss the topic in depth with your colleagues for months and give participants a broader perspective. Proposals are currently being accepted for the 60th ATA Annual Conference in Palm Springs and the submission…
ATA59 Conference Session Review: “Textspeak in the Courtroom,” Parts I and II
It can be a bit intimidating to attend a “Part I” session at conferences, knowing there is a lot of information to be absorbed. That said, “Textspeak in the Courtroom” was a two-part lecture I did not want to miss! As a Spanish translator and transcriber, I come in contact with textspeak and slang on a regular basis—not in the…