savvy-newcomer-header

The Savvy Newcomer aims to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content on a weekly basis. We strive to provide you with the answers to the many questions you face as a new or aspiring translator or interpreter.

Independent Contracting from A to Z: Everything Translators & Interpreters Need to Know

By The Savvy Newcomer | October 8, 2025
Independent Contracting From A to Z

Starting your career as a freelance translator or interpreter is exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. Beyond your linguistic skills, you’re stepping into the world of independent contracting: contracts, marketing, professional development, taxes, technology, and more. It’s not always intuitive at first, but the good news is that you can build a successful business with a strong foundation. Here’s a guide from A to Z covering the essentials every new freelance translator and interpreter should know: A – Agreements Never begin work without a signed agreement. Contracts clarify deadlines, rates, payment terms, confidentiality, and expectations, and they protect both…

Read More

8 Skills you Must Have to Succeed as a Freelance Translator—and How to Get Them

By The Savvy Newcomer | May 5, 2015

By Tess Whitty Reblogged from Marketing Tips for Translators blog with permission from the author (including the image) Having been a freelance translator for over 10 years, I can definitely say it is my dream job. I love what I do. However, when I started researching a career as a freelance translator in 2002, I did not know much about the…

Read More

15 tips on how to increase your chances when contacting translation companies

By The Savvy Newcomer | April 21, 2015

By Riccardo Schiaffino Reblogged from About Translation blog with permission from the author Our tiny translation company does not advertise for translators, since we do most work internally or with the help of a small group of trusted colleagues. Yet, every day I receive on average a dozen messages from translators offering their services for various language combinations. Unfortunately, most of these messages…

Read More

11 tips for new freelance translators on the hunt for their first assignments

By The Savvy Newcomer | April 7, 2015

By Nicole Y. Adams Reblogged from NYA Communications blog with permission from the author (including the image) A while ago a new colleague on a translators’ forum asked for advice on how to secure those all-important first assignments and set up shop as a freelance translator. I think we’ve all been there when we started out and know how frustrating it can be to…

Read More

Our “Mother Tongue”: Keeping it Fresh in a Foreign Land

By The Savvy Newcomer | March 31, 2015

By Helen Eby Estemed friends, It seems to make much time that I don’t write to you.—Ramón, in “Ramón Writes,” an Argentine column published by the Buenos Aires Herald every two weeks, as a humorous take on Argentine Spanglish. Ramón had trouble saying such simple things as “It’s been a long time since I’ve written to you.” Today, we laugh…

Read More

How do translators showcase their talent to translation agencies?

By The Savvy Newcomer | March 24, 2015

By Gwenydd Jones Reblogged from The Translator’s Studio blog with permission from the author (including the image) 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…

Read More

Adventures with Direct Clients—Part One

By The Savvy Newcomer | March 18, 2015

By David Friedman I have always wanted to work with direct clients, since the early stages of my translation career. I would like to tell you the story of what has so far been my most exciting direct client adventure, to show that these kinds of things actually happen in the real world if you play your cards right. You…

Read More

Reading the small print

By The Savvy Newcomer | March 10, 2015

By Jo Rourke Reblogged from Silver Tongue Translations blog with permission from the author (including the images) I’m not entirely sure what happened. I’m usually pretty pernickety on details so I don’t know how it all got past me. Nevertheless, I am now the proud owner of an almost entirely redundant freephone business number, along with a phone and internet bill which will, over…

Read More

The ATA Mentoring Program through the eyes of a mentor-mentee pair

By The Savvy Newcomer | March 3, 2015

With the deadline to apply for the ATA Mentoring Program for 2015 fast approaching this week—March 7, to be more precise—we thought this would be a great opportunity to showcase this hidden gem available to ATA members. But instead of providing a scholarly piece singing the wonders of this program, we found a mentor-mentee pair who was willing to share…

Read More

The Ins and Outs of Term Validation

By The Savvy Newcomer | February 24, 2015

By Patricia Brenes Reblogged from In My Own Terms with permission from the author (including the images) Every step in term processing during the preparation of glossaries or updating of termbases is important, but probably the one that will save you the most time is term validation. How and when it’s done is key to achieve cost-effective/efficient validation. What is term validation?…

Read More