Tips for Translators

Organizing a Freelance Translation Office

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 27 May 2012 08:02:00 +0000

BECOMING A PRODUCTIVE FREELANCE TRANSLATOR

Organizing a Freelance Translation Office

Translation work requires mental concentration, physical stamina and emotional balance in addition to your language skills, computer hardware and software. Each person has a particular work style and organizing your workspace in harmony with this can help you be more productive. Let’s look at some concepts that can help you work better.

Environment

The location where you work in your home needs to be quiet to facilitate concentration. It also needs to be another location that supports year issue level. Organizing your home office near the front of your home is beneficial to receiving clients and conducting business as well as exposing your workspace to positive energy. Air currents are more active n the main level and toward the front of the house than lower levels and the rear of the house.

You should position your desk so that you can clearly see the entrance to the room. This way you can be aware of your general environment and psychologically at ease. If you sit with your back toward the door you are vulnerable because you do not know who may be approaching.

Ideally very best should be positioned diagonally across from the door to your office, however if this is not possible place a small convicts mirror in the corner of your computer monitor to see behind you. In addition it is a good idea to have a wall behind your chair instead of a window.

Make sure you are comfortable with your computer equipment, you can customize your equipment to suit your work style. To avoid physical strain use a computer desk and chair that is ergonomically design with a curved shape that benefits energy flow to your hands and fingers. Purchase a good lamp and take care to protect your eyes from computer monitor glare.

In addition to your computer equipment you will need to provide storage for files, papers and reference books. To be sure to invest in the gadgets to organize your diskettes, CDs, computer cords and wires. Maintaining a clutter free workspace is essential to productivity.

Taking frequent breaks from computer work is important for your mental capability and your physical performance as well. And if your computer is in your bedroom, place a divider around the area or cover the computer when you go to sleep.

Plants in your office can be inspiring symbols of creativity and life plus they absorb toxins in the air.

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LEGAL AND FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR FREELANCE TRANSLATORS

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 20 May 2012 07:41:00 +0000

LEGAL AND FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR FREELANCE TRANSLATORS

Contracts and Fee Agreements

The term “contract” is used frequently in the place of the term “fee agreement”, however for freelance translators, fee agreement is the term that is most commonly used. It could be that the term “contract” is too severe, however regardless to which term is used, the document must include certain components and should be prepared for each project, signed and returned to you before starting the translation work.

It is important for a freelance translator to use the proper forms to establish a professional relationship with the client; by treating the client with respect and courtesy by documenting the terms and conditions of the translation work to be completed you are showing respect for the translation business, your skills and abilities as a translator. How you conduct your business plays an important role in your success.

It is wise to state in the Fee Agreement your request for 50 percent of the agreed the for the translation work in advance which should be returned along with the signed the agreement. This works best when you work directly with a client however you must be flexible when working with agencies that must wait for the client to pay them before you are paid.

In the case of an extremely large translation project, is very common that a client will pay you 1/3 of the amount with the fee agreement is signed, a 1/3 of the amount at a designated time during the project, with the final third paid upon delivery of the completed translation project.

Components of Your Fee Agreement

Below is a list of the absolute essential components and should be included in your freelance translator fee agreement:

1. A full description of the project listing every task you are to perform

2. The scheduled date of delivery for the complete translation

3. The terms and conditions regarding revisions

4. The terms and conditions regarding payment

5. Conditions covering the late payment of fees

6. A full description of the services that you will provide

7. A full description of services excluded from the translation project, for example interviewing an expert

8. An explanation of how changes in the project will be handled

9. Copyright ownership and transfer; to be sure to emphasize the fact that you own the copyright until payment has been made in full

10. A legal disclaimer holding you harmless against any legal charges such as libel and copyright infringement

11. A provision requiring clients to provide work samples, research material, technical or terminology glossaries

When you’re working with agencies they may require you to sign a contract. Make sure you view the contract contents carefully and if there any parts of the contract that you do not understand or agree with, discuss it with the appropriate person at the agency. In some cases agencies will remove the sections in question. However should they failed to accommodate you do not sign any contract that does not meet your needs.

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Pricing of memory translation software

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:40:00 +0000

Pricing

How much should you be prepared to spend for a memory translation software tool? The pricing ranges from $30.00 to $1,000.00 depending on the array of features, compatibility and capabilities. It is a good idea to research each one in terms of the work you must perform and is learning curve before you purchase.

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UNDERSTANDING TRANSLATION MEMORY TOOLS

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 06 May 2012 07:37:00 +0000

UNDERSTANDING TRANSLATION MEMORY TOOLS

Translation memory tools to usually consist of a suite of integrated software packages that offer different features; some of the best known are Déjà vu by Atril, Trados by Translator’s Workbench and Star by Transit. Some of the features offered by these programs are:

• Alignment

The alignment feature allows you to develop a data base from your existing translation files. However each of the software manufacturers has implemented the alignment feature differently in terms of the amount of automation they provide. In addition the alignment feature is not incorporated in each of these programs; some are available as additional modules to the main program.

• Database maintenance

This feature gives you the ability to make changes to your data base as required.

• Terminology program

Electronic glossaries are essential freelance translator tools and the software programs offer you the ability to import your personal glossary as well as other dictionary files. Several of the to terminology programs of the memory translation tools can be highly advanced providing fuzzy matching algorithms that are able to search for the root of a word, in the case where the words that you need is not in the dictionary. This feature is more useful to for the beginning freelance translator then the seasoned professional.

• Document Editor

For the process of performing the translation the document editor works in the form of two main parallel windows, with the source text on one side and the target text on the other, with an additional window to show specific portions from the translation memory, showing the success percentage of the translation matches for example, 100 percent means that the system has located the specified sentence in the database which then you can import directly into your translated document.

In addition matches will be shown from the software program’s terminology reference. As a word processor the document editor of most translation memory tools do not offer advanced features however there are some that were directly with Microsoft word.

• Filters

The filters provided in memory translation software are responsible for file conversion and destination assignment. You can choose to convert a file from one format to another and then imported directly to the document editor, to the online and program for export them in their original format.

Before buying a package, you need to carefully consider what you need from these four basic components of any system. Here are a few tips for you to use in selecting a memory translation tool:

1. Choose the right size data base, searches will take less time and return errors

2. Make sure your computer has enough RAM to support all of the features

3. Be prepared to spend time learning how the memory translation tool operates

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FREELANCE TRANSLATOR TOOLS

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:29:00 +0000

FREELANCE TRANSLATOR TOOLS

Computer assisted translation (CAT) systems come in a variety of formats and capabilities. Some combine translation memory technology (TM) with example based machine translation techniques (EBMT).

Freelance translators can select from a variety of translation memory tools to assist them in their work. Although these tools are valuable, they must be used with discretion and are most useful in providing an extension to the translator’s memory.

Some of the most advanced translator tools provide you with not only translation memory feature but also a terminology data base and a project lexicon to increase the quality of your word matching ability. In addition, many of these tools provide you with project management features to help you increase your productivity and consistency, working with a variety of file formats through a uniform interface.

The main value of using translation memory tools for a freelance translator is simple: it saves you time and brain power. For each time that you use the word translation memory tool it records how you translated the word and stores it for future use.

The more translations you perform, the larger your data base will grow and the faster you will be able to complete your translation work. While this feature may not be used often in translating advertising copy or poetry, for freelance translators who work with technical material where there is a highly frequency of repetitive phrases, this can save an incredible amount of time.

However there are several questions you need to answer to before you invest in a translation memory tools to determine how quickly you’ll be able to experience a return on your investment. These programs work best with electronic media; files received via the Internet or on disk. If your work is primarily repetitious where you are concerned with the sentence structure as opposed to terminology a translation memory tool can be a valuable assistant

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Translating Malayo-Polynesian family of languages

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:28:00 +0000

As being able to communicate with different countries becomes more important in our lives, to the prominence of other languages such as the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages is becoming more apparent. These languages are spoken in the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Madagascar, and Oceania. The demand for fluency in these languages will continue to increase and freelance translators who have proficiency in them will profit a great deal.

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Translating INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGES

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:26:00 +0000

INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGES

The people of India speak a total of 500 languages including Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi or Punjabi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Bengali, Assamese, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Marwari, Konkani, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Nepal Bhasa, Kashmiri and Romani.

Most of these languages are written and read from left to right in Devanāgarīm abugida script characters, are thousands of years old and are spoken by millions of people around the world. For instance, Hindi (which also refers to the standardized form of Hindustani termed “Khariboli,” ) has emerged as the standard dialect. India’s rise in the world of technology and business has created a wealth of opportunities for free lance translators.

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Translating JAPANESE

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:25:00 +0000

JAPANESE

Japanese holds third place in terms of languages spoken worldwide surpassed only by English and Chinese. In regard to economic power Japan and China are both important market for translations.

121 million people live in Japan and Japanese is spoken by 125 million people around the world and uses double byte characters much like Chinese. In fact, many of the characters written in Japanese are the same in Chinese. However in speaking the pronunciation of these two languages are completely different.

As a freelance translator writing the Japanese there are three important character sets you must know. The first two; Katakana and Hiragana, use characters that represent awful syllable. Katakana is used more for recent additions to the Japanese language, names and foreign words. Hiragana on the other hand, is used for simple words, articles of speech and verb conjugation.

The third character set is called Kanji, which was brought to Japan by the Buddhist monks more than 1,200 years ago from China. Today the influence of this character set can be seen although in a much more simplified form. In Kanji, each character represents a complete word and is the predominant character set of most Japanese text.

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Translating Chinese -issues of dilects, forms

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Translating Asian Languages

CHINESE

Chinese is the second most widely spoken language in the world after English. Currently all eyes are on China because of each huge population. For businesses this is a brand new market because for years trade with China was limited. In terms of the Internet, Chinese speaking users are expected to surpass English speaking users as these trade barriers continue to crumble.

As a free lance translator you should be aware of the two main dialects of Chinese; Cantonese and Mandarin, which refer only to the spoken language. Although there are more than 200 dialects spoken in China. In terms of a written translations, the two main languages are simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese.

This fact is important in terms of the audience location for your translation. During the nineteen fifties China reformed the Chinese script by simplifying many characters thus the term “Simplified Chinese. “ however this reform was not well received outside of mainland China. As a result translations targeted for Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities must be written in traditional Chinese.

The most important point to keep in mind when translating a document from English to Chinese is that the written and spoken forms of Chinese not the same. Mandarin is not the same as simplified Chinese nor is Cantonese the same as traditional Chinese.

For instance, in mainland China and Taiwan people speak Mandarin Chinese however the Taiwanese use the traditional script in writing. On the other hand the people of Hong Kong also use traditional Chinese script, but speak Cantonese Chinese.

If you’re translated document is targeted for mainland China it must be written in simplified Chinese script, for the traditional Chinese script will not be understood, especially in regard to the older generation. Because of the very large difference in the way the scripts are written for traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese knowledge of the designated target audience is imperative. It is not necessary to do two separate translations, but a script conversion will be required if the document is for two separate audiences.

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English to French Translations

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:22:00 +0000

English to French Translations

77 million people around the world speak French as a first language. 51 million of these individuals live in France with 6.7 million living in Canada. Quebec is the second largest province in Canada; almost 25 percent of Canadians speak French as their first language. There are other countries as well that claimed French as their official language including Belgium and Switzerland.

While many languages have dialects, they are more important when it comes to translating French. The differences in dialects of Spanish maybe subtle, they are very significant in French in terms of writing, pronunciation and the colloquial language.

For instance, Canadians prefer words from a French origin rather than an English one. Even in terms of words such as “e-mail,” the translation of this word would appropriately be “courriel” or “courrier électronique.” While both terms would be understood, the first version would be used more in France While the second version would be used in Canada.

This information can help you as a freelance translator to assist your client to choose the appropriate dialect for their chosen audience. If the client wishes to reach both audiences in France and Canada, the best approach is to create the two separate translations, based on the fact of the extreme difference in the dialects.

However if you are forced to create one document to serve both audiences it is better to use the dialect spoken in France because Canadians are more familiar with Parisian French than the people living in France with the Quebecois dialect.

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Spanish - one language Multiple variations

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:21:00 +0000

THE IMPORTANCE OF DIALECTS

English to Spanish Translations

The number of English-to-Spanish translations has increased because the reach of business has become more global. The enormous market potential of 417 million people in 43 countries beside Spain is the main reason for the increase in this sector of the translation business.

At the top of the list of countries where English to Spanish translations are targeted, are Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain and the United States. According to a 1990 census, 8.9 percent of the U.S. population declared Spanish as their mother tongue.

As a freelance translator there are many opportunities to market your services to companies seeking to reach this important market. This includes advertising copy, product information, service documentation an Internet web sites.

As with many other languages, Spanish has a large number of dialects. For the freelance translator it is important to know which segment of the Spanish market will use the translation. There is a vast difference between how Spanish is spoken in Latin America and in Spain.

This is particularly important in writing, for example the Spanish word “coger” means “to take” however the same word used in Argentina has the meaning of “to have intercourse.” This illustrates why pinpointing which country the translated document will be used for and acquainting yourself with the many dialects of Spanish speaking countries is not only useful but can also increase your earning power tremendously.

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Twenty Questions Every Freelance Translator Should Ask

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:19:00 +0000

JUST THE FACTS PLEASE

Top Twenty Questions Every Freelance Translator Should Ask

1. What dialect is required for the translation? For example; Caribbean, Mexican or Castilian Spanish.

2. What will be the end use of the translation? For example; general public information, print publication, instruction or legal.

3. What is the reader profile? For example, technical specialists, lay people or governmental agency.

4. What level of quality is needed for the translation? For example, first draft, revision, printer’s proof.

5. Are there any special style or terminology requirements? For example, standard agency format, regulatory disclaimers or industry guidelines.

6. Is supplemental material needed? For example, research files, correspondence or reports

7. Who is the responsible contact for the project? What is the method of contact, for example, telephone, e-mail or fax. Be sure to keep records of all communications; date, nature or purpose of the contact.

8. Are there any special layout or format considerations? For example, should the document resemble the original or be translated page for page.

9. Are tables and image graphics within the material to be translated? For example, flowcharts, statistical graphs or mathematical equations.

10. Do any of the components of the translation use non-word processing software? For example, a Multimedia presentation that uses Flash software.

11. What format will the translation material be provided? For example, paper files, diskette or electronic file.

12. Is the source text and reference material, to be returned to the client?

13. Is it necessary for the translation to be certified? For example, official documents for industry or government filings.

14. What method of payment will be used for the translation services? For example, bank transfer, cheque, credit card or bank cheque.

15. Are there any fees required to be paid because of foreign currency? For example, currency conversion fees.

16. Will the copyright to be retained or transferred? For example, by permission, assignment or license.

17. If the copyright is to be transferred, what are the conditions?

18. Are there any special confidentiality restrictions to be noted in the translation?

19. Is there any possible liability consequence that the translator should be aware? For example, electronic transmission or printing of documentation.

20. In the case of possible liability, will it exceed the limits of normal insurance coverage?

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8 Best Business Practices for performing translation

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:17:00 +0000

PERFORMING THE TRANSLATION

Now that we have looked at the basics of how a translation job is procured, managed and delivered, we will look at some of the important points to help you perform the translation accurately. This includes tips, tools, techniques and resources required for the actual process and challenges of translating specific languages.

Best Business Practices

Building a professional reputation as a freelance translator starts by applying best business practices. Here are a few tips that will help you build credibility and a steady stream of clients:

Ask each client for specific reference or technical glossaries to maintain a consistent use of terminology.
Request written instructions for each project along with a purchase order and review the instructions with the client and make sure that you clearly understand what the job entails before beginning the project.
If you need to increase your rates because of a change in the parameters of the project, inform your client in writing as soon as possible. Be sure that the increase is warranted.
Remember that clients and authors can make mistakes and be alert to the possibility of the problem. Be proactive in your approach to problem solving; if you discover pages are missing from the source text, make the client aware of the situation. They will appreciate your diligence because it saves them time and money.
Protect your client’s privacy to make sure that you keep the details of your client’s business confidential. If you are working for an agency never approached the agency’s client directly
Invest in the best equipment you can afford; seek professional advice for your particular situation in terms of the hardware, software, networking and printing equipment.
Be actively involved with the translation industry and keep current with the new developments in software, techniques and regulatory procedures that affect your business.
Keep your skills sharp by that tending as many professional development courses as possible.

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GETTING THE JOB DONE: A TRANSLATION CHECKLIST

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:15:00 +0000

GETTING THE JOB DONE: A TRANSLATION CHECKLIST

So far, the focus has been on everything you have to consider to get the work, but once you have an assignment, and the translation is in progress how can you make sure that it is completed professionally? Here is a list of points to cover before you send a translation assignment to a client:

• Terminology: Always research terms in the context of the document you are translating, remember that there are terms that are used in various industries and professions with different meanings.

• Editing: Check the translation against the original sentence by sentence. Is the meaning reflected accurately?

• Vocalization: Print out a copy of the translation and read it aloud to make sure that it reads well and sounds natural.

• Consistency: Is the format of the layout consistent with the original? Make sure that all aspects of the document have been recreated appropriately.

• Spell check: Absolutely, positively you MUST spell check your work.

• Statistics, Measurements and Currencies: Ensure that all numerical equivalents are translated according to the language.

• Delivery: Prepare to deliver your assignment at least 1 day BEFORE the deadline to ensure that you have sufficient time in case of a last minute problem.

• Confirmation: Always request a confirmation of receipt from your client.

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What to Charge: Calculating Your Rates

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:13:00 +0000

What to Charge: Calculating Your Rates

The most common dilemma facing freelance translators is the question of how to price their services. Using the word count as a basis is only one of the factors to be considered; your language combination, the subject and type of document, when the assignment is required along with whether it comes to you through an agency or directly from the client, all play a role in how the assignment will be completed.

The message behind all of these factors is to be as flexible as possible without causing a loss to your income. There is a wide variance in rates depending on the country and the company that you are working with and having a base rate as a starting point will give you the ability to adjust your rates accordingly when you need to negotiate rates for different types of projects.

If you have a monthly income goal of $2,750 you must calculate a base rate that is reasonable but sufficient to meet your needs. For example, using a word count rate of $.11 per word would result in this equation:

1. 2500 words per day x $.11 per word=$275.00

2. $275.00 x 5 days per week = $1,375.00

3. $1,375 x 4 weeks per month = $5,500.00

Using this as your basis, you must acquire 25,000 words of translation work in order to meet your monthly expenses. With a base rate of $.11 per word, you can then calculate how much margin you have to negotiate for various projects. The American Translators Association conducted a “Translation and Interpreting Compensation” survey that you can request if you would like more information regarding income standards for the translation and interpreting professions.

Regardless of the rate, as a freelance translator, there are times when you find yourself without an abundance of assignments. The fact that being a freelancer is unpredictable makes it all the more important to organize your activities carefully and complete your projects on schedule professionally.

The competition in freelance translation is quite intense and while the Internet is a boon to this profession in many ways, it also can make it difficult to compete; if your word rate is $.11 and there is another translator willing to do the work at $.05, there is little room for negotiation based on price.

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What proofreading is not

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Many agencies use the term proof reading when they actually mean editing or revising or some other form of checking and correction.

Often a agency asks for proofreading when actually the text requires editing, and not understand that a proper editing is going to cost more than a just proofreading.

There is a tendency in translation industry to equate proofreading with 'just do whatever is needed to deliver the job.

The clients should be explained that editing and proofreading are two different jobs.

Proof reading is not Critical revision or to revise the text, change of word usage, sentence structure, content logic and writing style.

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Corporate Clients

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:12:00 +0000

Corporate Clients

Approaching a company for translation work is difficult for freelancers, because many companies feel more secure to outsource their translation assignments to agencies or partners who are able to offer them comprehensive solutions.

In addition, there are many times when the scope of the work a corporate organization requires is suited to a freelancer; advertising agencies are a good source of finding this type of work rather than going directly to the company.

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MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR ACQUIRING TRANSLATION CLIENTS DIRECTLY

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:11:00 +0000

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR ACQUIRING TRANSLATION CLIENTS DIRECTLY

Information and Expectations

A great deal of marketing your freelance translation business is centered on providing information about its benefits. In the first section, we discussed the misconceptions about translation business that are most common and these present opportunities for articles that educate and inform prospective clients and the general public alike about the valuable role a translators plays in communications.

Marketing your freelance translation business via the Internet gives you a broad range of needs to address; it is up to you to decide where your talents are best suited and what level of work you want to perform.

Keep in mind that the service that you’re offering is not one that is highly understood and take the time to ensure that the details of what a translation assignment entails is made clear to avoid misunderstandings. This way your freelance career can be a profitable and enjoyable experience for both you and your clients.

Spreading the word about your freelance translation business takes organization, time, money and effort. Here are a few promotional tips worth considering:

• Assess your capabilities. Use the “matchbook” rule to write a description of what you do. The matchbook rule simply means that you should be able to tell anyone what you do in the number of words you can fit on a matchbook cover. Be confident in your abilities, but keep your description simple and concise, without industry jargon.

• Put it in writing. Take your description to the next level; add your contact information and have a business card printed. Promotion works on several levels and it is the act of repetition that makes marketing effective. You can verbally tell someone about your business, but people forget quickly. Follow your introduction with the presentation of your business card, and this creates a connection between you and the person.

• Start with a local focus. There are many businesses in your region that could use translation services periodically. Contact them and discuss their needs, and become the translator that they know to call instead of turning to the yellow pages.

• Contribute to the community. Translators are sorely needed by volunteer organizations online and in your community. Providing pro bono translations services will create goodwill for your budding freelance business and provide valuable publicity as well.

• Start a dialogue. Weblogs (blogs) are great promotional tools, and their interactive structure gives you an ideal format for engaging the translation business community as well as encouraging a wider understanding of the value of translation in all areas of communications.

• Request client referrals. Once you complete an assignment for a client, it is always a good business practice to send a satisfaction survey. This enables you to consistently improve your service and demonstrates your appreciation for the client as well. It also affords you the opportunity to ask for a referral, in addition to requesting permission to use their survey responses as a testimonial for your services.

• Recognize what people want to know. The “Q&A” format is one of the most overlooked sources of providing information in newsletter or web page articles. You can also conduct an informal survey and create articles based on the responses. There is also the method of creating a “serial” column which a good format to encourage visitors to return to your website frequently to see the latest installment of information. A free subscription offer on your website based on the responses to the questions provides you with a permission based method of remaining in contact with the person.

• Be determined. Marketing your business is just as important as keeping your skills up to date and being current with translation industry developments. Organize your time so that you can devote a consistent level of attention to all of these important tasks and you will be successful.

These tips will not create a flood of business clients overnight, however with consistent effort you will be able to increase your assignments to a comfortable level to sustain yourself. Eventually, by practicing the methods outline in this text you will be able to convert more clients into referrals, which in turn will produce more assignments. Referrals are by far the best way to obtain clients.

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Tests

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:09:00 +0000

Tests

There is a considerable amount of controversy regarding the validity of testing translators. Many feel that they have been misused and are nothing more than a waste of time. If you are following the guidelines in this text so far, it should be fairly easy to respond to a request by an agency to take a test by offering work references and samples of work you have done.

However, if they insist, you can politely decline; you will not be paid for the translation work that you perform as a “test” and there are many agencies where you can offer your services.

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Translation Agencies and new translators

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:09:00 +0000

Translation Agencies

Gaining entry as freelancer into most translation agencies can be difficult; most are extremely cautious when it comes to new freelancers becoming part of their networks. An agency has to consider several points; will the freelancer be able to meet deadlines and perform their translation tasks professionally with a consistent level of quality? Can the freelancer be trusted to consult relevant reference resources and also use the various registers effectively? All of these factors are important to agencies who regularly receive client requests for specialized translations; for commercial, technical, medical, financial industry use.

While there are some translation agencies that assign a seasoned translator to “mentor” a new staff translator, in the case of a freelancer, in addition to only accepting applications from those with at least 1 year full time translator experience, most agencies require at least 1 or 2 years of experience. Some may be considered with a “trial period” where all of the assignments are monitored to reduce the risk of a fiasco and its associated costs.

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8 points to remember when sending your resume

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:07:00 +0000

8 points to remember when sending your resume

Although it was stated many a times , it bears worth repeating that the quality résumés, curriculum vitas, letters or applications that you send to an agency should be formatted appropriately.

Proofread Please: Translation skills encompass the ability to compose text correctly. Make sure that all of your sentences begin with a capital letter and are free from typographical errors.
State Your Languages: The language pair that you work with should be mentioned in the subject/ first paragraphs.
Build Credibility: Avoid making unrealistic claims in regards to your translations skills, many of the individuals that work with agencies are translators themselves.
Respect Your Reader: Avoid using all capital letters in your message; this is the written equivalent of shouting at a person verbally.
Respect Yourself: Advertising your translation skills as “cheap labor” demeans the translation profession.
Yen, Dollars or Euros: Quote your rates in the currency format that is appropriate for the language you are using.
Set Realistic Goals: A translator making the claim of completing more than 15,000 words in 24 hours sends the message that quality is unimportant.
Know Who You Are Writing: Make sure that you research the basic facts about who you are writing. You cannot send the same letter to a freelancer as you would a large translator agency.

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Where Do You Find Work?

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Where Do You Find Work?

Even with the help of the Internet, it makes sense to come to term with the fact that building a sufficient client base may take some time, perhaps 6 months to 1 year. However, that is no reason to become discouraged, even when you do not receive an immediate response to query letters sent to agencies; remember there are thousands of translators doing exactly the same thing. In addition, a response from an agency doesn’t automatically mean that it is a project that matches your skills.

As you work through the process of securing clients, the best advice is to focus on marketing your services, refining your skills and staying abreast of industry developments that you need to remain competitive!

There are many ways to promote your freelance translator services; weblogs (blogs), yellow page advertising, online translator databases, listings with translator associations, and translator job lists. You need to think “outside of the box” in terms of finding translation assignments, for example, take some time to research websites that could benefit from being translated into your target language.

Organizations that work with a variety of individuals from different countries such as consulates, embassies, or chambers of commerce who usually have a list of companies in your area that are affiliated with a certain country and occasionally need translation services.

Look to your area of specialization for leads; legal or medical organizations are prime candidates for translation services as are the groups that serve the expatriate community. Many of these organizations have community bulletin boards where you can post your business card and/or brochure.

Inquire regarding translation services at the county courthouse for the social service division, contact the law library and send your information to local police stations and law offices. For medical specialization, you can send a mailing to doctors in private practice, insurance companies, hospitals, medical libraries and support groups in your area.

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Translation, Technology and the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:05:00 +0000

Translation, Technology and the Internet

The Internet is a valuable tool for freelance translators and the perfect medium for the underlying message of translation; this is a global marketplace where virtually every language is represented. How can you use the technology and the Internet to gain profit for your translation business?

Beyond the fact that the Internet has made the process of locating a translator much easier than ten years ago is one of the most outstanding. Translators from all over the world can make contact and network; exchanging ideas, news and referrals for assignments.

The Internet opens the door for world wide competition for clients as well. No longer can a translator make claims based on availability, especially with the number of translation agencies growing to cope with the increasing ranks of budding translators.

Translators using the Internet can avoid the impact of those who seek to limit entry into the profession to a small number of “legally qualified” persons; this “closed shop” strategy does little more than increase prices by restraining competition, as was done in medieval times in regards to the various craft guilds.

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Price

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Price

Supply and demand has more real impact on the price of translation assignments despite the fact that many people tend to associate cost with the service. But the difference between price and cost is often called margin. The only way you can make a business profit is where both your margin and volume is high.

Charging “what the market will bear” and reducing working expenses to the absolute minimum in order to maximize margins is what every business person does, including freelance translators. If you are a translator for a language that is very hard to find they cannot make a profit, they will try some other business. That is the way the law of supply and demand works.

Translation is a labor-intensive activity, not a commodity that can regulated at a standard price and that is what many clients do not seem to understand; hence, the almost unrelenting pursuit of the fastest turnaround for the lowest price, usually results in translators being forced to sacrifice quality.

However, there are also many translators who have contributed to some of the confusion when it comes to pricing a translation assignment, by accepting and quoting fees for work without the benefit of having the text in hand, using a word count rate as the sole criterion.

This only reinforces the stereotype image of translators making the task of delivering quality work within a feasible period of time more difficult. Today there are many clients who simply choose a translator based on the price factor alone and unfortunately, offering this type of client a “quality” translation will not alter their perspective, for where does the translator exist that would not claim they will deliver a quality translation.

The danger for the translator in accepting an assignment “sight-unseen” with a short turnaround and low price is that all too often they receive more work than they bargained for, but there is no recourse at this point. In addition, the client who bases their decision these two factors has very little negotiating room if the work is poorly done.

This reality supports the need to constantly stay abreast of the developments the translation profession and promote your skills and abilities on a regular schedule. Although much of the work that translators perform may be highly confidential which prohibits them from being used as examples, there are many ways that a freelance translator can increase the awareness of the value of “quality” translations.

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Quality

noreply@blogger.com (ostom ray) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:02:00 +0000

Quality

The accelerated pace of communication today have effectively created the illusion in many minds that because an assignment can be sent by email now, the work should require less time to complete. This expectation is the major cause of substandard quality in translation work. It is an unfortunate reality that many people do not value another language as highly as their own.

This is evident when a client places a higher value on a fast turnaround of a job rather than how well the work is done. The attitude held by many who are requested to provide translated documents is that they will not be read so accuracy doesn’t matter. Regardless to what a client may state to justify this attitude, the fact remains that usually these documents ARE read, and then the client will have to deal with the consequences.

Translators are valued for their ability not their inventories which means that clients have no way to judge our service except through recommendations. This method of acquiring assignments via referrals is the bane of new translators who are looking for their first break into the freelance arena, just as every translator has done before them.

With this in mind, if you are new freelance translator and accept an assignment that a more experienced translator has refused and complete it successfully, this can open the door to others.

All rights belong to ostom, Use of this post is allowed provided this link is present at the end of the article http://getdirectclient.blogspot.com