Translation Agency

This online translation agency is large, seems to pay fairly, and has received quite a bit of recognition. I have never worked with them, but they might be a useful company for people who are looking for freelance translation work.

Word Count Ratio Tool

We all know that 5000 words in, say, German does not equal 5000 words in Russian. That can make it hard to work out fees. This word count ratio tool might help with that.

Guide to Contacting Translation Agencies

Many translators work with translation agencies, but it can be difficult to know how to first make contact with them. Someone sent me this guide to contacting translation agencies.

How’s the Pay?

One of the questions I’m asked most often, both by email and in person, is how much translators get paid. “How much do you actually make?” folks ask. I sometimes wonder how polite of a question that is and whether they’d ask that of, say, a teacher or a doctor or a salesperson.

Well, anyway, the pay depends. How long have you been a translator? What type of work do you do? Where do you live?

The Translators’ Association here in the UK writes on their website: “The negotiation of fees is a matter for the individual translator and client to resolve. In the Society's experience of reviewing contracts, we have found that UK publishers are prepared to pay in the region of £88.50 per 1,000 words.” That’s a sensible starting place. Obviously, some really complicated jobs will require you to ask for a higher fee, while a simpler job that allows you to use translation tools and includes a lot of repetition of words will earn you less. Likewise, if live in a country with a really high cost of living, your prices should be higher. A small job may make you want to ask for a flat fee, rather than a per word rate. But start from the assumption that you want to earn around £0.08 per word.

“Can you actually make a living as a translator?” people also ask me.

The answer to that question is yes, and no.

It too depends. It depends on what type of translation work you do, how good you are at both translation and networking, how able you are to work alone for long hours and to chase down work, and how long you’ve been at it for. If you’re just starting out and you only translate poetry, you most likely won’t be able to work full-time as a translator. If you have a medical degree and you want to specialize in pharmaceutical texts, then you might have a better shot. If you’re an award-winning translator of thrillers, you’ll probably end up having to turn down work.

I recognize that this isn’t necessarily very helpful of a response. But it does reflect reality for translators. As you broaden your customer base and get more experience, you’ll get more work and be able to raise your rates. But it’s unrealistic to expect that as soon as you print business cards, you’ll suddenly be very busy with work.

That’s why many translators have “portfolio careers” or “parallel careers”, developing their freelance translation careers while also doing other work, such as working for a translation agency or publishing company, teaching, painting houses, practicing law, doing admin work, etc. It’s also quite stimulating to have different aspects to your career and to have the opportunity to move from one task to another. Personally, I feel it makes me a better translator.

Cooking the Books

I’ve received some emails asking me how I got into translating cookbooks and what sort of skills you need. As with other types of translation, food writing is a specialized field and just enjoying eating is not enough of a qualification.

But let’s say you do genuinely love food and would like to work with cookbooks and other texts. What kinds of things could you do to try to break into food translation?

--Learn as much as you can about food. Cook and bake a lot. Read food magazine and borrow cookbooks from the library and study their style (and try out their recipes). Take a course, if you can afford it. Even if you don’t take a class, make sure you learn about different cuts of meat, techniques, ingredients, and tools, as they vary tremendously.

--Write restaurant reviews. Yes, you can start with blog posts, especially if you do so on a blog that isn’t your own (i.e. if you have an editor). You should also try to get an article or two in local publications, and then work your way up to national ones, if possible.

--Do other sorts of food writing. For example, interview chefs. Write travel articles that mention restaurants. Publish your own recipes.

--You can also do food editing. If you work as a proof-reader, try to find jobs that allow you to edit cookbooks and other texts about food, such as guides to cities or countries or cultures.

--Start small in regard to food translation. If you’re at a restaurant with a badly translated menu, offer to edit it. If you’re at a restaurant without a translated menu, offer to translate it. If you do one or two of these for free, you have something to put on your CV, and you have gained experience and potential customers. Grateful restaurant-owners may even pay you, or at least offer you a free dish or glass of something tasty.

--Do other sorts of food translation. For example, translate restaurant reviews or restaurant websites. As with food writing, try to do as many types of food translation as you can. This helps you learn about different styles, and it will help you make contacts.

--Sign up with agencies and/or with translation organizations and list food as one of your specialties.

--Contact publishing companies and magazine editors and offer your services. Do likewise with restaurants.

--Don’t set your heart on only doing food translation. Most translators do a variety of texts, so be aware of that, and try to work in a few different fields.

Basically, you need to show that you have a lot of knowledge about food and about language. So the more you can do to prove this, the better.

Food translation is a lot of fun and it can be a challenge (not to mention a danger to your waistline). But to succeed, you need to take food as seriously as you would medicine, or finance, or literature, or anything else.

Translators Without Borders

While most of us must generally do work that earns us a living, we can often donate our time and energy and maybe even some money once in awhile. It is important to give back to our communities whenever possible.

So I encourage you to sign up with Translators Without Borders. This way, you can take on the occasional volunteer translation job, knowing you are helping others. You can of course also contact a charity or other volunteer organization and offer your time and skills.

Volunteering need not be onerous; a few hours a month is enough and it's wonderful to feel that you are helping others.

The Case of the Harry Potter Translators

We already know that translators aren’t always visible and don’t always receive fair treatment. But this case is even worse than you can imagine. Gili Bar-Hillel Semo is a prominent translator from English to Hebrew as well as an editor, and she doesn’t deserve such bad treatment by Warner Bros (or any organization, obviously).

It’s shocking to see how horribly translators can be treated and it makes one worry about the state of the translation industry.

What can and should be done about this?

Charitable Feelings and Translation

Though most of us who translate need to earn a living from our work, there are times when we will take on translation, editing, or writing jobs for no money. Mostly this is when we are feeling charitable and want to donate to an organization and when our donation comes in the form of our time and effort and not tangible money.

For example, I organized and edited the Bryn Mawr College Cookbook, a project that took months. All the proceeds went to my alma mater. I must confess that I was a bit surprised and offended when the college wrote me later that year to urge me to donate money to the school; I did a quick calculation and found that the time I’d spent putting the book together equaled several thousands of dollars worth of donations to the school, and that didn’t even include the time others had donated to the project or the proceeds the school received. Still, I was happy to do it.

But a university is not a charity. I’ve also done writing, editing, and translating for charitable organizations and for individuals, as a way of offering them some professional help that they might otherwise have had to pay for.

During this holiday season, I urge you to do likewise. If you can spare just a little of your time and your talents to help someone or an organization, I am sure that would be much appreciated.

Funding and Grants

I’ve noticed that more and more often these days, publishers are contacting translators and asking us to find funding for books they want to publish but don’t want to pay for (or, to be fair, can’t pay for). Getting funding and applying for grants is not something we learn in university programs in translation and it’s not really something that many of us consider part of our jobs (see this article I wrote on getting grants awhile back). But it is something we have to learn more about; at the very least, we have to know how to advise publishers to go about finding and applying for the grants that governments and cultural institutions offer, even if we don’t do the actual applications ourselves. Sometimes we’re even asked to translate grant information (usually for free) and occasionally we’re begged to forgo part or even all of our fee so a book can get published.

Getting grants is not easy. It’s also quite a different skill from translating. Whose responsibility should it be? Personally, I’d like to be left to do what I’m good at (translating, editing, and writing), but I know that in this market, we have to be more willing to go into the business side of things and to help get the grants that will pay for our labor and get our work published. What do others think?

A Few Articles/Websites

Here are a few articles/websites you might find interesting.

The first website has a list of TED talks on language.

Then here is an article about the history of language, using mathematical modelling and analyzing the number of phonemes a language has.

You might enjoy the Macmillan dictionary blog.

Here’s a short piece on how far 100 words of English would get you.

And finally, here is a blog post on what it means to do an MA in children’s literature.

Translation Advisor

Some readers might be interested in Translation Advisor, a new website aimed at promoting transparency and quality in professional translation.

Social Networking for Translators

Has anyone tried out social networking site for translators and translation agencies? Is it any better than facebook or other such sites?

For example, I’ve heard about Langmates, which describes itself as a “community of freelance and in-house translators, translation project managers, human resource managers, and other industry experts.” Is this useful at all?

Personally, I rely on repeat customers and word-of-mouth, so I don’t do much in the way of advertising or networking, but this could be helpful for translators who are just starting out.

The Entrepreneurial Linguist

The translating twins, Dagmar and Judy Jenner, who also run a great blog, have recently published a book, The Entrepreneurial Linguist.

The premise of their book is that translators need to run their business as though it were, well, a business. Too many of us translators view ourselves as freelancers rather than businesspeople and we act accordingly, so the Jenner twins provide a lot of helpful advice and practical suggestions for how we can act more business-like. They discuss what it means to have a business and how said business can work best for both the owner and the customers.

They start the book with the basics, such as what you should buy for your office and how you can save money on necessary goods. Then they use case studies, as is done in business school, to look at what a customer wants, what the translator and business-owner wants, and how a compromise can be reached. They also look at a variety of related topics, such as how a translator can make use of blogging and Facebook, how to negotiate and decide prices, marketing and media coverage, how to find and work with customers, why conferences and other types of professional development are useful, how to keep a good work-life balance, how to avoid isolation as a translator, why volunteer work is good to do, how to work towards and reach goals, and much more.

This is not a book about the linguistic aspects of translation or about translation theory or other such issues. Instead, The Entrepreneurial Linguist is a very detailed and thorough book about how to “run a business like a business,” even if your business is just a small one. It’s a perfect book for people just starting out in the field, but it also has useful information for more experienced translators. The Jenner twins have hit a very important point: translators must be professional, if we want to be successful and to have other people respect our profession, and this book gives tips on how to accomplish that.

Saying No Now -- and Forever?

One thing many translators (and other people who run their own small businesses) tend to worry about is what will happen if they turn down a job. They fret, saying things such as, "If I say no to this particular job, the client will never ask me to do anyting again. And s/he won't recommend me to anyone else either." This leads to a situation where many translators (myself included) take on more work than they handle and thus find themselves stressed and overworked. Okay, I can admit that I personally prefer being stressed and overworked to not having any jobs at all, but it's actually not an ideal situation.

So is it true that if you say no to a client once, that means never hearing from him or her again? I would say that this depends on how you say no. Do not say no without explaining why. And always say you are looking forward to hearing from that client again at some point.

If you are turning a job down because you simply do not have the time, explain that, and make sure you add, "Thank you for asking me. I hope you will think of me again in the future."

If you are turning a job down because it is not in your area of expertise, recommend an appropriate colleague (or give a link to where the client can find a translator, such as the Swedish Association of Professional Translators) and remind the client what your particular speciality is.

The point is that even as you say no, do so politely and helpfully, while also subtly telling the customer you will be available in the future for other assignments.

It's true that once clients have found a good translator who delivers on time, charges a fair price, and is professional to work with, they might be unwilling to switch to someone else, partially due to inertia. So if you say no once and the client finds another translator who fulfills the requirements, you may not hear from that person again. But if you are selective about which projects you take on, which clients you choose to work with, and when and how you turn down assignments, it is likely that you will build up a stable of customers who return to you over and over again, even if sometimes you have to reject certain jobs.

A Guide to Working as Freelance Translator

A translation company contacted me earlier this year about a book they have written. It contains a lot of basic information about working as a freelance translator and could be useful to those of you who are now starting your translation careers.

Guest Post: The Translating Twins

In February, I was lucky enough to meet the delightful translating duo of Dagmar and Judy Jenner. Together they run Twin Translations and the blog Translation Times. They graciously agreed to write a guest post about working together as translating twins.

The Translating Twins

We frequently get asked if we are really twins or whether we are using the business name Twin Translations just because it sounds good. We are indeed identical twins. Judy is older by ten minutes.

A little bit about us: We were born in Austria and grew up in Mexico City, which makes for two native languages. After high school, Judy went to Las Vegas for college (yes, there’s a university in Vegas!) and has lived and worked there for 14 years. She’s a recovering former in-house translation manager for a big Spanish-language travel website and has an M.B.A. in marketing. Dagmar studied French and communications at the University of Salzburg/Austria and at the University of Tours/France. She is currently finishing her degree in translation and interpretation studies at the University of Vienna. Judy is on the board of directors of the Nevada Interpreters and Translators Association, and Dagmar serves on the board of UNIVERSITAS Austria, the Austrian Translators’ and Interpreters’ Association. Our translation practice focuses on marketing, e-commerce, tourism and travel, IT, legal and financial texts. Our working languages are German, Spanish, English, and French. We run Twin Translations (www.twintranslations.com) and Texterei (www.texterei.com) from both sides of the Atlantic. Dagmar is based in Vienna, Austria, and Judy is based in Las Vegas, NV.

How did you decide to work together?
Judy: Even back in high school in Mexico City, we knew we had an affinity for languages and always envisioned working together. When we were 15, we talked about having a business called “Jenner + Jenner Cross-Cultural-Communications”. Our current business is somewhat similar to what we envisioned more than 15 years ago, and perhaps at some point we will offer language consulting services as well. We always wanted to work together because there’s no one we trust more than each other. And it’s no surprise that we work very well together. And no, we can’t read each other’s minds. However, as twins, we know each other so well that we are usually pretty certain about what the other one is thinking.

How can you run a business on two continents?
Dagmar: It actually works to our advantage because of time difference: we are available for our clients almost 24 hours a day, and the two of us work together around 10-12 hours a day if needed. When the other person needs to proof a document, we oftentimes do this when one of us is sleeping, so one can wake up to a fully edited translation. Our American clients are usually quite delighted to hear that if a project is due, say 9 AM PST, that Dagmar has all day to work on the project, as Vienna is nine hours ahead of Vegas.

How do you decide who does which project?
Judy: It depends on the subject matter and language combination. We leave translations into German mainly to Dagmar, as she’s lived and worked there for 15 years, while I have lived in the US since I was a teenager. Ergo, I do more of the into-English translations. In terms of subject matter, Judy is the marketing/press release expert, and Dagy has substantial legal translation experience. We are a good fit. For translations into Spanish, we mainly work together. I don’t have French as one of my working languages, and Dagmar translates from French into German, English, and Spanish, so those translations are always hers.

What’s your editing process like?
Dagmar: It’s pretty thorough and includes at least 3 - 5 steps, depending on length and difficulty. One of us does the initial translation and consults with the other during that process. Once the first draft is finished, it goes to the other person for an in-depth review and revision, which usually takes a few days (we are not the fastest translators and don’t accept unrealistic deadlines). The changes/suggestions/comments are added via track changes in Word. After that second step, the original translator thoroughly reviews the changes and accepts or rejects them. The final product then goes to both of us again. We both print out a hard copy and edit it on paper.

How are you different from each other? Is one better at something than the other?
Judy: Dagmar is, without doubt, the better negotiator. I tend to be a bit too accommodating, but she usually sets me straight and tells me to stick to our prices, which are non-negotiable. Dagmar is also more creative than I am when it comes to marketing ideas, even though I am the one with an M.B.A. in marketing. Last but not least, my twin is the queen of the new German spelling. Nothing in German ever leaves my desk without a thorough re-work from Dagmar.

Dagmar: Judy is the more outgoing of the two. She loves meeting new people, going to networking events of all types, and follows up on all leads. We are both not natural salespeople, but Judy has a knack for telling everyone she meets what we do and how much we love it. Through that, many times business follows. Judy has also built an impressive circle of business acquaintances through social networking and blogging (http://translationtimes.blogspot.com).

How do you handle international payments?
Judy: We try to make it as easy as possible on our clients. For European clients, Dagy does the billing in euro and receives payment to her account in Vienna. Judy bills the American clients and receives payment to her American account. If one did a project for the other, we simply log that as a business expense on the respective account. Judy has a registered company in the U.S., while Dagmar’s business is registered in Austria. We could both be registered with our businesses in both countries, but that adds a whole new dimension of tax difficulty, so our accountant did not recommend that.

Translation and the Economy

Lots of translators have mentioned being hit by the downturn in the economy. It makes sense -- if customers are going to cut corners somewhere, they'll often do it by skimping on quality translation (or editing or writing). As it is, many clients grumble about the supposedly high prices that a good translator charges, so this is a good excuse for them to find cheaper translators (often in far-away countries where the costs of living are much lower but where people may not be experienced with the source or target languages).

I rarely do work for agencies, but I am still listed in several agency databases from the early stages of my career, when I did take on such work. For this reason, I have received several emails in recent times from agencies. These messages subtly offer the following message: Times are bad, so lower your prices or you won't get work from us anymore. Agencies don't pay translators that well anyway, and it saddens me to think about all the ways agencies and direct clients are finding ways of not paying translators what they are worth.

Personally, I am not lowering my prices. My services are worth just as much, if not more, as they were a year ago. I hope my colleagues will consider keeping their prices the same, too, so that clients won't start taking us for granted. They get what they pay for and they should be willing to pay well for good translators, financial depression or not.

Mission: Possible?

I have mentioned Clifford E. Landers’ book Literary Translation: A Practical Guide several times on this blog before. He includes the well-known quote from writer Kurt Vonnegut: “All I require of a translator is that he or she be a more gifted writer than I am, and in at least two languages, one of them mine.”

I know the comment is partly tongue-in-cheek, but it does reveal how high the demands are on translators. Of course, based on some books I have read, this goal is not only possible to reach, but almost impossible not to!

Resource: The PEN Website

The PEN site has a lot of useful and interesting information on translation (and other topics, of course). There is a page for translation and this includes a translation handbook and a model contract. There is also a report called “To Be Translated or Not To Be”, with a foreword by novelist and translator Paul Auster.

Thanks to poet and translator Rika Lesser, who helped write the model contract and reminded me about what a good resource PEN is!

So You Think You Can Translate

The popularity of reality TV shows has sometimes made me wonder what a reality show about translation would involve. Note that I don’t have a television, so I may be a bit off on what the average reality show is all about, but from what I understand, it involves challenges and each week someone is kicked off the show.

So we have a group of eager wannabe-translators. What would they face on So You Think You Can Translate?

Every week, our eager contestants would pick a new style of text out of a box (financial report, poem, academic article, medical records, play, essay, speech, contract, short story, etc.) and they would have to translate that on their own. To make this even more difficult, they could also pick references from a box, so they would be limited to using one or some combination of the following: computer tools, dictionaries, Internet references, encyclopedias, or libraries. Contestants might get a total of two special links for the entire season, and that would mean that if they were really stuck on a translation, they could decide to call a professional translator or some other expert (a professor, language teacher, botanist, lawyer, novelist, editor, architect, etc.) for help.

In addition, there would be group, pair, and individual challenges. Challenges might include learning a new language, performing a sight translation, working on a relay translation, subtitling, interpreting, giving a presentation on some aspect of translation, learning how to use a new computer tool, reviewing a book on language or translation, negotiating with a customer, handling an angry client, advertising their services, and putting together a literary magazine of new translations.

The contestants’ translations would be critiqued by a panel of experienced judges, but the viewers would vote on who the winners of the other challenges should be. Each week, the contestant with the least votes would have to leave the show.

As the season draws to a close, the ultimate winner would be pronounced the nation’s Best Translator and she or he would get help starting her or his own freelance business. This would include an office with the works (computer, big desk, ergonomic chair, coffee machine, full sets of dictionaries and encyclopedias, etc.) plus a year’s worth of advice from an accountant, a mentor, and membership in any appropriate translators’ association.

I know I’d watch this show! Anyone else? What else should be on it?