Thoughts on Translation is back from some computer-free vacation time (the skiing was fantastic, thanks for asking!) and looking forward to the possibilities that the new year always offers. It’s interesting to read and hear what other translators have to say about the current economic climate and its effect, if any, on our work.
Just before the holidays, the Colorado Translators Association had a happy hour at which we talked about this topic. The answers really varied; a few people said that their work has been slower, a few said that major clients have asked them to cut their rates, a few said that they made more money during the fourth quarter of 2008 than during the fourth quarter of 2007, you get the picture.
Interestingly enough, my own workflow has been a bit bizarre; a few clients who I think of as semi-regulars have dropped off the map almost completely, but it has been the season of very large jobs. Most of my work is probably in the neighborhood of 3,000-5,000 words with a few 10,000+ word jobs thrown in, but in December I translated two 25,000 word jobs back to back. To me, this seems more like a fluke than a trend, but it was an interesting blip on the economic spectrum.
Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting on Thoughts on Translation in 2008, and all the best for a healthy and lucrative 2009!
I’ve been meaning to blog about this myself. I totally agree with your description of “bizarre.” My work flow is bizarre, too. Not worse. Maybe slightly better than usual. But definitely different.
I feel like I’ve gotten slightly fewer offers in the last three months (although I’m still being offered way more work than I can actually do, so that hasn’t affected me). But my inbox does feel a little quieter.
At the same time I’ve gotten a lot more offers from new agencies that I’ve never worked with before or that I usually only do one or two things a year for. And more offers from outside the US. And, like you, quite a string of large jobs in the last few months. I did two 20,000 word jobs in December in addition to quite a few of the more usual 1,000 – 5,000 word jobs.
I have been asked a couple of times for a rate lower than my minimum (but that happens sometimes when the economy is good, too).
Interesting to compare notes. Happy New Year!
Welcome back from your skiing adventures! That’s right — you had very large jobs in December. I am not getting as many requests as a few months ago, but of those, I have been getting pretty much 100% of the projects I submitted bids for. Most of my projects are in the 1,000 – 2,000 word range, which I love. We are currently working on setting our new, slightly higher rates for 2009. I am happy to report that my first client this year was completely indifferent to the one-cent/word increase. It’s pretty marginal, anyway, but we do need to adjust for inflation.