It’s snowing here in Colorado and the last day of school is Friday, meaning that it’s time to put some wrapping paper on 2012 and call it a year! I always find it helpful to look over my accomplishments and failures for the current year and set some goals for the next year. So here goes!
Accomplishments
2012 will have been my second most profitable year of freelancing, in terms of gross income. My highest income was in 2009, when I did a huge amount of legal translation on the heels of the global financial crisis. I would also say that this year was probably my most satisfying year of freelancing, in that I am focusing more narrowly on my main specializations (international development and corporate communications) and working with more direct clients. I still love my longstanding agency clients, but in general I find direct client work to be more profitable and more satisfying, because I’m working directly with the person who wrote the French document, the person who will use the English document, or both.
My income from writing and teaching went way up this year. Book royalties amounted to about $6,000–certainly not enough to live on, but it enabled me to take a month off to bike across Switzerland and Italy. The past four sessions of my online course for beginning freelancers have been completely full, and I find that these additional revenue streams keep my work day interesting and allow me to protect against any downturns in my translation work volume.
I attended some excellent translation conferences this year, including the SFT financial translation conference in Paris and the ATA conference in San Diego. Both of these presented excellent opportunities to learn and network! And eat great pastries and drink fancy cocktails under palm trees! Oh, and I was elected to the ATA Board of Directors; that was very exciting as well!
My next book, a compilation of posts from this blog, should be for sale in about a month. I’m excited about it, and I’m already at work on book #3 (or #4, depending on whether you count two editions as two books or one!). It’s a freelance business guide that’s not industry-specific, tentatively titled “The Fearless Freelancer.”
Failures. Shortfalls. Basically, stuff I wanted to do this year and didn’t
The blog book took much longer than I had hoped. No major technical difficulties, just my high load of paying work (not a bad thing!) and my procrastination because of the lack of a real deadline (a bad thing!).
I didn’t do much networking at client events this year. I really believe in this type of outreach, but I have to travel by plane to get to any conferences or seminars where my potential clients would be. However, I’m determined to do this in 2013! More on that in the next section!
After years of saying that I want to pursue interpreting, I persist in doing absolutely nothing about it. I say I’m going to practice for 15 minutes every day, then I do that for one day and “don’t have time” for another three months. At this point, I’m re-evaluating what exactly about interpreting appeals to me and doesn’t appeal to me, and taking it from there. More on that in the next section too.
Looking ahead to 2013
I have a good feeling about 2013. First, I’m going to rent a desk in a local co-working office for January and February and see how it goes. After 10 years of working from home, I’m starting to feel like I need a) some boundary between home and work b) some more social interaction during the day and c) a reason to get out of my workout clothes before 2 PM, so I’m going to make the leap to a beautiful building in downtown Boulder which has both individual and group offices. I’ll report back on the results!
I’m planning to attend some client-side events for the international development sector. One of them is already on my calendar although it’s in June, because with the trip planning, I need to think about it well in advance.
I have a few projects for ATA that I’m very excited about. One of them, a new roundtable discussion column for the ATA Chronicle, will start appearing in the February issue. And soon it will be time to start submitting proposals for next year’s ATA conference in San Antonio, so lots of irons are in the fire on the association front!
In terms of my “I love it, I hate it” relationship with interpreting, I’ve decided to explore the option of doing English voice-overs. I’m thinking that maybe I just need some language-related work that doesn’t involve the high pressure and drama of interpreting, but that gives me a little break from reading and typing. So I’ve signed up for an introduction to voice-over class that my local adult education program is offering.
Feel free to add your own thoughts, hopes and fears in the comments! And with that, I’m going to wrap some presents, deliver one final translation and then go skiing; see you in 2013!
Love this post! It’s so interesting to get an inside and totally honest look at a year in the life of a successful freelance translator. I thought your voice-over idea was a clever compromise. I’m hoping to take your freelancer course in March or April (whenever the next one is offered), and I’m glad to hear it is so popular. You’re an inspiration. Happy skiing, and best of luck in 2013!
Hi Corinne,
Thanks for sharing your experiences and plans for 2013. I will be checking back for a report on your co-working experience. I know a few colleagues who have taken that route, and I’ll be interested to see how you find it.
I, too, am in the planning stage for next year. I’m pretty happy with how 2012 has gone for me, but I’m keen to build on my direct client base, write more articles for the ITI publication and also make a bit more time for myself to travel with my other half.
Have a lovely break and ‘see’ you in 2013!
You did great as always! Love this very insightful summary of 2012. And I could not agree more with the voice-over work for you. I’ve always been a big fan of your very melodic and beautiful voice (I have to say it’s a bit intimidating being on a panel with you with my squeaky voice and silly accent), so voice-over work is PERFECT for you. Inés Swaney from the NCTA has a lot of experience in it, so she might be able to give you some pointers. Enjoy the skiing! Also great idea about renting some space. It sounds so… Boulder and awesome!
This looks like it will be my best-ever year, if one more big check comes in…
Happy 2013!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Corinne! I’m glad you had a good year and I hope 2013 will be even better for you. I guess you’ll write posts following your voice-over class and I’m looking forward to find out how it’s going and if you enjoy it.
I hope you’ll have wonderful time skiing and relaxing. Happy holidays!
Thanks for this interesting and encouraging post! I have one week left to take a look back at 2012 and plan 2013…. Will definitely stay tuned on your blog in 2013 for all the interesting pieces of information and experience you share! It’s great to read successful freelance translator, it’s really encouraging when you get started! Happy Holidays!
This is both super impressive and inspiring!
Sounds like you had a wonderful 2012! I wanted to thank you, because this year has also been special for me and that’s partly because of your blog and book. I have been a part-time translator for quite some time now and this year I decided to do this lovely job full-time. Your posts and book are teaching me a lot. I’m about to get a graduate certificate on translation, I have been able to get some direct clients and network with wonderful and very professional colleagues. I’m in the process of creating my own website now. Starting your own business is a real challenge, but each step I take towards that goal fills me with joy and pride.
Thank you for all your advice and I wish you a new year full of success and happiness!
-Yolanda
Thank you for sharing your results, Corinne! They give a great insight for beginners and are a great source of information what a beginner could focus on.
I am looking forward to your feedback on working in a co-working office. I am contemplating this myself for the same reasons you state, but am reluctuant to discuss this with anyone outside our profession since my complaints seem so luxurious in this economy. Working from HOME, being able to work in PJs, not interacting with “annoying” coworkers, having no commute, etc. Yeah, not easy to explain to 8-5 office workers how these issues can impede productivity, lol. I am curious to see how you will benefit from working “out in the wild”
Your online course has helped my business a lot and I want to thank you for your always very positive attitude.
I am very interested by your project of renting a desk. I have the same goal for 2013 if my financial situation allows it. After working two years from home, I have exactly the same reasons as you to find a place to work away from home.
I am convinced that it would enhance my productivity as I would not have to spend energy concentrating on work while the house is messy or other things need to be done.
Keep us informed on this very interesting topic,
I wish you a wonderful 2013 year,
what a inspiring post, so full of positive energy! As a full-time freelance translator, I’m still building my client base and hoping for more direct client work too! Good luck to all of us in this crazy industry!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!