If you're looking for a last-minute gift for your favorite translator, or if you're looking for some winter break reading for yourself, I've got two recommendations for you (and of course, feel free to add your own book recommendations in the comments!). One is The Green and the Red, a French novel … [Read more...] about Two books you should check out
Off-topic: chocolate truffles you can make for the holidays
I'm in the mood to think about things other than work, so here's a recipe for chocolate truffles that anyone with reasonable culinary skills can make. For this I consulted my friend and colleague Marianne Reiner who's an incredible cook and also French (double truffle cred), and a friend who went to … [Read more...] about Off-topic: chocolate truffles you can make for the holidays
Upcoming sessions of my online courses
If you're looking to get a jump on your business goals for 2015, I have sessions of my online courses--Getting Started as a Freelance Translator for beginners and Beyond the Basics of Freelancing for experienced translators--coming up in January and February. Getting Started begins on January 7, and … [Read more...] about Upcoming sessions of my online courses
Marketing by e-mail, on paper, or both
In marketing your freelance services, you may wonder (or at least I do!) whether it's better to market to direct clients by e-mail, on paper, or both. I don't have a succinct answer to that, but here are a few thoughts. For a long time, I was a devotée of marketing on paper: writing out a full-page … [Read more...] about Marketing by e-mail, on paper, or both
It's a Courtesy…
Translator mailing lists and message boards are full of translators asking, "Can you charge extra for...?" (formatting, translating from a poor-quality PDF, talking to the client's staff on the phone, and so on). If the client is an agency, you have to negotiate those extra charges (or extra unpaid … [Read more...] about It's a Courtesy…