Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters


Corinne McKay

Some thoughts on saturated markets

There are a lot of disparities within the translation and interpreting industry, and one of those is the difference between language pairs/specializations that are fairly rare versus those that are fairly saturated. In this post I’ll both offer and request advice, since I often have students in my online translation course who work in saturated markets (and I’d like some fresh tips to offer them!).

First, let’s look at some numbers from the ATA membership directory, in terms of the number of people who have the following language combinations listed in their profiles:

  • English to Spanish translators: 2,111
  • German to English translators: 800
  • Russian to English translators: 480
  • Japanese to English translators: 394
  • Arabic interpreters: 148
  • Burmese interpreters: 3

Obviously I selected these to prove a point. But even the number of people registered for a fairly large language pair such as German to English pales in comparison with the 2,000+ English to Spanish translators. I’ve recently begun the process of preparing for the French court interpreter exam in Colorado. French isn’t exactly an obscure language, but there are currently no certified French court interpreters in the state. By contrast, the list of certified Spanish interpreters takes up several pages. I would assume that the situation is the same for certain language pairs in other countries (for example English>French translators in Quebec).

Saturated markets have a few issues:

  • Competition among translators and interpreters is often intense and very price-based.
  • Clients, especially large clients, are often able to keep rates on the low end of the spectrum. For example, PRI’s The World recently ran a story on pay cuts to court interpreters in Nevada, and certified Spanish court interpreters here in Colorado make $35 an hour.
  • Freelancers who work in saturated markets are often reluctant to share information with their colleagues; they are afraid to disclose who they work for or how much they charge, for fear of being undercut by someone else who charges less.
  • Freelancers in saturated markets have less incentive to get new credentials or improve their skills, because they don’t feel that they can charge commensurately higher rates.
  • The sheer number of people in the saturated market creates an “anyone can do it” mentality, and the market becomes even more saturated with people whose skill levels are not up to par.

But enough doom and gloom: the real question is, what’s a translator or interpreter in a saturated market to do? Here are a few suggestions, and (please!) feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments.

  • First, a pep talk: remember that you do not need enough work to keep all 2,000 English to Spanish translators in the ATA busy. You just need enough work for yourself. I would venture a guess that many established translators earn the bulk of their income from their 3-5 main clients. Do you think there are 3-5 clients out there who will pay real money for your services? Right, I think so too. So let’s figure out how to find them.
  • For translators who are not restricted to working with clients in their home area, the obvious solution is to look for clients in other areas. For example, for English to Spanish translators who live in Latin America, I would definitely recommend looking for clients in the US and/or the UK.
  • In order to do that, make sure to solicit the help of a native English speaker who lives in your target market country. For example if you want to apply to translation clients in the US, your application materials must be in error-free US English.
  • Look for direct clients. I work for and enjoy working for both agencies and direct clients. But I think that many direct clients get attached to translators they like, and are also less price-sensitive than agencies are, so they are a good bet if you work in a saturated market.
  • Get some credentials. For example, of the 2,111 people registered as English to Spanish translators on the ATA website, only 484 are certified for English to Spanish. 484 people is still a lot, but here we’ve already narrowed the pool down to 1/4 of what it was. I think that any credential you can earn: ATA certification, a translation certificate, court interpreter certification (if at the Federal level, even better!), etc. is a big plus.
  • Concentrate on the advantages that you offer: familiarity with the source language culture, ability to do on-site work, ability to provide multiple services (voiceover, transcription, subtitling, etc.) all spring to mind.

And please tell me that you have some more tips too!


Corinne McKay

Book review: How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator

Judy and Dagmar Jenner posted a very flattering review of the second edition of my book How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator on their blog. In the spirit of disclosure, Judy and I are good friends, but we were fans of each other’s work before we became friends, so I trust her to be objective. I really appreciate this detailed analysis of the book, and of course “If this book is not the bible for freelance translators, we don’t know what is” is music to my ears!


Corinne McKay

When a non-paying client "plays dead"

Non-paying clients are never fun to deal with, but it can be especially hard to deal with a non-paying client who “plays dead”: simply never responds to your phone calls, e-mails or letters. As a freelancer, what’s the best course of action when faced with a client who owes you money and practices nonviolent noncooperation? Here are a few thoughts.

First, bulletproof the financial arrangements from the start. Never, never, ever (did I mention never??) work for an agency without checking their history on Payment Practices or a similar translation client rating service. Never, never, ever (did I mention really never??) work for a direct client without following Judy Jenner’s advice that the best protection against non-payment is preparing a very detailed quote and having the client sign it before you start work. I also require anyone who is not an established business to pay in full in advance; for example when I translate official documents for individuals. These three steps can go a long way toward preventing non-payment situations to start out with. In my experience, if the non-paying client is an individual, there is simply not much you can do. Legally you might be able to take the individual to small claims court, but again, if he or she simply doesn’t show up, it’s unlikely that the judge will issue a bench warrant for someone who owes you $50.

But let’s assume that it’s too late for that…you’re already in the non-payment trenches and you need to decide on a course of action. First, assess the amount in question. Although it’s always painful to have worked for free, I would not sink a great deal of time into chasing after a small amount of money. Define “small amount”? Well, I’d say $100 or less. At that level, you’re almost certainly better off putting that client on your “never again” list and just chalking it up to experience rather than devoting hours of your time to the collections process. If you’re talking about a significant amount, keep reading.

“Playing dead” is one of the most maddening things that a non-paying client can do; I once dealt with a client who not only ignored my e-mails and phone calls, but refused to sign for a certified letter (“No one here by that name”). So, you have to get a little creative, with steps that might include:

  • Threatening some sort of public recourse. For example, “If this invoice is not paid by xxx, I will be forced to post a report of this transaction on translation industry payment rating services” or “I will be forced to refer this invoice to the American Translators Association’s partner collections agency for further action.”
  • Having a colleague act as your collections representative. I think that this can be very effective; all you need is a colleague with an assertive manner who calls the client and either speaks to them or leaves a message to the effect of “This is Corinne McKay’s collections representative, calling in reference to invoice xxx which is now seriously overdue. To avoid further action on our part, please contact me to arrange payment as soon as possible.”
  • Try to make a deal. Again, this isn’t going to suit everyone, but my hope is just to put some ideas out there for you to choose from. You could potentially contact the client and say that they clearly don’t intend to pay the amount that they owe you, and while that is extremely disappointing, you would like to arrange a payment plan or partial payment plan so that you can be compensated for some of what they owe you. Likewise, in my experience it can help to offer a non-paying client as many payment options as possible. I once worked for a startup agency in Europe who left me on the hook for 2,000 euros…not an amount I was going to give up on without a fight. They finally paid by credit card via PayPal which resulted in a hefty fee for me, but it was much better than not being paid at all.
  • If you’re positive that the client is not dangerous or unstable, you could go to their office in person or send someone else. Again, this could be your “collections representative,” popping by to check on the invoice status and ready to accept a check right then.

Other thoughts?


Corinne McKay

May session of Getting Started as a Freelance Translator

The May session of my online course Getting Started as a Freelance Translator starts tomorrow, Wednesday May 9. The past two sessions have sold out but I still have some spots left in this session! “Getting Started” is a four-week online course for beginning translators who want to launch a freelance business and for non-beginners who want to find more work, earn more money or enjoy their jobs more. We use my book How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator as the text, and in addition to the online component we do a few live conference calls which are always a lot of fun! If you’d like to join us in this session, please see my website for a full description of the course, registration information and some feedback from graduates of the course.


Corinne McKay

Guest post: The case against blogging

This is a guest post by my colleague and friend,  French to English translator Karen Tkaczyk. Thanks to Karen for submitting it, and she’ll be looking forward to your comments.

The Case Against Blogging
I don’t blog. I don’t aspire to, and I don’t think most of you reading should either. I hear all the time that we should be blogging to build our brand. I disagree. We should only be blogging if it will actually build our brand. Please don’t start yet another mediocre blog with infrequent postings on topics covered by many other people. I speak from the point of view of a freelance translator, but most of these points are equally applicable to interpreters, translation companies and those who provide services to our industry.

My complaint
Not being first to your niche is a problem. If you would love to have a blog, but your ideal blog would imitate one of the successful T&I blogs, then I suggest you don’t bother. Let’s assume I think the ‘business practices for freelance translators’ market for blogs written in English is saturated (I do). Therefore your new successful blog needs to be narrower.

If you blog just because you find it personally satisfying and you don’t care whether anyone reads it, then fair enough. Someone may discover you one day, like other great artists, and laud you in the future. You may bring our profession glory. I salute you. But the goal of most of the translators and interpreters I know when they start blogs is to bring in business through networking. Many even start blogs hoping that it will bring in customers. Personally, my customers are not reading about translation. They read about their subject and want me to handle the translation so that they don’t have to think about it.

In defense
I should answer some of the arguments people give for blogging. First the strongest one for translators: the argument that translators are writers and should show off their writing skills. I say write anyway. Write for the numerous chapter, affiliate and division newsletters and blogs. Offer guest posts to bloggers you admire. Write for The Chronicle or T&I association publications in other countries. Editors usually need good content and often actively seek new authors. Some publications even pay for articles.

Another factor arises for the content of a blog showing off how good a translator you may be. I am a technical translator. The technical writing I use for almost all of my translation work is very different than the style required for a blog. There is no persuasive writing, wit or gentle humor in technical translation. That’s all dry, clear instructions and analysis. So in my case, producing well-written blog articles would be practicing a style of writing that differs from the one I need every day, the one I take pride in as I work.

One substantial advantage to writing ad hoc for many newsletters or online outlets is that you don’t have to stick to one topic. Taking detours into fascinating ideas that crop up occasionally may not be in the best interest of your blog’s niche. However, it may well be ideal content for a regional association newsletter or someone else’s blog. Think broadly and opportunities open up. However, if you prefer to think narrowly, then maybe a highly specialized blog is for you and you will be the first in your field. If you’re the first, and you can have twenty posts drafted, then I wish you well. If you are not first, and you would essentially be trying to creep into a market that is already well served, then I think there are more effective ways to improve your visibility.

For the record
I have considered the bigger picture. Should I discourage people from blogging at all, as posting articles in the ether that build up our profession may raise awareness and respect? Indeed, this is a strong point. If you’re in it for the greater good, may you thrive.
The observant among readers will have spotted that I said bloggers should have twenty posts written before they start. It seems to me that if you can produce and edit that much material, arrange it into an appealing order, and post regularly over a few months, then you may be set for success. I find that blogs with infrequent posts or that appear to have died slowly make the authors look disorganized or to have failed in their goals. It would have been better not to raise expectations.

In conclusion
Please take piece this in the spirit that it is intended, to help us make the most of the time we have as we run our businesses. I’m not trying to be a stick-in-the-mud, just a realist. Not all of us can be that blogger we aspire to be.

The verdict
A successful blog will be:

  • Uncommon (be the first in its field)
  • Regular (have a predictable posting pattern)
  • Novel (give me something new)
  • Entertaining or Instructive (make me laugh or teach me)