Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters


Corinne McKay

Links from the translation blogosphere

Here are links to a few blog posts that I enjoyed reading this week:

  • Jill Sommer on Freelancing means the freedom to say no. I think it’s all too common that freelancers, especially women freelancers, feel that they can never object to a client’s terms or requests. Thanks for this reminder, Jill!
  • Sadly, Paula Dieli is putting her excellent blog Essential Project Management on hiatus as she has accepted a new job (not as a project manager!). We’ll certainly miss her here in the translation blogosphere.
  • Kevin Lossner on Choosing an agency or an independent translator, which is a commentary on José Henrique Lamensdorf’s excellent post here.
  • Judy and Dagmar Jenner on Disposable e-mail addresses. I loved this tip; I have a webmail address that I use for purposes like online shopping, but the self-destructing temporary e-mail address is even better!


Corinne McKay

June discount on "How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator"

During the month of June, you can purchase my book “How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator” from the publisher (Lulu) for $17.95 instead of the usual cover price of $19.95. Just use this link to Lulu’s site and then enter the coupon code SUMMERREAD305 when you check out. Fine print: you can only use the code once per buyer account and you can’t combine it with any other coupon codes. From the link above you can also look at a preview of the book before you decide if you want to buy it (the preview includes the table of contents so you can see exactly what’s covered). And big thanks to the 3,500+ people who have purchased a copy since I published this book in 2006 (stay tuned for the second edition!).


Corinne McKay

Ethical dilemma: when services cost less than you expect

Thoughts on Translation is back from a relaxing camping vacation in the deserts of Western Colorado. This vacation was completely unplugged; I didn’t take my laptop or netbook and only turned my cell phone on once a day to check my office messages. In other words, a real vacation! I highly recommend doing this at least once a year if you’re at the computer the rest of the time. Now on to more substantive issues…

A while back, I wrote a post about sticker shock: dealing with clients who are blindsided about how much professional translation services cost. Recently, I spoke with the owner of a small agency who brought up a different but related topic: how to react when a professional service costs less than you expect. In a nutshell…this agency owner works with clients in a very targeted industry that not many translators specialize in. When she landed a new client in this specialization, she needed to expand her pool of qualified translators quickly, so she posted the job on ProZ. In her words, “Not to save money in particular, but in order to widen the pool of potential translators.” This agency owner pays her current translators very fair rates, what I would consider the high end of the U.S.-based agency market (I’m guessing you can tell where this is headed!), and in her ProZ posting, she did not specify any rate at all, but left it up to the translators to state their rates.

So, the applications started coming in, and because of the way the agency owner worded her posting, the applicants were few in number and very well qualified for the job. However, their rates were generally between 25% and 60% less than what she had planned on paying. For example if she had been planning on paying 30 cents a word (this isn’t the actual figure, just an example), these highly qualified translators generally bid between 12 and 20 cents a word. In the end, the agency owner did not pick the cheapest translators, but also did not suggest to the selected translators that they raise their rates. I realize that this anecdote also brings up the issue of competitive bidding in general, translators who charge less than they are worth, and probably various other issues too. However, specifically related to the under-budget issue, what would you have done? Would you have told these translators that they were bidding half of what you were willing to pay, or would you have accepted the rates that they offered?


Corinne McKay

Thank you, readers!

Although, as I mentioned before, I have mixed feelings about online popularity contests, I’m flattered and grateful that Thoughts on Translation is officially the 79th most popular language blog as rated by the recent Lexiophiles contest. And I thought winning the 8th grade French award was exciting! From that link you can view the overall top 100 language blogs as well as the top 10 blogs in each category; special congratulations to the 10 blogs that won top honors in the Language Professionals section!


Corinne McKay

Responding to a request for quote

When you receive an “out of the blue” request for a quote from a potential translation client, what’s the best next step? Is it more advantageous to call the client, e-mail them, ask for more information or send them a rate sheet…or something else entirely? The beauty of impromptu inquiries from potential clients is that you, the translator, are in the position of power. Rather than attempting to sell the potential client on the value of your services, the potential client is coming to you. So, it’s important to decide how to convert this inquiry into a new client. Let’s take a look at some potential courses of action.

First, read the potential client’s e-mail carefully; note the information that they provide and don’t provide, because this will give you some clues as to the client’s level of seriousness and their knowledge of what translation involves. Look at the client’s website and/or Google them to get a sense of their business. Then, decide how to respond to the potential client; for example you might:

  • Call them or ask them to call you. I’m really not a phone person, but I do think that a phone call makes a good impression. You can get a sense of the client’s personality and they can get a sense of yours, you can chat about the project, what translations they’ve had done in the past and what they are looking for in this translation. My only hesitation with phoning a potential client is that I like to get the important project details (i.e. rate, turnaround time, other terms of service) in writing. So, if you take this tactic I think it’s important to follow up with a brief e-mail, for example, “Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me this morning. Just to confirm the details of our conversation, I will be translating the document we discussed at a rate of X cents per source word and I will deliver it to you by 5PM Eastern time on Friday. I accept payment by check or wire transfer and the full payment is due within 30 days of the date on which I deliver the translation.”
  • E-mail them and ask for more information. It’s unlikely that the client’s initial e-mail included all of the information that you need, so you might e-mail them and ask some of the questions listed above. Thank them for contacting you and let them know that in order to provide them with a detailed quote, you’ll need to get some more information.
  • E-mail them your basic information about rates and terms of service. In part, I think that your response to potential clients should be guided by how much you need or want the work. Responding with some prepared information, for example “I’m attaching my 2010 rate sheet which includes my per-word and hourly rates as well as my standard terms of service, feel free to look these over and then let me know if I can provide you with a detailed quote” may not be the most personal way to respond to an inquiry, but it saves your time and immediately weeds out clients whose budget is much less than what you charge.

Whichever strategy you choose, make sure to lay the groundwork for a successful translator/client relationship. For example:

  • Respond promptly to all inquiries from potential clients. Even if you don’t want to provide a quote on the project, respond and let the potential client know that.
  • Clarify your payment terms and methods; decide whether you want first-time clients to pay all or part of the project fee in advance.
  • Ask the client to confirm the rate, deadline and payment terms in writing. This can be as simple as a very short e-mail or can take the form of a service agreement or purchase order, but make sure that you and the client agree in writing on these important details.
  • Ask the client for their accounts payable person’s contact information. For example, “Please let me know the e-mail address and phone number of the person to whom I should send my invoice, and let me know who I should contact if I have a question about the payment.”

Any other tips for responding successfully to inquiries?