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The T4T training year kicks off on January 16, when superstar guest instructor Nora Diaz teaches a two-hour master class, AI for freelance translators and interpreters: a hands-on introduction. Registration is $75 and includes the recording.

This class will focus primarily on ChatGPT: the basics of how to use it, and how to write prompts that can increase your research, writing, and preparation toolkit as a freelance translator or interpreter. After covering the main features of ChatGPT, Nora will teach you how to differentiate between good and poor prompts, how to write effective prompts, and how to use AI tools in addition to ChatGPT.

More information/registration here!

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In episode 10 of the Training for Translators podcast, I talk about burnout: why it happens, when it’s unavoidable, and 10 things that help me avoid it!

Listen (or better yet, rate!) in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, or just click the audio player below:

In this episode, I mention my Deciding What to Charge worksheet, and you can download it here.

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This is a list I’ve started compiling every year. Here’s 2023, 2022, and 2021. I’ll include the titles, authors, and mini-reviews here. I won’t include links, because y’all know where to buy a book! If you live in proximity to a local bookstore, I really encourage you to buy your books there (shoutout to Boulder Bookstore, where my family buys all of our books!).

I read 16 books this year (one more than last year!), and here they are, with four standouts, and then the others in the order in which I read them.

Top four!

Of the books I read this year, four really stood out as must-reads. Here they are, in no particular order:

Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan. I’m obsessed with Claire Keegan’s novella-like novels, and I love everything she writes. Her books are really short (like under 100 pages); I often think that she’s the alter ego of the late Hilary Mantel; Claire Keegan writes short books about the social issues in modern-day Ireland, while Hilary Mantel wrote very, very long books about the social issues in medieval England. If you’ve never tried Claire Keegan, start with her book Foster, and then watch the movie The Quiet Girl, based on the book. Then read this! It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking story about a coal merchant in a small Irish town who uncovers some dark secrets in the local Catholic church.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. My husband has been a Tokarczuk fan since before she won the Nobel Prize, and he talked me into reading this book. Sooooo good; this book seriously has it all: a murder-mystery plot, the inner life of a woman aging alone, animal-rights stuff, small-town drama. I loved it!

Everyone Who is Gone is Here: The United States, Central America, and the making of a crisis, by Jonathan Blitzer. An outstanding non-fiction book by a New Yorker writer, about the origins of the current immigration situation in the U.S. The author combines very detailed reporting about U.S. immigration policy going back to the 1970s, with personal stories of Central American immigrants.

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: A Jerusalem tragedy, by Nathan Thrall. This book won the 2024  Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a meticulously reported account of a school bus crash in Gaza and the aftermath, weaving together Israeli and Palestinian stories.

The rest!

I honestly didn’t read any duds this year; here’s the rest of the list, in the order in which I read them.

Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian. This isn’t a new book, but my sister-in-law gave it to me because it’s set in the part of rural Vermont where she and her partner live part-time. It’s good! A novel about a rural midwife caught in a moral, ethical, and medical dilemma, told from the viewpoint of her daughter.

The Great Displacement: Climate change and the next American migration, by Jake Bittle. Obviously kind of a downer given the subject matter, but this book is really well-researched, and looks at the ways in which climate migration may reshape the geography of the U.S.

Olav Audunsson IV: Winter, by Sigrid Undset, translated from the Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally. OK folks, you’re done hearing me talk about the Olav Audunsson tetralogy, because this is the final volume! I went on (and on!) about how much I love this series, in my reviews from previous years. It’s one of those “love it or hate it” books, and I’m honestly so bummed that it’s over! Set in 13th century Norway, this series follows Olav from childhood into old age.

Scene of the Crime, by Patrick Modiano, translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti. I read this book for the American Translators Association’s literary translation competition, and I really wanted it to win! This book is sort of a time-bending novel focusing on the narrator’s childhood home. It’s so well-written, and Mark Polizzotti’s translation is really masterful. I read both the French and English and didn’t get sick of it!

Rogues: True stories of grifters, killers, rebels, and crooks, by Patrick Radden Keefe. I read this because of the author: Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing (about an IRA murder during The Troubles in Northern Ireland) is still one of my favorite books of the past few years (and now a Hulu miniseries!). This book is an easy read; it’s a collection of stories about scammers, and it’s not what I would call a literary masterpiece but it’s fun and interesting.

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. OK, don’t judge, this book is kind of like Danielle Steel meets Hilary Mantel. I ended up reading it because we went on a trip, I finished the book I had with me, and this book was on the AirBnB “take one, leave one” shelf. It’s well-written, and gripping, and trashy, focusing on the adventures and misadventures of Anne Boleyn’s sister Mary during the era of Henry VIII.

On the Edge, by Nate Silver. I really like Nate Silver’s stuff, but/and this book is very long and a bit of a slog if you don’t know or care much about poker. Ostensibly about risk-taking and gambling, it has some really interesting parts, including the author’s multiple in-person interviews with disgraced crypto trader Sam Bankman-Fried. But I really struggled with the technical parts about poker; if you read this, I’d give yourself permission to just skip the parts you’re not interested in, and the rest of it is good.

Pineapple Podcasting:The ultimate beginners guide to creating, launching, and monetizing a podcast, with zero experience and a shoestring budget , by Samantha Lee Wright. A good book if you’re thinking about starting a podcast, with lots of practical information and good ideas! If you’re not starting a podcast, no need to read it!

The Art and Business of Ghostwriting, by Nicolas Cole. Similar story here: excellent book if you’re interested in doing ghostwriting, otherwise no need to read it! As someone who writes business books, I thought this book did an excellent job of combining the “what” and the “how” of ghostwriting.

Free Money: Nine counterintuitive moves for life-changing freelance income, by Austin Church. I’ve recommended this book a bunch in my classes. Particularly if you feel that you’re “not good with money,” if you grew up in a financially dysfunctional family, or if you struggle to set income goals as a freelancer, this is an excellent book. Austin Church is a good writer and really makes what can be a dry topic very interesting and approachable.

Trust, by Hernan Diaz. This book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and I found it interesting but not amazing. It’s essentially the story of a young Italian immigrant woman who wants to be a writer, told from four different points of view. It’s creative, but I liked the first section the most (IMO it kind of went downhill from there), and I found some of the creative aspects to be a little try-hard (this will make more sense if you read the book). Personally I wouldn’t have given it the Pulitzer Prize, but it was worth reading.

On deck

I’m taking two weeks off over the holidays, and I’m planning on reading Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, a short novel that just won the Booker Prize, and Hampton Sides’ The Wide, Wide Sea, about the final voyage of Captain James Cook.

Thanks for reading, and happy reading of your own!

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Before we get going with this topic, I realize that people have a huge range of feelings about AI in general, and ChatGPT specifically. If you hate AI and don’t want to read a word about it, just skip this issue of the newsletter! I tend to feel that:

• AI is a tool that I want to know about, and that I’m interested in using when it’s helpful
• I hate certain aspects of AI: the environmental impact, the “better to ask forgiveness than permission” model of copyright infringement, etc., although I realize that these are also nuanced issues (a presentation that I’ll reference below, mentioned that if the massive electricity needs of AI end up driving demand for larger-scale renewable energy facilities, that could actually be a good thing)
• I also find AI useless for writing or translating from scratch. I find its writing style robotic, and it makes mistakes. I have the paid version of DeepL and I use it quite a bit for interpreting prep, but I never use AI to create a translation or something I’m writing from scratch
• My reaction to, “But AI is so great for automating boring, repetitive work,” tends to be, “But nothing about my job is boring or repetitive…that’s what I love about it!”

Enter the techforword AI in Translation Summit

The beta version of ChatGPT came out almost exactly two years ago (November 2022). I honestly hadn’t used it very much, until a couple of months ago, when I started hearing rumblings from people I trust, with specific ChatGPT use cases that made sense to me. A couple of other not-super-techie translators told me they found it helpful for complicated research questions (always check the sources!). My daughter (an engineering student looking for a summer job!) told me that she uses it to write LinkedIn connection request notes, because it can comply with specific character counts, and tone instructions (make this more formal, make this less formal).

The real tipping point came when I taught a class for someone else’s online training platform, and the organizer came back with what I thought was a fantastic title for the session. When I complimented them on it, they quickly responded, “Thank ChatGPT!” It was definitely time for me to try it for myself.

And, as luck would have it, Nora Diaz and Josh Goldsmith’s techforword AI in Translation Summit was coming up. Disclosure here: I don’t do affiliate marketing deals, and I pay for my own techforward insiders membership (well worth it, IMO), but they did give me a free Power Pack registration to the Summit as part of the compensation for a class I taught for them.

In watching the Summit presentations (particular shoutout to Bex Elder’s “How to use AI to help you create great content faster,” Veronica Hylak’s presentation on the environmental impacts of AI, from whence comes the renewable energy reference above, and Riccardo Schiaffino’s presentation on Perplexity as a research tool), I got some ideas of how ChatGPT could work well for me. Which brings me to…

How I’ve been using ChatGPT lately

1. Interpreting prep: Asking ChatGPT to predict what a speaker is going to talk about, based on the presentation title. I have the free version, so I don’t put anything remotely confidential into it. But I was recently assigned to interpret a speech on the topic of “The erosion of trust in public institutions in X country,” and the slides were pretty bare-bones. I asked Chat GPT, “I’m an interpreter, and I have to interpret a speech on the erosion of trust in public institutions in X country, can you think of some recent news events that the speaker might mention?” It came back with three suggestions, and the speaker mentioned two of them.
2. Jazzing up presentation titles. I’m not the most creative writer. What can I say…I’m an Upholder, I’m good at getting things done and ticking boxes, more than thinking outside the box. I asked ChatGPT to suggest titles for a few presentations I’ll be giving in the next few months (i.e. “I’m giving a presentation for beginning translators and interpreters. I usually call it “Getting started as a freelance translator or interpreter,” can you come up with a more interesting title?”).  I ended up using ChatGPT’s suggestions for all four of the presentations I asked it about.
3. Complex research questions. This “search engine on steroids” feature isn’t anything you can’t do yourself, but Riccardo’s presentation gave some examples where an AI tool can definitely save you time, just make sure to check its sources (all AI tools should provide the sources if you ask them to). Riccardo’s example was something along the lines of, “How are the child’s preferences taken into account in child custody cases in Italy versus in the U.S.” This led me to ask it several complicated research questions of my own: What are the parameters on non-citizens being self-employed in Switzerland, and do the parameters differ if that person is or is not a citizen of an E.U country? (This was a literal “asking for a friend,” I’m a Swiss citizen!). Note: Riccardo’s presentation and notes are available here, on his website.
4. Rewrites for tone or length. I stole my daughter’s idea for a LinkedIn connection request note (make it 200 characters and less formal), and I had it condense a couple of things that were too wordy. It also gave me some good wording suggestions for a translation I’m working on (“What’s another way of saying ‘seen the light of day’?”) in which case I used its top suggestion, “come to fruition.”

The AI landscape is relatively chaotic at the moment, and we really don’t know what’s going to turn out to be the new normal, and what’s going to be hype. As I’ve mentioned before, I really enjoy the daily newsletter The Neuron. I know…who wants another daily newsletter, but it takes literally five minutes, and I read it while I’m drinking my coffee and coming to my senses. Amid all of this uncertainty, hopefully my ChatGPT use cases have given you some ideas!

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December classes open for registration

We’ll close out the training year with two master classes in December, both taught by me, Corinne McKay:

• On Tuesday, December 10, I’ll be teaching From words to work: The practical aspects of book translation. If you’d like to translate books (perhaps getting going on this idea over the holidays!) but don’t know where to start, this class will teach you about the entire lifecycle of a book translation, from the rights arrangement, to finding a publisher, signing a contract, getting paid, and marketing the book. We’ll also talk about options for self-publishing, including a new “semi-self-published” option that I’m going to use for my next book! Registration is $75 and includes the recording.
• On Tuesday, December 17, it’s time for Level up: Freelancing for more money and better projects in 2025. This class has two components: confidently setting and raising your rates using objective data, and finding “premium” clients. I decided to offer this class because, when I teach my “deciding what to charge” class (including at the recent ATA conference!), the most common question from participants is, “where do I find these elusive high-paying clients??” Come find out! Registration is $75 and includes the recording.

This week’s topic: ‘Tis the season…for holiday availability nudges

This post is based on a LinkedIn post that sparked a lot of interest. We all know that nudging dormant clients (getting in touch with a client you worked with in the past, reminding them that you exist) is:

• The world’s most boring marketing method; and
• The world’s most effective marketing method

Every year, in my March Marketing Madness challenge group, the following situation plays out: I tell participants what I just told you, and they say, “But that seems super-annoying. They know where to find me. They’d contact me if they wanted to work with me.” To which I respond, “Humor me, and just try it.”

No marketing method is 100% effective (if only!), but this typically results in a high percentage of participants returning and reporting, “Wellllll guess what. A client who I thought hated me, came back with a $1,500 project/four days of interpreting work/an offer to translate their annual report.” Nudging is really important.

Now is the time!

Why is now the time to nudge? Because most of us are very self-conscious about nudging. We think it looks desperate, as if we have no work (listen to the podcast for more on this!). Although I disagree with the “desperation” characterization, and I think it’s totally fine to make up a reason to nudge (“I have some upcoming availability”), I also agree that it’s always great to have an actual reason to nudge. And here you go. It’s the holidays! A lot of people take time off! You need to let clients know your plans.

Plot out your availability between now and ~January 10, depending on what country you live in. The U.S. has the added factor of Thanksgiving (this year, November 28), and many European countries have the added factor of “the holidays” as running through January 6.

Here’s what to do

Send all clients a personalized “holiday availability update,” letting them know when you will be working and when you’re not available. “Just wanted to let you know my availability between now and the first few weeks of the new year.” If you haven’t worked with them in a while, refer back to the most recent project you did for them, and how much you enjoyed it! “In looking over my records, I see that we haven’t worked together since I translated your annual report in March; I really enjoyed that project and wondered if you’ve started planning for 2025?”

Pro tip for beginners and those who need a lot more work

If you are a beginner or actively looking for more work, remember that the holiday period can be a really good time to pick up new clients. They may be a lot more likely to take a chance on someone new when all of their usual translators or interpreters are busy; particularly if you’re available for the week between Christmas and New Year’s, make sure that current and potential clients know this!

I hope these tips are helpful!