Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters

Classes for translators


Corinne McKay

March Marketing Madness registration closes Sunday night

My March Marketing Madness challenge group starts Monday morning, and registration closes Sunday night at midnight NYC time. The challenge group is for anyone who wants to spend 30 minutes a day on business development for 20 consecutive business days. You’ll receive a daily e-mail from me with that day’s tasks, there’s a Slack group (optional) for motivation and accountability purposes, and we’ll do a weekly question and answer session. Registration is $75 and there is no limit on the number of people who can participate.

Today (Friday, March 1) is the last day to register at the early bird rate for the April session of Getting Started as a Freelance Translator; registration goes from $365 to $380 after that. This is a four-week online course for beginning and aspiring translators in any language combination, who want to launch and run a successful freelance business. Right now there are five spots left!

I hope to see some of you there!


Corinne McKay

New online courses, and March Marketing Madness?

I’ve been steadily adding courses to my winter/spring 2019 lineup, and I’m also considering running a March Marketing Madness coaching group that would include daily accountability and some individual sessions with me. If you’re interested in the March marketing group, send me an e-mail and let me know.

This year’s first three online courses sold out: I have wait lists going for Spanish to English translation workshop with Holly Mikkelson (two sessions sold out!), and Editing and proofreading for into-English translators with Karen Tkaczyk.

Here’s what’s new. All of these courses run for four weeks, fully online, with individual feedback on the homework, and recordings of the live sessions if you can’t or don’t want to attend them. Discounts are available for ATA members, new students, and returning students: see each individual course page for details.

In April, I’ll be teaching Getting Started as a Freelance Translator, my flagship course for beginners, running since 2006 and focusing on creating a translation-targeted resume and cover e-mail, marketing plan, rates and billable hours sheet and online presence.

In May (actually starting April 29), Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo will teach Copywriting: for your clients and for your business, focusing on writing better marketing materials for yourself, and on offering copywriting or content marketing translation as a service to your clients.

In May/June, another brand new course that I’m sure will be popular: French to English financial translation with Judy Lyons, an introduction to financial translation, the life of a financial translator, and the market for French to English financial translators.

In June, Dorothee Racette will teach round two of her popular course Organization and productivity for translators. The first session of this course was a great success, and Dorothee will have even more tips on how to get more done in less time without losing your mind, and how to organize your electronic work space for maximum productivity.

Already scheduled for September is Paula Arturo’s Plain language for into-English legal translators, focusing on how to write legal translations that are clear, accurate, and readable (yes, it’s possible!).

I’m excited for this lineup and I hope to see some of you there!


Corinne McKay

2019 courses open for registration

I’m excited to announce that my Winter/Spring 2019 online courses are open for registration. Ahead of this “semester,” I surveyed my subscribers and asked what you’d like to learn about. You answered, and the lineup reflects the four most popular choices, plus my flagship course for beginning translators. All courses are four weeks long, $365 early bird/$380 regular (see the course pages for additional discounts), and offer a mix of self-paced and live sessions (recordings provided), plus individual feedback on four assignments. Additionally, everyone who registers for a 2019 course before December 31 receives a 30-minute individual consulting session with me. Here’s the lineup!

Spanish to English translation workshop with Holly Mikkelson, CT, FCCI.  January 9-February 6. Join Holly (ATA-certified SP<>EN, Federally-certified court interpreter, Professor Emerita at MIIS, longtime grader of the ATA SP>EN certification exam) for an in-depth translation technique course, focusing on legal and international development/diplomacy translation. Spanish to English translators at all levels are welcome, and this course is particularly recommended for anyone preparing for a certification exam. Early bird deadline: December 9.

Editing and proofreading for into-English translators with Karen Tkaczyk, PhD, CT, FITI.  February 11-March 11. As translators, we proofread and edit on a daily basis, but we often lack good techniques for these tasks, and we don’t know how to incorporate them into our range of services. Karen will cover proofreading, monolingual revision, bilingual revision, and self-editing, as well as information about how to market editing as a standalone service. Early bird deadline: January 11.

Getting started as a freelance translator, with me, Corinne McKay, CT. April 1-26. Running since 2006 with over 500 graduates, this is my flagship course for beginning and aspiring translators in any language combination. Learn how to create translation-targeted marketing materials, find your first clients, set up a website or online profile, and decide how much to charge. Early bird deadline: March 1.

Copywriting for your business and your clients, with Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo. April 29-May 24. Copywriting is an often-overlooked skill that can improve the quality of your translations, attract new clients to your business, and open up new income streams. Better yet, good copywriting is a skill that can be learned, and in this class, you’ll improve your copywriting skills in ways that you can immediately apply to your own business and to your work for your clients. Early bird deadline: March 29.

Organization and productivity for translators, with Dorothee Racette. June 3-28. Back by popular request, this course will help you get more done, in less time, and feel happier while doing it. A past participant told us that this class helped her “stop flailing.” Dorothee will help you minimize the feast-famine cycle and create sustainable business processes you’ll actually stick with, while learning productivity techniques especially for translators. This class includes a 30-minute individual consultation with Dorothee. Early bird deadline: May 3.


Corinne McKay

Marketing to Direct Clients: starts Monday

The next session of my online course Marketing to Direct Clients starts Monday. We have a good group signed up, and there’s room for three more people. This is a four-week class for translators in any language combination, and includes self-paced videos, live question and answer sessions, and individual feedback on four homework assignments.

Registration is $380, and I offer the following discounts: $15 for ATA members (coupon code ATA); $10 for anyone who has taken a previous class with me (coupon code ALUM), and $10 for anyone who has never taken a class with me (coupon code NEW). A past participant in this class commented: “Corinne’s course arrived just at the right moment in my freelance translation career, at this crossroads where you know you have to move up in terms of client base, rates and overall income, but you just don’t know where to start or what to do.” You’ll finish the class with a doable plan (instead of vague, unrealistic musings!) for finding and landing direct clients.

Registration is open through Sunday evening or until the three remaining spots are taken.


Corinne McKay

Early bird deadline is tomorrow: German-English workshop and Marketing to Direct Clients

Thoughts on Translation has two more online classes running in 2018. Thanks to everyone who answered my survey about 2019 classes; lots of good ideas in the pipeline! The early registration price ends tomorrow, Friday 10/5, for:

    • German to English Translation Workshop, taught by Eve Hecht, Ted Wozniak, and Jill Sommer. This is a six-week fully online course, running from November 5 through December 21 and including three modules: legal, financial, and medical translation. It combines live presentations, question and answer sessions (recordings provided) and individual feedback on six practice translations. Early registration is $525, ATA members get $25 off with coupon code ATA.
    • Marketing to Direct Clients, taught by me. This is a four-week fully online course, running from November 5 through December 10. This course is for translators who want to find, market to, and successfully work with direct clients, and it combines self-paced videos, live question and answer sessions (recordings provided), and individual feedback on four homework assignments. Early registration is $365, ATA members get $25 off with coupon code ATA.

    Early registration for both of these courses ends on Friday; I hope to see some of you there!