Freelancing

May 09 2013
Corinne McKay

Doing things for money versus doing things for fun

Last year, Walt Kania of The Freelancery wrote a fantastic post called Follow your passion? Maybe not. Try this instead, and the whole “follow your passion” idea is one that I think about a lot. Some thoughts:

I love translating, writing and teaching, and I can’t imagine having a job where I was just warming the chair all day and waiting for quitting time. So in that sense, I agree that following your passion is a good thing: I’ve always loved languages, words and writing. However, I also think that if you want a satisfying quality of life, money has to enter into the equation somewhere. And somewhere, there’s an intersection between what you like to do and what people will pay money, or maybe even a lot of money for. So when I hear other translators comment that they fantasize about finding a job where they don’t have to sit in front of a computer all day, one of my standard suggestions is “If you like everything else about being a translator, raise your rates and work less, so that you can have more time to do whatever you want.”

Here’s another truth, at least as I see it. Lots of things are fun if, or because, you don’t have to depend on them to pay the bills. For example when I think about my non-work passions: crafting, gardening, cooking, mountain sports, to name a few, they are things from which I could potentially earn income. Case in point: I love to knit, and last year I made a series of ponchos, like the one Martha Stewart wore when she got out of jail. A few days ago I was wearing the one I made for myself, and a stranger asked me where I got it; then commented that I “could charge a lot of money” making them for other people. But here’s the thing: it’s not that I don’t want to earn money from crafting, it’s that part of why I find crafting relaxing is that I do it purely because I want to, not because I’m on a deadline or filling an order. Ditto for many of my other non-work passions; I love long-distance bicycle touring, and I’m sure that there are people making money running or leading those kids of tours. But for me, part of the mental release of being on my bike is that I literally don’t think about anything besides turning the cranks. I’m not stressing out about who’s having fun, who has a flat tire, and who can’t make it over the next pass. If I were leading bike tours just for fun, it might work, but I wouldn’t want to depend on it to buy groceries.

Around the same time as the poncho interaction, I went to see our financial planner, and he and I got to talking about this (following your passion, not knitting ponchos) as well. Interestingly enough, he had just read an article on a financial planning website that corroborated the “don’t follow your passion as a job; earn enough money that you can work less and have more time for the passion” philosophy. Apparently this referred to an unscientific study of people who quit their white-collar jobs to become rafting guides or rug weavers, or whatever their previous avocational interest was. And many of these people found that once the passion became their job, it was, well…a job. I would hazard a guess that in any type of job, there are many of the same stresses: meeting deadlines, meeting customers’ expectations, finding the energy and drive to pull rabbits out of hats when valued clients really need it. To me, my non-work passions provide the recharge that I need to work very hard at a job that I enjoy. But if given the choice between knitting all day and translating all day, I’d rather translate, make a bunch of money doing it, and then have the rest of my time free to knit, ski or grow flowers just because I want to.

Apr 08 2013
Corinne McKay

Which language is "the best"?

I am often asked this question, in various forms:

I want to become a translator/interpreter: which language should I study?
Which language is the most in-demand for translation and interpreting?
What is the best language for a translator or interpreter to know?

The answer, like the answer to many freelance-related questions, is a resounding it depends. I’ll give you my thoughts here, then please chime in with yours (so that I can use them to answer this question the next time it comes up!).

To me, “in-demand” and “best” are two different things. For example in the U.S., the most in-demand language in general terms is undoubtedly Spanish. It’s the second most commonly spoken language in the United States, after English (insert one of my favorite factoids, that the U.S. has no official language!). But when people ask about the “best” language, I usually assume that they’re talking about a balance between demand and income potential, even when they don’t phrase it that way. And in terms of income potential, Spanish translators face a lot of challenges, starting with heavy competition from in-country translators in Latin America whose cost of living is often much lower, and who are in the same time zone as U.S. clients. In addition, because there are so many Spanish speakers in the U.S., true professional translators and interpreters often come up against the “anyone can do it” mindset held by some would-be translators and interpreters and even some clients. So, despite the very high demand for Spanish in the U.S., it’s probably not the language that I would encourage someone to learn if they’re starting from scratch.

I think that every language has its pros and cons. For example I think that for U.S.-based translators, French and German are appealing because there’s a good balance between work volume and rates, and because U.S.-based translators have some financial advantages (generally lower cost of living, and the fact that we don’t charge VAT). Also, the U.S. time zone is an advantage, as European clients can send work at the end of the day their time, to be returned the next morning. However, the European business culture is very relationship-based, and it can be hard to find and retain direct clients in Europe unless you can go there with some frequency.

In terms of critical need, I think that Middle Eastern and Asian languages are certainly the winners. Also, I think that Japanese to English is one of the highest, if not the highest-paid language combination in most market surveys. But my sense is that for some of these language combinations, there is a lot of competition from translators who are not native speakers of English but who translate into English anyway, even if they shouldn’t. Also, these cultures are much less similar to American culture than European culture is, and it is probably more difficult for translators who grew up in the U.S. to “fit in” in China or Saudi Arabia than it is in Spain or Switzerland.

Then there’s personal affinity: I love the sound of Italian and Portuguese. I’m such a nerd that sometimes I listen to Italian or Portuguese news on the radio (via TuneIn) even though I can’t understand it at all. Biking through the Dolomites last summer was one of the best vacations of my life: I just love Italy! If I were going strictly for income potential, I’d probably go for Japanese, but I really struggle with character-based languages–for example when my husband and I traveled to Nepal, I had a relatively easy time with the spoken language but couldn’t read anything, while he was the opposite.

Anyway, enough rambling thoughts on the merits of various languages! Readers, what do you think? A high school student e-mails you and asks “What language should I study?” and you respond…

Apr 02 2013
Corinne McKay

Unplugging: why and how

I’m a big believer in taking at least one unplugged vacation per year: no computer, no work phone. I think that it’s important for a few reasons. Such as:

Work gets a lot of my undivided attention when I’m not on vacation, and my family needs and deserves some undivided attention too.
The mental break always helps me feel invigorated about my current work, and always gives me new perspectives on my work-related goals for the future.
It keeps me from developing an inflated sense of my own importance. If I start to feel that my clients really cannot live without me for a week, I’m the one with the problem.
It forces me to plan financially for the time off; I use my business savings account to pay myself for the time that I take off work.
I recognize that my energy, enthusiasm, creativity and probably other qualities are not infinitely renewable. I could work 50 hours a week, 51 weeks a year, but I don’t think that my current productivity level would last long. Everyone does what works for them, and for me, about 30 hours a week, 46 weeks a year is what’s sustainable.

Unplugged vacations might not be the norm these days, but even people who are actually important (as opposed to those of us who only fancy ourselves as important) think they’re worth considering. Here’s an interesting article in Harvard Business Review, which discusses the advantages of completely unplugging versus plugging in at scheduled times. And this article on CareerCast argues that unplugged vacations not only don’t hurt your career prospects, they actually help them.

So, now that you’re convinced (!), how do you do this? First, you pick a vacation destination that helps you, or even forces you, to unplug. As in, you don’t go to New York City and tell yourself that you’ll just leave your cell phone in the hotel room. You do something like go mountain bike camping in Utah, where there’s no cell reception anyway. Then, you find at least one trusted colleague who is available while you’re away. You send a pre-emptive e-mail to all of your clients and to the colleagues who regularly refer work to you, and you say something like:

Dear clients and colleagues: my office will be closed for vacation from X until Y, and I will not have access to e-mail or phone messages during this time. For urgent translations, please contact my trusted colleague (insert name and contact information). Otherwise I will respond to you as soon as possible when I return.

Note that if you truly want to unplug, you do not say that clients can call your cell phone if they need to reach you urgently. Nor do you leave them totally hanging and unable to get an urgent translation completed if they need one. You let them know that you are checking out completely, and you tell them who to contact while you’re away.

Finally, you put on your e-mail auto-responder and change your outgoing voicemail message, with something similar to the e-mail above. You clearly state that you are unavailable, and you provide a referral right there in the auto-response.

Then you go; you just do it. Put the office in the rear view mirror and enjoy your vacation. While you’re away, spend a little time making your peace with the fact that you may miss some work. You may even miss a really awesome project that you would have gladly interrupted the vacation for, had you known about it. That’s the reality of a week off the grid, but it’s a small price to pay for the renewed energy and enthusiasm you’ll have when you return. Because while you’re away, you’ll have a moment like this, and all of the missed work will be worth it!

Mar 21 2013
Corinne McKay

Speaking of Translation recording is online

If you missed yesterday’s Speaking of Translation conference call on freelance sabbaticals abroad, the recording is now on our website. You don’t need to download anything to listen! Eve Bodeux, Tess Whitty and I all offered tips for taking your freelance business on the road: how to deal with your phones, mail, banking, taxes and family, and how to use your trip as a professional development and marketing opportunity. Happy listening!

Mar 19 2013
Corinne McKay

Speaking of Translation call: freelance sabbaticals abroad

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 20 at 12 noon New York time, Eve Bodeux and I will be putting on our Speaking of Translation hats for a free conference call. Visit our Speaking of Translation website for details on how to connect to the live call; and of course we’ll post a recording on our Listen page afterward!

This call is part II of our series on taking your freelance business abroad. We all know that location-independence is one of the big pluses of being a freelancer, but how do we actually capitalize on it? We’ll spend about half an hour talking about Eve’s five-month stay in France, my two-month stay in Switzerland and Italy, and we’ll check in with Tess Whitty, who is currently spending a year in Sweden. You never know what topics might make their way into a Speaking of Translation call, but we’re planning to discuss logistics (dealing with your phones, mail and money), business issues (using your trip as a professional development and marketing opportunity) and how to integrate your family into your overseas experience (if they insist on coming!).

We’re expecting the call to last about 30 minutes and we do not use it to sell or promote anything; just an opportunity for a fun discussion! Join us if you can, and I’ll let you know when the recording is online.