Freelancing

Many beginning translators would like to volunteer their services in order to gain some experience before applying to translation companies and/or direct clients. This is a great idea because it benefits both the translator and the client, and pro bono projects are often less stressful than projects for a paying client; for example the pro bono client may be able to give the translator a much more extended deadline than a paying client would.

If you’re interested in volunteering your translation services, you can either go through an established service that matches volunteer translators with clients, or you can seek out work on your own. If you’d like to use a service, the two main portals I’m aware of are:
–Translators Without Borders works mainly with international humanitarian organizations. Prospective volunteer translators go through an application and testing process, and TWB’s main languages seem to be English<>French.
–Translations for Progress is more of a job board for volunteer translators, with a wide range of languages. They include a disclaimer that the translation must be for not-for-profit purposes. Once you create an account, it seems that you can directly contact the non-profits that are looking for translators.

If the options above don’t appeal to you or your languages are not represented, consider finding some volunteer translation work on your own. Obvious possibilities include legal aid agencies, public health clinics, NGOs, international development organizations, etc. Really, almost any small business might be interested in a high-quality pro bono translation, and I think it’s acceptable to ask up front whether the business would mind serving as a reference for you as long as they are happy with your work.

In the past few days, I have had several conversations with fellow (experienced) freelancers that went sort of like this:

“Until the past month, when I had a slow day or two, I actually enjoyed it. I would clean the house or catch up on my admin work or get together with friends. Now if I have a slow day I start to panic; I start thinking about what’s going to happen to my business if one of my major clients goes under…”

Unless you don’t read, listen to or watch the news, it’s impossible not to be a little on edge about the U.S. economic situation these days. While it seems that the bottom is unlikely to fall out of the translation market any time soon, some of us will surely see a major client declare bankruptcy or be bought out by a larger company. Here are some tips for eliminating that panicky feeling:

• Diversify. If there’s ever been a time to avoid having all of your eggs in one basket, it’s now. Mix it up: agencies, direct clients, revenue streams other than direct income from translation (i.e. teaching classes, writing articles, copy editing, etc.). If you earn a large percentage of your income from one or a few clients, think about branching out.
• Be a little more cautious than usual. I’ve started checking all of my clients on Payment Practices; I always did this for new clients, but now I do it for established clients too. As I wrote about last week, I’m now asking for some form of advance payment from all new clients who are not either ATA members or rated on Payment Practices; individuals must pay 100% in advance.
• Have a plan B in place. Don’t think of losing a major client as a catastrophe of unequaled proportions; strategize about what you’ll do if/when it happens.
• Spruce up your marketing materials. Now is the time that you want to be able to jump on a good opportunity when it arises. Update your résumé, cover letter, website, LinkedIn profile, ATA directory profile, etc.
• Widen the net. Amid news of financial bailouts, corporate bankruptcies and the plunging stock market, it’s easy to think that it’s gloom and doom all over the world. Not so, says the news. For example, a recent article in The Gazette highlighted the plight of Canadian textbook publishers, who can’t find enough French to English translators to get their books out on time.
• Market to industries that have to translate. Some industries may have the option of cutting or eliminating translation costs, but others (law, financial services and pharmaceuticals come to mind) don’t. Industries like this, especially if government regulations require them to provide their own translations, are excellent places to look for new clients.

Get Rich Slowly has a great post about the amount of time that most Americans spend watching TV, and what other things could be accomplished if that time were freed up. It’s a good reminder that in many ways, productivity is closely related to what we don’t do.

This post rang especially true to me because our household is broadcast TV-free and (with the exception of our child’s daily 30 minutes of G-rated video) we watch an average of two or three movies a month. When I think back on it, the absence of TV in my life is largely how I found the time to write my book about how to start a freelance translation business. I agree with the comments on the post, which largely point out that there’s a big difference between making a conscious choice to watch a limited amount of TV or movies that you really enjoy (entertainment) and parking yourself in front of the TV every night and weekend (time suck).

In a similar vein, I think that many of us who are basically competent and reliable people are constantly asked for our time, whether it’s for a school fundraiser, a translators association event or a neighborhood block party. My strategy has been to pick one work-related activity (serving as President of the Colorado Translators Association) and one non-work activity (volunteering with our neighborhood’s community-supported agriculture project) and force myself to limit my volunteer work to those two things. In addition, I find that it helps eliminate my guilt feelings when I can say “I think this project is really valuable, but right now I’m concentrating my volunteer time on…”

So, whether it’s “Rock of Love” or the school cookie dough sale, make sure that you’re concentrating your non-work time on activities that are really important to you!