Possibly the most anxiety-provoking aspect of launching or running your translation business is deciding how much to charge. Charge too much and you'll be priced out of the market; charge too little and you'll be working overtime just to make ends meet. The easiest way to remove the anxiety from … [Read more...] about Using objective data to set your translation rates
Freelancing
Dear Client…
Interestingly enough, I've been asked more than once, "How does a freelance translator fire a client?" Although "part ways with" might be a better term than "fire," this phenomenon definitely exists, and is a customer relations issue that translators have to deal with. I think that there are a few … [Read more...] about Dear Client…
The new ATA compensation survey: some interesting statistics
The current issue of the American Translators Association's Chronicle includes an article on the results of the most recent ATA compensation survey, which uses data gathered for the year 2006. The survey is interesting enough that I'm thinking of purchasing the full report ($45 for ATA members, $65 … [Read more...] about The new ATA compensation survey: some interesting statistics
Getting things done
When asked why they failed at freelancing, many former freelancers say that they simply couldn't deal with the unstructured nature of the freelance day and ended up working out/watching TV/cleaning the closets etc. instead of working. Succeeding as a freelancer (translator or any other freelance … [Read more...] about Getting things done
The 9 out of 10 factor
A few years ago, I wrote an article for NewsForge about Linux consultants, and in the course of researching the article, I interviewed Sean Reifschneider, the founder of Colorado-based Linux consultancy tummy.com ltd.. When I asked Sean to compare working for someone else with working for himself, … [Read more...] about The 9 out of 10 factor