Category: Money
I often say that the worst reason to turn down a translation job is because you can’t figure out how to take the client’s money. However clients want to pay you, you want to make it happen. In 16 years of freelancing, I think I’ve probably been paid in nearly every imaginable way, including cash (from …
If you want to inspire fierce emotions in a group of translators, ask this question: is it better to bill by the word, by the hour, or by the project, and is the per-word pricing model on its way out? Per-word pricing has historically been the norm in our profession. Per-word pricing has a few advantages: …
Failing to get paid for a translation you provided to a client is always a risk; I think it’s unlikely that anyone goes through an entire freelance career without at least a couple of non-payment situations. In 16+ years of freelancing, I’ve been stiffed twice: once by an individual who dropped off the face of the …
This post originally appeared in my newsletter, and a couple of readers asked me to post it here so that they could refer other translators to it. Here you go! Setting a budget for your freelance business is important, because: -Many freelancers have no idea how much they need to earn in order to achieve the …
I say “probably making,” because these are all mistakes that I’ve made along the freelance path–hopefully this post will save you from repeating them! Of course, everyone is at a different stage of freelance financial management; if you answer no, no, and no to these…great. That means you can focus on doing what you actually do …
Back in 2011, I wrote this post about how much freelance translators earn. After almost seven years, it’s still the most popular post on this site, with over 21,000 views. A reader recently sent me a series of questions about translator income: “I’m in college and deciding whether to try to make a career as a …
We all know that freelance income and salaried income are two different things. There are hard factors (self-employment tax, health insurance, paid time off) and soft factors (flexibility, enjoying your work, being able to live where you want). But at a certain point, you have to run the numbers, which you should do at least once …
“Can you give us a quote and a turnaround time?” As freelancers, we hear or read those words a lot: a client, or prospective client, has a document that they need translated, and they want to know about how long it’s going to take, and about how much it’s going to cost. So, when you’re on …
Earning six figures (meaning over $100,000 US dollars per year) is a significant goal for lots of freelancers. It’s an ambitious but achievable goal for most translators and interpreters who are good at their work, are ambitious, have good business skills, and are willing to work hard. One confusing thing in our industry is that there …
Here’s a conundrum that I hear frequently from freelancers at all experience levels: agencies won’t pay my rates, and I can’t find any direct clients. What should I do? Well, let’s see: First, adjust your mindset. Tough love tip: if you truly believe that *zero* agencies will pay your desired rates, and that you will *never* …
