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 … [Read more...] about “Agencies won’t pay my rates, and I can’t find direct clients”: what to do?
Money
New podcast: outsourcing for translators
Eve Bodeux and I recently recorded a joint podcast with Tess Whitty, host of the popular Marketing Tips for Translators podcast. The topic is outsourcing for translators: not outsourcing your actual translation work, but outsourcing business, marketing and productivity tasks so that you can focus on … [Read more...] about New podcast: outsourcing for translators
What's worth outsourcing or paying for?
At the recent Colorado Translators Association mid-year conference, a few of us got to talking about tasks that we outsource and services that we pay for. This got me thinking about what types of services we freelancers a) can and b) should be outsourcing or paying for. It's important to realize … [Read more...] about What's worth outsourcing or paying for?
Working with individuals: why do so many translators avoid it?
The individual client market--working directly with people who need anything from a birth certificate to a book translated--is a legitimate segment of the direct client market. But still, lots of translators avoid it. Let's take a closer look. I do quite a bit of work for/with individual clients; … [Read more...] about Working with individuals: why do so many translators avoid it?
An atypical dilemma: "I need less work"
Here's a question I received from a colleague: "You're always writing about how to find new clients and get more work. I have the opposite problem: I have work coming out of my ears and I'm trying to cut back." OK! Thoughts on Translation is committed to addressing issues at all points on the … [Read more...] about An atypical dilemma: "I need less work"