Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters

classes for translators


Corinne McKay

2019 courses open for registration

I’m excited to announce that my Winter/Spring 2019 online courses are open for registration. Ahead of this “semester,” I surveyed my subscribers and asked what you’d like to learn about. You answered, and the lineup reflects the four most popular choices, plus my flagship course for beginning translators. All courses are four weeks long, $365 early bird/$380 regular (see the course pages for additional discounts), and offer a mix of self-paced and live sessions (recordings provided), plus individual feedback on four assignments. Additionally, everyone who registers for a 2019 course before December 31 receives a 30-minute individual consulting session with me. Here’s the lineup!

Spanish to English translation workshop with Holly Mikkelson, CT, FCCI.  January 9-February 6. Join Holly (ATA-certified SP<>EN, Federally-certified court interpreter, Professor Emerita at MIIS, longtime grader of the ATA SP>EN certification exam) for an in-depth translation technique course, focusing on legal and international development/diplomacy translation. Spanish to English translators at all levels are welcome, and this course is particularly recommended for anyone preparing for a certification exam. Early bird deadline: December 9.

Editing and proofreading for into-English translators with Karen Tkaczyk, PhD, CT, FITI.  February 11-March 11. As translators, we proofread and edit on a daily basis, but we often lack good techniques for these tasks, and we don’t know how to incorporate them into our range of services. Karen will cover proofreading, monolingual revision, bilingual revision, and self-editing, as well as information about how to market editing as a standalone service. Early bird deadline: January 11.

Getting started as a freelance translator, with me, Corinne McKay, CT. April 1-26. Running since 2006 with over 500 graduates, this is my flagship course for beginning and aspiring translators in any language combination. Learn how to create translation-targeted marketing materials, find your first clients, set up a website or online profile, and decide how much to charge. Early bird deadline: March 1.

Copywriting for your business and your clients, with Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo. April 29-May 24. Copywriting is an often-overlooked skill that can improve the quality of your translations, attract new clients to your business, and open up new income streams. Better yet, good copywriting is a skill that can be learned, and in this class, you’ll improve your copywriting skills in ways that you can immediately apply to your own business and to your work for your clients. Early bird deadline: March 29.

Organization and productivity for translators, with Dorothee Racette. June 3-28. Back by popular request, this course will help you get more done, in less time, and feel happier while doing it. A past participant told us that this class helped her “stop flailing.” Dorothee will help you minimize the feast-famine cycle and create sustainable business processes you’ll actually stick with, while learning productivity techniques especially for translators. This class includes a 30-minute individual consultation with Dorothee. Early bird deadline: May 3.


Corinne McKay

Early bird deadline is tomorrow: German-English workshop and Marketing to Direct Clients

Thoughts on Translation has two more online classes running in 2018. Thanks to everyone who answered my survey about 2019 classes; lots of good ideas in the pipeline! The early registration price ends tomorrow, Friday 10/5, for:

    • German to English Translation Workshop, taught by Eve Hecht, Ted Wozniak, and Jill Sommer. This is a six-week fully online course, running from November 5 through December 21 and including three modules: legal, financial, and medical translation. It combines live presentations, question and answer sessions (recordings provided) and individual feedback on six practice translations. Early registration is $525, ATA members get $25 off with coupon code ATA.
    • Marketing to Direct Clients, taught by me. This is a four-week fully online course, running from November 5 through December 10. This course is for translators who want to find, market to, and successfully work with direct clients, and it combines self-paced videos, live question and answer sessions (recordings provided), and individual feedback on four homework assignments. Early registration is $365, ATA members get $25 off with coupon code ATA.

    Early registration for both of these courses ends on Friday; I hope to see some of you there!


Corinne McKay

Translation Workshop: French to English–open for registration

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my recent survey about translation technique courses. The response to that survey was overwhelmingly positive, and I’m excited to announce that the first class–Translation Workshop: French to English is open for registration.

The class will run for eight weeks starting April 23, and the focus is on individual feedback from expert translators on eight practice translations, divided into four specialization modules. The (incredible!) lineup of instructors and specializations is:

  • Michèle Hansen (medical)
  • Karen Tkaczyk (sci/tech)
  • Judy Lyons (financial)
  • Tom West (legal)

Each instructor will teach a two-week module in their specialization, including two weekly live sessions and one weekly practice translation, on which you’ll receive the instructor’s individual feedback. The course is open to French to English translators at any level, who want expert feedback on their work in these specializations. It’s limited to 15 people to allow plenty of time for one-on-one comments.

Registration is $525 until March 23, and $675 after that if spots are still available. ATA members can use the code ATA at checkout for $15 off either of those prices. I’m really looking forward to being the administrative facilitator for this session, and I hope to see some of you there!


Corinne McKay

Beyond the Basics of Freelancing: starts Monday

My online course Beyond the Basics of Freelancing is for mid-career translators who want to:

  • earn more money
  • enjoy their work more
  • avoid stagnation
  • market to better clients

The next session starts on Monday (February 19) and runs for four weeks. It’s fully online and open to translators anywhere in the world, in any language combination. Registration is $410 and includes self-paced video lessons, two live question and answer sessions each week (recordings provided if you can’t attend live), and individual feedback on four homework assignments. You can also e-mail me whenever you want during the class, to make sure that you get all of your questions answered.

Spanish and French to English medical translator Jason Willis-Lee took the last session of this course, and sent me this feedback (used with his permission): At the start of this year I decided to invest in myself and take Corinne McKay’s course Beyond the Basics of Freelancing. The course was fantastic, full of lots of interesting materials and useful tips and tricks on how to move forward with our businesses. I was particularly struck with how generous Corinne is with her time and how she makes herself available on conference calls, inviting questions to answer and debating business issues with fellow translators. If you are wondering how to move up a gear in your business and take it to the next level, studying the BBF course is an excellent way to help you do that.

If you’d like to join this session, click here to read more or to register!


Corinne McKay

Winter class discounts end December 31

I’m offering four online courses for translators this winter, and discounted registration rates for them end on December 31. After that, registration for my full-length courses increases from $380 to $410, so it’s a good time to sign up and put the expense on your 2017 accounting! ATA members can use coupon code ATA for $15 off these prices, and past students can use coupon code ALUM for $15 off as well (those can be combined: just apply both of them).

A student in my Marketing to Direct Clients class recently left this comment on the end-of-course survey:

“If you are a translator looking to take your business to the next level, I cannot recommend Corinne’s courses more highly! I was impressed by how generously Corinne shared her knowledge and expertise with her students and I truly appreciated her positive and down-to-earth approach. The pace of both courses was just right, and the assignments were relevant and interesting. Corinne’s individual feedback on my homework was priceless! I also appreciated being able to ask her anything and everything during the class calls.”

Here’s the lineup for January-April, and note that the quick-start session of Getting Started is open only through December 31.

Special: quick-start session of Getting Started as a Freelance Translator, my flagship course for beginners. For beginning and aspiring translators who want to learn the basics in a quick-start format. Includes self-paced video lessons and a one-hour individual consulting session with me. $195 ($180 for ATA members), registration open through December 31, 2017.

Breaking Into the Book Translation Market, for translators who want to translate fiction or non-fiction books, for traditional publishers or for self-published authors. Next session begins January 15, 2018. $380 ($365 for ATA members) through December 31, 2017; $410/$395 after that. Note that this session is already filling up; sign up soon if you want to participate.

Beyond the Basics of Freelancing, for mid-career freelance translators who want to enjoy their work more, earn more money, and avoid career stagnation. Next session begins February 19, 2018. $380 ($365 for ATA members) through December 31, 2017; $410/$395 after that.

Marketing to Direct Clients, for translators who want to identify, contact, and work with direct clients. Next session begins April 2, 2018. $380 ($365 for ATA members) through December 31, 2017; $410/$395 after that.

Thank you for another year of great discussions about the language professions (believe it or not, Thoughts on Translation will turn ten in February!), and I wish all of you a wonderful 2018.