Sarah's Archives

an archive of content from ≈ 2005 - 2015, relating to international business, translation, freelancing, and working online.

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Archives for 2007

Be a Renaissance Man

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Received wisdom says that if you want to make your living as a freelance translator, then you most definitely need to specialise.

But training or extensive experience in an area other than translation is not the only means of specialisation. It’s a shame that all too often, translators themselves underestimate the value of their skills. We forget that the very fact of being an experienced or highly trained translator can in itself be a form of specialisation. Welcome to the world of the multi-talented freelancer.

It’s not that it’s not worth considering a niche or USP, of course. But it’s even more important not to lose sight of what your Ideal Client is really looking for in a freelancer.

Now, my Ideal Client is looking for someone who can take the job in hand and get it done. What’s more, they’re prepared to pay (at the very least) a fair price for this. (Forget about quality – quality is a given for my Ideal Client). And once you move away from the bargain basement shoppers, this client does exist. For example, just think how many buyers of translation need to hire a translator, web designer, copywriter, proofreader and project manager. If, as a multi-talented translator, you can offer them all these skills then you represent good value for money and are offering a worthwhile service. Why not use this as a form of specialisation in itself, and hey, maybe even charge premium rates too. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that a recent survey of translators’ earnings found that those who generated the highest salaries called themselves “language professionals”, while all other categories of earners called themselves “translators” (I’ll try find the source for this another time).

This is all stuff we know, really, but seem to forget when we plan our own careers. The real question is how can we ensure we keep up our skill levels on all fronts when we decide to add to our skill sets? This blog [ed Feb 2011: blog no longer exists, link removed] offers an excellent solution to this problem by emphasising the importance of concentrating on complementary skills. As Rico puts it:

Skills that aren’t on the opposite ends of the spectrum, but right next to each other. It’s easier to focus your energies this way, because complementary skills share some common expertise.

Pick up more languages that are related to each other. Look at your interests and background and research closely related areas. Of course, you won’t be able to call yourself an expert on everything either, but then you’re not trying to be. You’re a language professional with your own unique set of skills and experience.

Unpredictable scribblings of a genius moose…

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If you’re thinking of starting a blog but are having difficulty finding just the right name (we all know how important web presence is, after all!), then have a look at this little programme written by Andrew over at Jalecode. It will generate a random name for your blog that is guaranteed to meet the first commandment of the blogosphere, i.e. your blog name must be original, with just a touch of mystery and where at all possible, sound deep and meaningful!

No wonder I struggled to come up one…

More on theory in practice

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Anthony Pym’s article Redefining Translation Competence in an Electronic Age* is a good read for many reasons. But I like it because it offers a great argument in favour of the role of theory in translation.

In summary, Pym explains that if translation is basically a process of producing and selecting between different possible choices, then translators theorise whenever they translate. Theorisation is therefore an important part of the translation process.

He goes on to explain:

[Theorising] may help translators produce more alternatives than they would otherwise have thought of (pointing out the existence of a problem is often the most important task of theorization), and/or they may help them eliminate possible alternatives.

Of course, he also outlines why theory may not always at first appear relevant to the practicing translator – but for that you’ll have to click through to the article 🙂

* Anthony Pym. “Redefining Translation Competence in an Electronic Age. In Defence of a Minimalist Approach. Meta : journal des traducteurs / Meta: Translators’ Journal. Volume 48, numéro 4, Décembre 2003, p. 481-497

What to look for in a translation course

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If you are considering further study or qualifications in translation, then this little article will be right up your street! It’s been around a while, but is still very relevant: in it, Anthony Pym explains a conflict he found himself faced with given the recent explosion in courses offering training in CAT tools :

As a teacher, I want to convey the whole range of skills required by the labour market. And yet, I admit, my critical students have a point: when they sign up for translation, they should expect to translate, on the basic level of an interface between languages, the stuff of linguistics. So is translation competence really the same as it always was (as those students expect)? Or has it radically altered in the age of electronic tools (as the nature of my course would suggest)?

Pym then goes on to discuss four different models of translation competence, and basically concludes that while good CAT skills are undoutedly key to finding a job in the current market, it’s important that translator trainers remember that they are merely tools and don’t in themselves constitute a “translator competence”. Worth bearing in mind when reviewing those translation courses!

My view? Focus on getting your language and translation skills up to scratch, and keep an eye out for some hands-on sessions with different CAT tools too – the technical knowledge will follow. If you don’t remember a time before internet and email, chances are you’ll just wonder what all the fuss was about anyway … 🙂

Turn 'no' into a 'yes, but…'

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Shawn Wood over on Dumb Little Man* has some great ideas on how to say no without ever actually saying the word no. As a freelancer, saying no can be hard because you never know where your next job is going to come from, or indeed, whether it will come along at all. Shawn reckons that his way of saying no ensures you still come across with a positive and all-important can-do attitude, while still asserting yourself and controlling the situation. This round-about way of saying things may not suit everyone (it reminds me of my management consultancy days), but whether you chose to deploy it or not, it’s an increasingly important skill to master in today’s marketplace. Excellent advice for all freelance translators, newly established and long practising:

Five ways to say yes and never say no:

  • Yes. I can do this in your timeframe and in your budget.
  • Yes. I can do this in your budget but I am going to have to change the timeframe.
  • Yes. I can do this, but not in your timeframe or your budget. Let’s negotiate.
  • Yes. I can do this, but I do not think it is the best way. May I make suggestions?
  • Yes, I can have someone else do this for you.

* hat tip to Fortify Your Oasis – thanks Rowan

Forget translation sites, check out Web Worker Daily

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I’ve been reading lots of Web Worker Daily lately. If you’re serious about being a freelance translator, this blog will contain more useful information than all the translation sites in the world put together! (Oops, have I just shot myself in the foot with this recommendation?! No, just proved how genuinely I care for each and every one of my readers :)) Check it out, it’s great.

More on pricing

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I recently found this excellent article in Business Week about how translators can stay in business despite decreasing rates, etc. It’s an oldie (from 2004) but a goodie, and reinforces what I’ve said before about the importance of not competing on price alone. It’s in the form of a Dear Debbie column for small business owners, and the question is:

Q: My wife and I work as a team providing bilingual copywriting and translation services for the U.S. and Latin America. Most of our clients are PR agencies. We are finding that they are outsourcing their translation work to Latin America, where they can pay 5 cents a word, as opposed to the 12 cents that we charge. Should we shift our focus to clients not yet aware of freelance outsourcing over the Internet?

Even if you reckon you’ve heard it all before it’s worth clicking through for the advice, if only because it’s unusual to see a mainstream business journal address an issue specific to translation professionals in such a constructive way (you may have to ignore the slightly overdone heading though 🙂 ).

Are you a Grindhopper?

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Laura Vanderkam’s Grindhopping: Building A Rewarding Vareer Without Paying Your Dues is an interesting read if you’re considering moving into a freelance career to create the role that no one seems prepared to offer you.

Laura defines a grindhopper as someone who uses self-employment as way to bypass the years of slogwork that is often required to climb even a step up the ladder of many careers. She uses real life case studies, anecdotes, and labour statistics to turns the traditional school of thought upside down – the one that says you should put your time in when you’re young and wait until you’re established before striking out on your own. Most of these examples relate to more entrepreneurial style start-ups, but they contain many valuable lessons for anyone considering whether they should start out on their own as a freelance translator regardless of how many years of work experience you have behind you.

I guess what makes this different from any other book on entrepreneurs or self-employment is that it starts with the assumption that you have relatively few years of work experience under your belt. It also assumes that you are prepared to work hard for not very much money, and that like most Millenials, you’re looking for a bit more than a cubicle career and so are not setting out to conquer the world.

But the key distinguishing feature is that grindhoppers do not chose a route of self-employment simply for the sake of it. In fact, many of them re-enter the corporate world once they’ve spent a few years working in postions of their own creation. And as a result of working in a role with plenty of autonomy and real chances to stretch themselves, they usually re-enter at a higher level than if they’d stuck to the grind.

I was pretty relieved to read this as I’ve often wondered whether going freelance too young would spoil me forever, and I’d love to have read a bit more about how these grindhoppers cope with re-entering a workplace of someone else’s creation.

The book also offers some refreshing and genuinely useful advice on things like:

  • creating alternative revenue streams (i.e. moonlighting with panache)
  • networking (i.e what to do when you don’t have a mass of established business contacts)
  • minimising risk (i.e. how not to miss your rent/morgage payments)
  • keeping up your motivation levels (i.e. how to stay sane)

Most of all, I like the assertion that you need to be prepared to be judged 100% on results and how you deliver them. I subscribe to the idea that by allowing yourself to be distinguished in this way, you’ll never need to worry about being outsourced as you know you can deliver something no-one else can.

Of course, there are bits I don’t agree with too. For example, Vanderkam’s assertion that you should think about what you love so much that you’d do it for free, and then turn that into a career. Hmm. Maybe I’m revealing too much about myself when I say this, but there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING that I love so much I’d do it for free, every day of the week, 365 days of the year. So I’m not sure where that piece of advice leaves people like me.

There are also areas where I think she borders on the naïve. For example, her claims that the internet has abolished “all barriers” to self-employment just seem silly, and there is no discussion of the challenges created by this new, free-for-all style work culture, e.g. more competition, less face to face contact, etc.

But all in all, this is a great book. It makes an exciting and informative read for grindhoppers of all ages, or anyone interested in the motivations behind this new wave of freelancers.