Translation Journal Update | August 25, 2014

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Written by Vic Rillo

The Translation Journal is a work in progress. Highlights for this week include 20 new book recommendations and new Blog section on the website listing the articles for your reference.  This next article can be found in the Blog section of the TJ website.

How to Set Your Rate as a Freelance Translator

It’s the most common question I hear when talking with translators and interpreters: How much should I charge? The question comes from everywhere in the industry, from the recent graduate just starting out in a career in translation and interpreting to the seasoned professional who needs to renegotiate his or her rates with a client.

Because this question of what to charge is so pervasive (and sometimes controversial) among translators and interpreters, the Translation Journal will be dedicating several posts to this issue. Do you have an article to share on this topic? If so, please send it to General Inquiries. We will post your article along with your biography and links to your websites.

We also welcome you to share your comments in the comment box below.

Identify Your Target Income

One approach to setting your rate is to first identify your target income. Before quoting a rate for any kind of freelance work, consider the following questions:

• How many hours per week are you willing and able to work?
• How many words can you translate per hour, on average?
• Do you want to take vacations? If so, how many and for how long?
• What type of client base are you working for, and how much are they used to paying?

By answering some of these questions, you will gain a better idea of what you need to earn each hour, day, and week to cover your expenses and make the kind of income you desire. Additionally, having a clear understanding of what you need to earn makes it easier to turn away work that pays less than you need, and helps to ensure that your chosen projects deliver your required hourly rate.

To read more click over to the Blog section

Plucked from the Web

Translation is a huge and growing industry. According to a recent study by independent market research firm Common Sense Advisory, the global market for outsourced language services and technology will surpass US $37.19 billion in 2014, with an annual growth of 6.23%. This is good news for those of us providing translation and interpreting services!

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140630/123194

Recent Contributor Spotlight

Our current issue of the Translation Journal features the article “Gains and Pitfalls of Sentence Splitting in Translation” by Maria A. Kunilovskaya, PhD, Associate Professor, Tyumen State University. Kunilovskaya’s article “seeks to draw attention to issues of text cohesion in student translations. It is approached with regard to sentence splitting, a technique which is used to dispense with structural complexity of texts and to enhance their readability and conformity to target language text-generating conventions.” For more on this article, click here.

Technology Tip

Dictionary

On those occasions when you need to define a word and are unable to connect to the Internet, the Dictionary app can be a lifesaver. It’s a free English dictionary from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com with over 2,000,000 definitions and synonyms. If your native language is not English and you need help with pronunciation (and even native speakers need help sometimes!) the audio pronunciations are superb.

The app is also splendid for finding idioms, looking up word origin, history and spelling suggestions, and searching by voice. If you are a specialized legal or medical translator, Dictionary offers extensive medical, legal and financial definitions, as well as acronyms and slang content. The premium version is ad-free and includes example sentences and more. Check it out today!