How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator, Third Edition by McKay Corinne & Zetzsche Jost

Author:McKay, Corinne & Zetzsche, Jost
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: -
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2016-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

6.7 Ten ways to please a translation client

• Get people’s names right! Especially for translators working in languages that do not use the Roman alphabet (for example Arabic, Chinese, Japanese etc.), it is important to follow standard conventions for the transliteration of names from and into English.

• Use the correct term for the specialization. For example, to a computer professional, the expression “data on the server” might be preferable to the expression “data in the server,” or a finance professional might prefer the term “500 euro” to “500 euros” in certain contexts. If you search for those expressions in English, ignoring the translation component, your translation will be more accurate.

• What format should I deliver the translation in? You need to know what file format the client wants; in some rare cases the client may also want a faxed or mailed hard copy.

• Should I reproduce the formatting of the source document? In most cases, clients will want the translation to look as much as possible like the source document. Sometimes they just want to know what the documents say, so the formatting doesn’t matter.

• Who will answer my questions about this translation? Many beginning translators are afraid that asking questions will make them seem unequal to the task at hand. On the contrary, it’s important that if you don’t understand what a term means and can’t find the answer in any of your usual resources, you don’t just guess and hope that no one will notice. The client should tell you up front who will answer your questions and how to submit them.

• My rate for this translation would be… It is absolutely critical to settle the question of rates and payment terms before you accept any translation work. Make sure that you agree on a per word rate, and whether the rate is charged on the source or target word count; in some cases the rate will be hourly. Then, clarify what the client’s payment terms are, and if the payment is not by check or direct deposit, clarify who is paying for costs such as wire transfer or credit card fees (normally the client pays their fees and you pay yours, but if you don’t specify, some clients will deduct their bank fees from your payment). Some clients will tell you what they’re willing to pay for a specific project, but most will ask what you’ll charge. The first time this happens is incredibly anxiety-provoking, as you have only a few seconds to come up with a price that isn’t insanely high or low. If you’ve done your own homework and made a rate sheet in advance, your nerves will be considerably calmer when you get to the point of discussing rates.

• Please send me a purchase order, contract, or written confirmation of the guidelines for this project. If the client is not a regular one, it’s important to have some written evidence of your business agreement with them. Without this, it’s your word against theirs as to what terms you agreed on.

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