Getting Started as a Translator
Wendy Jonas
http://old.jat.org/jtt/paths.html
Five Golden Rules for Beginning Translators
Ideally, there are no golden rules. But, these rules will serve you well as a first-time freelancer, and help you from tarnishing your reputation before you know any better!
1. Never Miss a Deadline
Any beginning translator thinks that this will never happen to them. They are properly trained adults who are fine at time management. Then you get a job that somehow conflicts with a prior commitment, is harder than you think it will be, or just takes too long to translate. Or you get sick and can't make it to the keyboard. Regardless of the reason, the client doesn't care. Most agencies give a little leeway in dates in their planning schedules (i.e. they require a document to be turned in on the 15th, and have a deadline of the 12th for you), but you shouldn't expect that. The single biggest way to anger a new client is to miss a deadline. There is a corollary to rule 1 though: If you will miss a deadline, call the client at the earliest possible time and let them know. Two hours before the document is due will not help the client, but 12 or 24 hours will let them do sufficient damage control to save your, and their, reputations.
2. Never Work for a Pittance
The temptation to work for low pay is very alluring for the beginning translator. In fact, this was the piece of advice that was hardest enough for me to believe from my professors/mentors. The only way to get STARTED translating as a freelancer is to work, but if you are a first-time freelancer, how do you find work? No one will hire an inexperienced translator. It's a "vicious circle." At first, I was so excited that someone would PAY me to translate that I took jobs for low rates. And yes, you do have to start somewhere. But the real point is: if you establish client relationships (and you will eventually) at low rates, it is very difficult to raise those rates later on when you have more experience, and consider yourself "worth it". In addition, beginning translators that set rates too low risk alienating the "community" in general, as in general per-word prices are being driven downwards for all translators. You will appreciate this more a few years into your career, trust me.
One problem is knowing WHAT to charge to begin with. Ask fellow translators you know what their rates are, or ask the JAT list what is a "fair wage." In general, any figure per word in the single digits is too low, in my opinion. A rate quoted for me for professionals in the US (J-E native) was 16-18 cents per word, with high-end specialty work going substantially higher. I was offered jobs as low as 9 cents a word, and I did jobs for as low as $0.12, though it was a volume job. Assume that the agency will try and pay you the lowest rate possible, especially if you are an un-tried translator. They are running a business. And have a definite answer ready when you are asked what your rates are. A good rule of thumb is to ask: what is your time worth? If you are paid Y2000 per page of J-E translation, and it takes you one hour to translate one page (which sometimes happens for beginners), you could make more money teaching English conversation in Japan. It is my experience that agencies and clients will pay for quality if you can sell it. Right now I do freelance work as a side business to my in-house job, so I actually set rates as a way of screening clients. When I move freelance full-time, I hope to have enough client relationships established so I don't have to lower rates, but we'll see.
It is acceptable to discount your rates a little (20% or so) if you are beginner to get work in the door. You need to build experience. However, anything lower than that and you are selling yourself short.
3. Never Take on a Job and You Are not Confident You Can Finish Well
Many translators have experienced this. They are offered a big job they are interested in, and either the money or subject matter is too interesting to turn down. But the deadline will be very tight, or the subject matter out of their area of specialization. I contend that taking a job, only to finish it poorly or not at all, is unprofessional. If you are doubtful about your ability to complete the volume expected, offer to negotiate: cut the volume in half or other parts, or offer to split the work up and edit it (always get client approval!). If you are doubtful of the subject matter, speak up—ask for a glossary, a technical edit, or previous documents to help. If your doubts cannot be addressed by the client, then pass up the job. Another job will come along, I promise, but once your reputation with an agency or client is ruined, it takes a long time to be repaired.
4. Always Check Proper Nouns
In the context of J-E translation, this means check on the Internet, reference books, and other materials (even asking someone!) for English references to determine the most commonly used English word for the Japanese. Names, company names, places, person names, titles of books and songs: see if it has been translated before! This is an area I always check when going over out-sourced work at my in-house job. It is just a little effort that can go a long way in reducing an editor's job. Conversely, if you have been lax in doing your research in translating proper nouns, it is one of the first things an editor or project manager will notice.
5. Always Spell/Grammar Check
This again seems obvious, but you would be surprised at how many people do NOT follow these rules. I always consider this sort of mistake a waste - an automatic spell-check or grammar-check function on your word processor can help stop these misses. Also, try and EDIT your document at least once for readability before sending it off!
Winning Your First Job—a Timeline
Steps:
Develop translation skills. Practice translating, and have translations edited by someone knowledgeable and bilingual. Expect to pay for the privilege.
Develop a resume and a target specialty area. Your resume should CLEARLY list your A&B languages, your past experience if pertaining to translation, your education (any translation related courses, etc.), your study abroad, your TOEIC etc. scores, and your computer environment. Target major companies/agencies in your specialty area.
Network, network, network! Tell everyone you know that you are a beginning translator looking for work. If you are lucky, an established translator will outsource some work to you, check it, and mentor you. Get to know these people! Attend JAT meetings or like-minded gatherings. I think 75-80% of the best translation jobs are spread from person to person.
Begin to study your target market area. Read trade and industry publications in your native and especially target languages. Become familiar with the terms in the field in both languages. Build your personal glossaries. Meet people in the field and ask them to tour a factory, show you their office. Ask them about an average day. The more people you know, the more potential business you have. Also, learn about translation agencies that specialize in your field. Ask about potential trial translations, jobs, etc. Meet translators in the field and ask them for advice too.
If no work still comes your way after all this networking, THEN begin to send unsolicited resumes or assuming the freelance strategy fails, think about in-house. Marketing yourself, and making the effort, will result in better client relationships down the road.
Mentoring/Editing Possibilities
Beginning translators would do well to find a reliable mentor or editor to work with. Ideally, a mentor would be a senior translator in your field of specialization. However, if finding such a person is difficult, then even finding someone to check your translation from the Japanese to English and find meaning errors and critique your translation style would be beneficial.
I think mentors should be paid - both people get more out of their relationship this way. Mentors should be compensated for meeting time or editing time at a REASONABLE, would you pay any less for language lessons or other professional services? Another option is to work long-distance with a senior translator in an apprentice-type relationship (ie they subcontract work to you, you receive feedback and edits for a cut of the overall per-word or per-page price). These types of relationships can be helpful and hurtful sometimes - it is important to consider personal relationships and translation styles carefully. In all, mentoring is a vital tool for beginning J-E translators who do not have access to full or part-time formal training opportunities.
Also, it is doubtful you will get substantial and or useful help for free. Most successful freelance translators are very good at measuring their time in money—you will be likely to get the most help by appealing to this instinct. Remember they are training their future competition!
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