Freelance Translators from Scratch

After a lengthy hiatus, I am back to tackle this blog and to make a concerted effort to crack into the freelance translation profession, one little step at a time. It is interesting to note, for posterity’s sake I suppose, that during the months that have passed since I first launched this blog, I have been very busy with my other work (teaching English in Japan).

For many novice translators, this must often be the case; to stay afloat in a fast-paced world, you have to focus first on the work that is actually paying the rent, the bills, etc., on a consistent basis.

That said, my current line of work will not satisfy me for very long, nor does it appeal to my sensibilities as well as translation work and writing do. What can I say, I am very detail-oriented and I need a particular kind of mental stimulation in my work life.

Okay, without further ado, I would like to talk about the first book that I’ve been reading on the topic of freelance translation. As mentioned previously, it is written by Corinne McKay and is entitled How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator.

Incidentally, while looking for the Amazon link, I found a great Listmania! list compiled by author Nataly Kelly, which includes many or all of the books I mentioned in my last post, as well as a bunch more. Great score for me (and you, as well, I hope)! Please take a look at the list and give me any advice you may have as to which of the books you may have found to be useful and which my not serve me so well.

Chapter One: “An overview of the translation business”

One of the first interesting points she makes is that one should translate something to get a sense of the job. Okay. Sounds about right. And that I’ve been trying to bring myself to do lately. She mentions legal docs or newspaper articles online. I’ll look into that soon.

Anyhow, here’s what I think I should do: I’m going to start another page or category for practice translations. Caroline (perhaps) and I will make a solid effort to do some practice work every week. Anyone who is interested can take a look and provide comments. At the very least we will begin to establish a portfolio of translated texts.

What does Ms McKay say a good translator will need? Near-native proficiency in the source language, excellent writing skills in the target language, an understanding of a source text in both a literal sense as well as on a more conceptual level, and, ideally, a specialized knowledge of a particular field. In fact, she believes that the more specialized you are, the better. Higher pay, more work. Sounds good.

To be honest, I’d have to wait to specialize, I believe, because my field of study was literature. However, I’m really quick with computers and thought I might get into web content or software localization if I teach myself a bit more than I currently know. Evidently, localization translation is a rapidly growing sector.

Of course, the successful freelance translator will most likely be operating their own business and will require business management skills and be ‘go-getters’ with enough self-discipline to meet deadlines, find clients, etc. A lot of time is spent on non-translation duties, which I would expect.

I wonder… how many people out there have started out as freelancers and ended up (or hope to end up) working for an in-house company? I really would like to hear from YOU out there, if you don’t mind. According to Ms. McKay, it takes many years or even decades to land an in-house position. But is this really the ideal? I mean, I want to work independently, work from home or from wherever I happen to set up office. Is it more about status, prestige?

The average self-employed freelance translator pulls in about US $52,000. Anyone care to vouch for this, personally? I have to admit, I’m not a very materialistic fella, and if I could work my way to that income in a couple of years, I’d be more than satisfied.

Really, I’d be satisfied if Caroline and I were pulling that in as a combined income. I know, it’s not a fortune, but I’m looking for other things than money in this lifetime. What I happen to be seeking out is freedom of movement, independence, and eventually some time to devote to my own (creative) writing (beyond the blogosphere).

It could take a year or more for me to build up a dependable client base and be free of previous full-time work if my language pair isn’t in demand. German>English… probably a fair amount of competition. But, heh, I’ve been thinking of taking some time away from teaching to try to launch a business as a freelancer. Would I make it within a year? Time will tell, time will tell. And this blog will serve as witness.

Here’s something that I really enjoyed: McKay says that the supply of qualified, competent translators can’t meet the demand, even in popular language pairs. That’s certainly inspiring!

So, where does one find the work? Good question to ask, I think. According to the book, one turns to translation agencies and does contract work for them, or one finds direct clients. Simple enough. Translation agencies take care of all the management duties but might pay a bit less, and direct clients can be a bit more lucrative but you have to deal with any problems on your own. Again, I wonder: how many people out there rely more on agencies and how many have a solid direct client base? Comments, please

I’ll talk a bit about setting rates, as I’ve understood from How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator, in another post. For today, I think that pretty well covers my initial thoughts on the book thus far.