11 things to do when starting out as a translator with no formal training
Apart from the obvious like being more than competent in another language, there are a few things you need to know before embarking on the crazy world that is being a freelance translator.
1. Think about areas you know or that you can easily research. Then specialise in them. Don’t even think about taking work that you don’t have some kind of expertise in, even if the money’s good.
2. Specialise even more.
3. Invest in good hardware and make sure you have a decent office space with plenty of natural light. Ergonomics are important in stay-at-home professions, I’d say that a second screen was well worth the investment. Use one for working and the other for YouTube (no, research!). Unless you always work in areas where you know all the vocabulary, you’ll be spending time with online dictionaries and glossaries and our old friend Google. More screen isn’t a luxury.
4. Depending on your specialism, software will play an essential role. Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) tools have their detractors but are generally a good thing, if nothing else to manage terminology. They build up a database or corpus of the translations you have already done. When a segment (usually a sentence, but you can set them to recognise anything up to a paragraph) that you have already worked on appears, it translates it for you.
5. There are many more ways of getting clients these days than when I started (link to article). Contact agencies directly and build up relationships with them once they start sending you work (link to article). You’ll get more pleasure and better rates than from the brokerage web sites where you’ll find yourself in a downward price plunge and where agencies often just sell to the lowest bidder.
6. Hang around in forums and discussion groups, be helpful and make yourself known.
7. Be interested in everything. One of the upsides of being a translator is that you get to work on a wide variety of subjects, even within areas of specialism. You’ll enhance your areas of specialism with your general knowledge. The more “things” you know, the more specialisms and professionalism you’ll be able to bring to the table.
8. Did I say specialise? I was told when I first started that there were two types of translator, the specialised and the hungry. If your background is in engineering, go for machine tools, if you have a history degree (like me), stay well clear. Plain pasta is cheap but it gets very boring, very quickly. This is a maxim that applies to all freelancers of course, not just translators.
9. Promote yourself relentlessly. Set yourself goals when business is quiet like writing three emails or letters to potential clients a day or posting three or four comments in forums a day. That makes 15 letters a week, assuming you don’t work weekends, and 60 a month. That’s much easier than doing 60 in a day.
10. Don’t get down when things aren’t going well. I played a lot of Solitaire when I started waiting for the phone to ring. The Internet and broadband have made it much easier to get out there and hustle. The more you do, the more the phone will ring and the more you’ll feel like you’re doing something.
11. Take time out to recharge the batteries, whether it’s just going for a walk or going on holiday. If you get too tired or stressed, you’ll make mistakes. The world won’t come to an end just because you get an extra hour’s sleep.
Glossary of translation terms for non-translators
Beginner translator software starter kit
Apart from the obvious like being more than competent in another language, there are a few things you need to know before embarking on the crazy world that is being a freelance translator.
1. Think about areas you know or that you can easily research. Then specialise in them. Don’t even think about taking work that you don’t have some kind of expertise in, even if the money’s good.
2. Specialise even more.
3. Invest in good hardware and make sure you have a decent office space with plenty of natural light. Ergonomics are important in stay-at-home professions, I’d say that a second screen was well worth the investment. Use one for working and the other for YouTube (no, research!). Unless you always work in areas where you know all the vocabulary, you’ll be spending time with online dictionaries and glossaries and our old friend Google. More screen isn’t a luxury.
4. Depending on your specialism, software will play an essential role. Computer-Aided Translation (CAT) tools have their detractors but are generally a good thing, if nothing else to manage terminology. They build up a database or corpus of the translations you have already done. When a segment (usually a sentence, but you can set them to recognise anything up to a paragraph) that you have already worked on appears, it translates it for you.
5. There are many more ways of getting clients these days than when I started. Contact agencies directly and build up relationships with them once they start sending you work. You’ll get more pleasure and better rates than from the brokerage web sites where you’ll find yourself in a downward price plunge and where agencies often just sell to the lowest bidder.
6. Hang around in forums and discussion groups, be helpful and make yourself known.
7. Be interested in everything. One of the upsides of being a translator is that you get to work on a wide variety of subjects, even within areas of specialism. You’ll enhance your areas of specialism with your general knowledge. The more “things” you know, the more specialisms and professionalism you’ll be able to bring to the table.
8. Did I say specialise? I was told when I first started that there were two types of translator, the specialised and the hungry. If your background is in engineering, go for machine tools, if you have a history degree (like me), stay well clear. Plain pasta is cheap but it gets very boring, very quickly. This is a maxim that applies to all freelancers of course, not just translators.
9. Promote yourself relentlessly. Set yourself goals when business is quiet like writing three emails or letters to potential clients a day or posting three or four comments in forums a day. That makes 15 letters a week, assuming you don’t work weekends, and 60 a month. That’s much easier than doing 60 in a day.
10. Don’t get down when things aren’t going well. I played a lot of Solitaire when I started waiting for the phone to ring. The Internet and broadband have made it much easier to get out there and hustle. The more you do, the more the phone will ring and the more you’ll feel like you’re doing something.
11. Take time out to recharge the batteries, whether it’s just going for a walk or going on holiday. If you get too tired or stressed, you’ll make mistakes. The world won’t come to an end just because you get an extra hour’s sleep.
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Tagged as:
Bilingual,
Translation
11 things to do when starting out as a translator with no formal training
