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September 28, 2007 - #011

Table of Contents

1. Establishing (and maintaining) your price point
2. New magazine for translators
3. Quote: Honor in translation

1. Establishing (and maintaining) your price point

One of the first things a translator has to do is decide how much he/she is going to charge... not always an easy task!

On one hand, you want to be competitive. On the other hand, you need to make a living. The hardest part is balancing those two demands, but here are a few things I've learned that have helped me to establish and maintain my prices.

1. You can't compete on price with everyone. - There will always be someone that has a lower price than you. I've seen "translators" advertise prices for as low as $0.01 a word! Talk about unrealistic. I can't compete with that, nor would I want to. But price isn't everything. Clients want someone who is reliable, confidential, fast, and easy to deal with, along with a good price. If you give a client a good price and then overdeliver on your service, they'll choose you over those "cheap translators" any day.

2. Don't be afraid to lose a job. - This goes along with the above point. Many people don't understand the translation profession and are surprised when I quote them a price for a job there interested in me doing. Usually after I quote them a price, I don't hear back from them, or they say they figured the price would be A LOT cheaper than what I quoted them. For example, I once quoted a price for a translation of a book at about $2000. The person emailed me back and said they were hoping to spend somewhere around $300! Needless to say, I didn't accept the offer.

3. Learn to be flexible. - Translation prices don't have to be set in stone. Depending on the job I do, I charge different amounts. I mainly charge by word, but sometimes when a client has multiple pages that are about the same length (such as web pages or fliers) I can also charge by the hour. Sometimes the client prefers it that way because it easier accounting for them. I've learned that it's important to educate the client about how the industry works, but it's also very important to remember that you can be flexible to make life easier for your clients. A happy client is more likely to recommend your services to someone else.

====Translator's Ebook====
Don't forget to get your copy of The Freelance Translator's Ultimate List of Translation Agencies today! To celebrate how well sales have gone so far, I've just lowered the price to an unbelievable amount of $7 so that more people can get the book. It's a great way to increase your number of clients for a very cheap price.
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2. New magazine for translators

A couple of months ago I was contacted by Joaquim Alves about a new magazine for translators he was starting.

He's the editor of tradução and a couple of weeks I received the very first edition. The reason was that the editor asked if he could use an article of mine in the magazine and because I said he could, he sent me a complimentary copy.

Every article in the magazine is in both Portuguese and English and is geared completely to translators, both to freelancers as well as those that work in-house. Some of the articles in this first edition include the following:

"The challenges of being a freelance translator"
"Educating the customer"
"Automated translation quality control"
"How to make the translation process less labor intensive"

If you're interested in the magazine, you can first check out the website at www.translation-magazine.com. I just checked the website, though, and neither of the language links are working, so hopefully those will be fixed soon.

3. Quote - Joe Paterno

"Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good."

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