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I was surprised to feel my face stretch into a smile of recognition this morning during my regular industry review. In asking himself if translators should care how much their colleagues charge, translator and programmer Ryan Ginstrom summed up what I found myself trying to express only yesterday in an aborted message to a mailing list.
Translator mailing lists are full of discussions about low rates, unqualified colleagues, unreasonable clients and unrealistic deadlines. (And when I say “discussions”, I mean complaints.) There’s nothing wrong with letting off a little steam from time to time, but I usually avoid these kinds of threads like the plague. What more can be gained from yet another indignant rant about how everyone else is doing everything wrong all of the time?
I generally have no problem with what other translators want to charge, and wouldn’t take kindly to other translators trying to dictate how much I should charge. If another translator can offer the same quality as me and charge less, good for them. If there are enough cheaper translators that all the demand in my segment is taken, then I need to lower my rates. Conversely, if there aren’t enough translators, and clients are asking me to do more work than I can handle, then I need to raise my rates.
I’m with Ryan on this one: it’s called running a business and it’s really not that complicated.
Incidentally, I feel the same way about accreditation, marketing and working conditions. That is, while it’s good to be aware of what your colleagues are doing and the wider impact of your actions, as a freelancer you need to make your own decisions, then put your head down and get on with it. That means you’re not always going to agree with how your colleagues package their services and it’s completely up to you to change your conditions if you’re not happy with them – no-one else is going to do it for you. Frighteningly simple, isn’t it?
I prefer to focus on what other translators do well, to understand the nitty-gritty of their successes so I can think about how I might apply these techniques to how I do things. There are SO many translators who produce good quality work and earn a good living, without recourse to long hours, unethical practices or nervous breakdowns. The problem is we rarely hear about them – and why should we? They are busy doing what they do well and they don’t need to blow their own trumpets. If we truly want to raise standards in the industry, these are precisely the kinds of professionals we need to highlight.
Image by Bob.Fornal via Flickr
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Bravo!
I couldn’t agree more with you and Ryan. I keep an eye on what others charge to make sure my rates aren’t too high or low, but I myself set my rate. And it can change depending on the turnaround, level of language, work involved with conversion, etc. Great post!
Jill´s last blog post… There are no kangaroos in Austria!
Amen to that! I am always wondering if there is a message board where all the plumbers cluck together boohoo’ing about Plumber Smith only charging $30 an hour.
Or even better, do you think Nike, Adidas and Puma cry about Aldi selling sneakers – maybe a hidden Yahoogroup of sneaker manufacturers? Probably not. There will always be people who buy cheap and they don’t mind to have a product of lesser quality. At the same time, not every translator is equally talented, so why should someone who is not as experienced/talented/qualified charge the same rate as linguistic Wunderkind?
I paint my own bedroom – sure you can see that I did it myself with some splashes here or there but I don’t care. I hope the neighborhood painter is not sending me an email or knocking at my door explaining the values of a professional paint job and telling me how crappy my walls look.
Susanne Aldridge III´s last blog post… I am wearing jeans!
Very funny, Plumber Smith’s first name surely is Joe:)) I attend a regular get together for translators which, if I am totally honest, sometimes reminds me of a self-helf group. Though we discuss certain topics, cheap-rate translators is not one of them. And I’ve never met a professional translator who wanted to discuss this. The problem is probably what we’ve suspected all along: the non-professionals… Which puts certain internet platforms for translators with their endless forum discussions instantly into a new perspective.
Well said, as usual!
Kelly Wester´s last blog post… Revisiting Quito: Returning to the Land of my Student Exchange
This is exactly on the money! It may be a cliche but it holds true over and over, “You get what you pay for”. Good/steady customers and I mean the ones that regularly need service and pay their bills according to agreed terms know what to expect for what price. I believe the toughest part for freelancers is educating future customers so that they become “Good/steady” customers that understand the “You get what you pay for” rule of thumb applies here too. Thanks for the article!
Hey Sarah!
I’m totally with you until you say “we rarely hear about them – and why should we?” about prosperous translators–on the contrary, I think everyone would benefit from knowing about them, etc.
What if we lived in a world where they were equivalent to being rock/media stars? Would that drive the rest of us out of business? Probably not. But I think it could enhance our profession and how clients understand us, our work, and what goes into it.
Tnx too for your post on my blog, much appreciate it!
Alexander
Alexander´s last blog post… 5 minutes with John Kochman of Unifrance