Guest post: Networking

Posted in Guest post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Welcome back to our guest post series! This is the first one after my holidays, but they already seem so far, far away… I could use some break again, but, hey, the good news is I have a long weekend ahead of me! And this time I’m not working. Yay!

While I enjoy my three days off, I hope you enjoy our next guest post, by Alison Hughes.

Welcome, Alison!

Softly, softly…

Networking: love it or hate it, it is part and parcel of any freelance business.

Does it fill you with dread or do you look forward to getting out and meeting real people in the business world? Have you family responsibilities and/or a limited budget that stop you getting to that all-important client event? Or do you just beaver away on your own and hope you’ll never have to do it?

Changing times

I began freelancing in 1997. At the time it was common practice to work for agencies who all paid roughly the same rate. Life for me was straightforward and I could earn a decent living. But in recent years, with the advent of machine translation and other price pressures, I found I was constantly battling to keep my rate and I knew I had to do something.

Although I had always been an active member of ITI and its local networks, I decided to specialise and up my marketing and networking endeavours. But where to begin? It was obvious I was going to have to go further afield to meet potential clients.

I decided to invest in one main conference a year plus a visit to my source language country, France, but beyond that I had a very limited marketing and CPD budget.

So I started looking for local events in my specialist areas and was astounded at how many there were. And most were either free or inexpensive.

But what is the value of a local event if you don’t live in your source language country? The chances of finding potential clients at these events can be fairly slim. So is there really any point?

If you specialise, I believe there is.

Why?

1) These events are wonderful learning opportunities. Listening to experts talking enriches not only your knowledge but also your vocabulary. The more you attend, and the more you learn, the more you gain the confidence to use the correct terms in your own translations. And clients are going to love a translator who speaks their language.

2) I won’t use the stereotype of the introvert translator but – let’s face it – we do spend a lot of our time alone in front of our computers so even the best communicators don’t get much face-to-face interaction. And often the pressure to make a good impression leads to panic and, ultimately, disappointment, when we attend a networking event.

However, if you know you are unlikely to come face-to-face with the ideal potential client, the pressure is off. You can be yourself, talk about your business naturally and listen to what other people say about theirs, without the worry of saying something that will ruin your chances.

3) While you are there you can use the opportunity to promote the translation industry as a whole. At smaller events you will be asked to introduce yourself and I always say:

‘I am a French to English translator working mainly for the creative industries. So this event is an excellent opportunity for me to learn about your industry and to reassure you that excellent, specialist translators are here to stay. Contrary to what you might think, we won’t be replaced by machines any day soon.’

4) And if you do this often enough, when you do splash out on an important industry event, networking will have become second nature. You will have some first-hand knowledge of the industry, you will speak their language, and you will have the confidence to approach important potential clients.

An example:

The Glasgow University College of Arts organises an annual industry day. This year I went to a breakaway session by the dress and textile department. As fashion is one of my specialist areas, this was of particular interest to me and I learnt a lot about Paisley pattern shawls and Singer sewing machines, both local to me in Glasgow. Also, one of the speakers happened to mention she had a background in fabric design and I happened to have a question I could ask her. We have now made contact so I have someone to approach with future queries.

Next month I have invested in the Costume Society Conference in London. I now feel confident I will be able to converse knowledgeably about at least one area of dress and textile design that will perhaps even be new to other attendees. It doesn’t make me an industry expert but does show that I’m taking a close interest.

So now with my well rehearsed introduction, my little bit of knowledge, and my practice networking at much smaller events, if I do come face-to-face with the ideal client, I would hope to be able to handle the situation professionally and see a return on my investment.

Soft networking

Yes, there’s even a term for it. Indeed, any sort of business ‘socialising’ without a strategy or strict targets probably qualifies as soft networking. Engagement on social media is another example.

Have you tried the ‘softly, softly’ approach?

Thank you so much for accepting my invitation to write a guest post for our blog, Alison! It was a real pleasure hosting you.

Alison has also kindly written a poem about the topic. Here it is:

Networking

Of course I’ll go, it’s something new
And definitely time my business grew

The event is free so that’s a plus
Networking? Don’t understand the fuss

I’m no shrinking violet, or so I’m told
So what’s the problem for one so bold?

New cards, nice suit and business head
I’m ready for action… what’s that you said?

No, it’s my first, of many I hope
It won’t be easy but I’m sure I’ll cope

Damn and blast it where’s the map?
Not yet a panic, just a bit of a flap

OK I’m not early, but not that late
Just remember it’s not a date

No-one is waiting just for you
But, oh my God, what do I do?

With a beating heart of increasing pace
I scan the room for a familiar face

I’m on my own, there’s no other way
I’ll just have to think of something to say

I approach a group deep in conversation
But stop in my tracks as the topic’s inflation

Deciding I need some time to think
I head for the table to have a drink

I grab a water and down it in one
Desperately fighting the urge to run

Group number two looks a better bet
Just need to do it, no time to vet

‘Do you mind if I join you?’ I say to be nice
It does the trick and breaks the ice

‘My name is Jan’ one says with a smile
Is this your first event in a while?

‘Yes’ I say, ‘well to tell the truth.
First event ever, shaky hand’s the proof.’

‘Only my second so I feel your pain.
But little to lose and lots to gain’

Her words of encouragement are all I need
I join the group and am soon up to speed

Explaining the work of a freelance translator
I discover a client who may need me later

Cards are exchanged and it’s time to move on
Somehow I no longer feel so forlorn

It certainly wasn’t as easy as expected
But a couple more and I could have this perfected.

So, did you like it? Nice, huh? 🙂

About the author

After 17 years in the wines and spirits industry, Alison Hughes embarked on a freelance career and is now a French to English translator and copywriter for the creative industries. Her specialisms are food and drink, fashion and cosmetics, tourism and the arts. She has been coordinator for the ITI Media, Arts & Tourism network since 2010.

This guest blog post expands on one of the points of the talk Alison gave at the 2015 ITI Conference in April: It’s not what you spend but the way that you spend it.

You can contact Alison on her website, Facebook, Twitter (@AHcreattrans) or LinkedIn.

10Aug2015

Guest post: Keeping our well-being as freelancers

Posted in Guest post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Dearest readers, here we are again with yet another lovely guest who has kindly taken the time to write something interesting and really useful to us, freelancers. It is not all about productivity, feedback, quality and stuff, but also about quality of life.

Welcome, Laura!

Zen and the art of translator’s maintenance

Being a professional is hard in this day and age. Being a sane, well-rounded professional (and human being!) is even harder.

As independent workers we often face high levels of stress, having to deal with deadlines, customers’ demands – and the occasional slump, when work suddendly slows down and we are left worrying and wondering about the “if” and “when” of the next assignment.

As people often working from home (and thus mostly alone) we are indeed free to set our own hours, arrange our work environment as we please, and even decide to go working someplace else (a café, a park, a co-working space), if we feel like it. The possible downsides are a sense of solitude and isolation; the long hours spent sitting; a certain laziness which tends to creep on us and leave us unfit, tired, with a (long) list of aches and pains, from the back to the wrists to the neck.

All these things take a huge toll. Especially when you happen to be a professional translator in your late thirties (very late: I will be 40 in a few months!), who is been doing this job for about 15 years.

I love being a translator, and I don’t think I could do anything else. But a few years ago I came to realize that, if I wanted to keep doing this as long as possible, and conserve my sanity, and the use of my limbs, in the process!, I would have had to do something, and fast.

Obviously I am not an expert. What follows is simply a recount of my experience, which I think could be beneficial to our colleagues – and to anyone who is an independent professional and is forced to work long hours in front of the computer.

What seemed particularly apparent, and thus urgent to counteract, were the effects of the job on my body. First of all, I was getting fat and unfit. There were periods of time when I indeed went to the gym, to do weights, or some classes (which I didn’t particularly like); but those twice or thrice a week outbursts didn’t seem to do any spectacular difference. The simple truth I didn’t actually grasp at the time was that they simply couldn’t: I was too un-active, much more so than the average person, who at the very least has to leave home everyday, take a walk to get to the office, to get some lunch, to reach a bus stop. Things I didn’t do, for obvious reasons.

So, going to the gym a couple or even three times a week had costed me (in terms of time, effort, willpower, and also money), without making any perceivable difference. Understandably, I would get discouraged, and stop. And then, after a while, I’d feel lazy, heavy, guilty, aching, and start again. In a sense, the very definition of madness 😉

How did I break the circle? Three years ago, I started running, almost by chance, following a very well-known interval plan for absolute beginners, called C25K.

I loved it from the start: it was easy, it gave me structure (which I very much need), and I saw progress right away.

Initially the intensity wasn’t high enough to give me results in terms of weight loss, or real physical fitness: but it didn’t matter, because for the first time I loved what I was doing. I would go running three days a week, sometimes even more often, just for the sake of it: not because I had to, or to obtain some kind of result (which was way too soon to get anyway), but because I wanted to. And this made the real difference.

Fast forward to a couple of months later: I easily ran 5k without any walking break, I started to tackle longer distances. It was pure bliss. Running regularly I finally got to counteract those long hours in front of the computer. I wasn’t un-active anymore: I was a runner!

After a while, I started to see the difference in terms of my body changing. But I also realized running had become my go-to method to sort problems out, work-related or otherwise: I went out the door all stressed out, my brain swirling with things to do, decisions to make, upset with a customer, or with the feeling I couldn’t manage a particular issue. And I came home perfectly calm, my mind finally at rest, and more often than not with a clear solution for that “insolvable” issue.

After a while, I decided to combine running with Pilates: something low-intensity (or so I believed…), which gave me the opportunity to train the whole body, and get more flexible. For a couple of years, I trained five or six days a week, happily alternating the two disciplines.

About a year ago, my love story with running, sadly, came to a halt, due to a pretty serious injury. For a while I tried to ignore it, but obviously that was not the way to go. I was devastated (and I don’t use the term lightly): I was addicted to running, I missed it badly – and I had to rethink my whole training plan.

The upside: I realized I couldn’t stop doing physical activity regularly. Not only because I didn’t particularly fancy the idea of becoming fat and lazy again (!), but also because it was now part of my life. In a way, running was my gateway drug!

I tried a few things, made some experiments, mixed and matched different activities. Now Pilates is a big part of my routine, including a one-hour-a-week-one-to-one workout with my instructor and the aide of a few torture instruments – like the reformer (!); together with a few shorter, high-intensity cardio workouts. Oh, and I also go out for a run once in a while: luckily, endorphines don’t know the difference between 20 kilometres and 2 😉

Bottom line: I am happier, more productive, less stressed out, more able to deal with all the daily challenges of our profession, physically and mentally. Added bonus: I now have a standing desk, so… no more sitting for me!

… And the translator lived happily (and fit) ever after?

Not exactly.

As I was saying, all this activity had a pretty good influence on my mood and my state of mind, but in a way that was quite ephemeral. Maybe as a consequence of getting old(er), I felt the need to take care of my mind in a more deliberate way, and I found it in meditation: more specifically, in an app (if you’re curious, it’ s called Headspace).

Yep, as you can very well imagine there’s an app for that. This could sound counterintuitive, and I know it’s perfectly possible to take on meditation without anything of the sort (without anything, really!): but as I said I am the kind of person that needs structure, a plan, and some guidance, to form a habit – and Headspace gave me just that.

Again, I am really new at this. I have been meditating steadily for just a month now, starting with 10 minutes a day and progressing to 15 and now 20. I was skeptical, to be honest. I am really NOT the kind of person you think about when you picture someone who practices meditation; quite the opposite! And maybe that’s exactly why I should not have waited so long to try it…

The first 10 to 14 days, I got a few odd reactions. Strange, localized aches and pains which came and went in half a day or so. One morning I woke up with a swollen eyelid, without any soreness or pain; the swelling was gone the same evening.

I was a bit baffled to say the least. I can’t be sure, of course, that was indeed my body releasing tensions and stress; but it was definitely strange (and it’s completely gone now).

I also won’t say that I am a different person – that I am calm, enlightened, mindfull all the time. Far from it.

But I do feel a difference. I feel that this practice is indeed beneficial for me, that I am making progress (even if it’s not quite the right term to use in association with meditating!). I catch myself being lost in thoughts during the day, and trying to be more mindful; when working, when talking to a client, replying to a particularly upsetting e-mail, reacting to a problematic situation with an assignment – and the same applies to personal relationships.

I have the distinct feeling that I am indeed “training my mind”. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint exactly which are these benefits, how specifically meditation is beneficial for me, when in particularly I have seen my new, “trained” mind put to the test.

I am very much glad to have started it though, and I am looking forward to continue practicing in the future. Also, it’s not a training I will have to stop anytime soon due to an injury, or so I hope! 🙂

Looking back, I am starting to see I have been following a kind of path. It certainly would have been better if I had started taking care of myself sooner, but all in all I am pretty happy. And I hope I’ll be able to keep on translating (and standing up!) for many many years to come.

What’s your way to take care of yourself, body and mind? Do let us know in the comments!

“Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted” – Denis Waitley

Thank you, Laura, for accepting my invitation and kindly taking the time to write about what worked out for you to our readers! Working as a freelancer can be really dangerous, because we can simply get used to staying at home, sitting in front of the computer all day (and night) long, eating like a pig… However, sitting for that long can be really damaging to our health, and we have to do something before it’s too late. I’m also addicted to running and going to the gym, and I have learned to take good care of what I eat as well. 🙂

We would love to read what your healthy daily routing is: what sport do you enjoy practicing? What healthy activities/practices have you adopted to mitigate potential health issues? Do you follow a healthy diet?

About the author
Laura Dossena has been working as a professional translator into Italian since 2000; she is madly in love with translation, and also has a passion for technology, writing, and minimalism (and running, and Pilates). She’s always on the lookout for new ways and new tools to increase the quality of her work and the level of satisfaction of her customers. You can find her on Twitter and on Facebook. Her web site (and blog) can be found here: http://www.elleditraduzioni.it.

24Jul2015

Por onde começar?

Posted in Monthly post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Tardei, mas não falhei! Cá estou com a minha primeira publicação mensal, em português.

Há aproximadamente um mês, recebi uma mensagem pelo site de uma pessoa que assistiu à minha palestra no Congresso da Abrates deste ano e que tem interesse em se tornar tradutora, mas não sabe como. Como acredito que as dúvidas dela possam ser as de muitas outras pessoas que têm interesse em entrar na área, decidi respondê-las aqui no blog, assim elas ficam mais acessíveis.

A criação de um nome para a minha marca como uma sigla soa profissional ou devo usar uma palavra mesmo?
Sim, claro! Obviamente, contanto que a sigla não soe estranha ou ofensiva em nenhuma cultura. O nome pode ser uma sigla, um dos seus nomes próprios ou o seu nome completo, ou até mesmo um nome criado totalmente do zero. O importante é considerar todos os fatores, como a imagem que ele passa para pessoas de qualquer cultura, a facilidade de pronunciá-lo e escrevê-lo, a não existência prévia dele, etc. Leve sempre em consideração seus possíveis clientes (e as culturas deles), seus valores, suas características e sua preferência, é claro.
Como faço para começar a divulgar meu trabalho? Você acredita que seja uma boa ideia começar a divulgar em algumas faculdades aqui de minha cidade, para fazer traduções de monografias e textos acadêmicos, ou devo procurar outro público?
Você conhece as particularidades da escrita acadêmica nos idiomas nos quais pretende trabalhar? As regras são diferentes da escrita usual e também são diferentes de acordo com o idioma.
Você conhece as áreas com as quais pretende trabalhar? As áreas podem variar desde assuntos mais gerais a outros bem específicos, como biologia, engenharia e física. Como textos acadêmicos e monografias/teses e afins são direcionados e detalhados sobre um assunto específico, é necessário ter pelo menos certo conhecimento ou estar preparado e disposto para pesquisar bastante e aprender.
Você pode começar pesquisando agências de tradução. Elas sempre são um ótimo ponto de início. Você pode encontrá-las em buscas no Google ou em grupos de tradutores, ou mesmo obter indicação de outros tradutores que já trabalharam ou trabalham com agências. O importante é sempre pesquisar sobre a agência antes de enviar seu currículo para saber com quais idiomas e áreas ela trabalha e se é idônea. Envie o currículo para cada uma separadamente, de preferência, citando o nome da pessoa responsável pelo recebimento de currículos, fazendo uma breve apresentação sua já no corpo do email.
Quanto cobrar pelo serviço? Não tenho ideia de onde começar nem de como e quanto cobrar dos clientes. Por exemplo, quanto você acha justo cobrar por um abstract de monografia e pela tradução de textos acadêmicos?
Não tenho a fórmula mágica, pois não existe uma. Cada tradutor cobra um valor e cada cliente é um caso diferente. No caso de agências, muitas vezes, quem estipula o preço são elas. O importante é você ter uma ideia do seu valor mínimo e não aceitar migalhas.
Eu, pessoalmente, comecei ganhando R$ 0,03 por palavras do material original. Um mês depois, a agência aumentou para R$ 0,05. Cerca de um ano depois, comecei a receber R$ 0,07. Hoje, meu valor mínimo por palavra para clientes brasileiros é de R$ 0,11. No entanto, varia de acordo com o cliente. Se eu não me engano a tabela do Sintra sugere R$ 0,35, ou seja, como você pode ver, há uma variação muito grande.
Tente sempre negociar os valores oferecidos pela agência. Na pior das hipóteses, você ouvirá um “não” e decidirá se aceita a proposta deles ou não. Com o tempo, veja qual é sua produtividade de palavras por dia a fim de calcular um valor por palavra com base nas suas necessidades financeiras.
Devo solicitar o recebimento do pagamento antes de fazer o serviço ou depois?
Depende. Repito, no caso de agências, são elas quem mandam e você tem que aceitar. O prazo normalmente varia de 30 a 60 dias após a emissão da nota fiscal. No caso de clientes diretos, se o cliente é novo, sempre peço parte do valor total (30 ou 50%) mediante a aprovação da cotação e estipulo que só iniciarei a tradução quando confirmar o recebimento desse valor inicial. O restante, nesse caso, solicito que seja pago mediante a entrega do material traduzido. Se eu já conheço o cliente, solicito o pagamento em até 30 dias corridos após a entrega do material traduzido. No entanto, alguns pagam em até uma semana.
Qual é a forma de pagamento que devo oferecer (depósito em conta ou alguma outra forma)?
Eu particularmente só recebo pagamentos nacionais por depósito ou transferência bancária e internacionais pelo PayPal. Desconheço tradutores que utilizem outra forma de pagamento nacional, como cartão de crédito ou boleto.
Devo estipular um prazo de entrega do serviço de quantos dias ou baseado em quê?
Isso dependerá totalmente de você. Você precisa saber sua produtividade diária para estipular o prazo de entrega. Se você ainda não tiver absolutamente nenhuma ideia de qual seja sua produtividade diária e precisa estipular um prazo, sugiro que considere cerca de 1.500 a 2.000 palavras por dia. No início, é melhor pecar pelo excesso de cuidado do que pela falta dele e acabar não conseguindo cumprir o prazo, prejudicando sua imagem. Sempre inclua um ou dois dias a mais no prazo, a fim de evitar eventuais problemas. Quando tiver outros projetos em andamento, considere-os também. Aliás, há vários outros fatores a serem considerados, como o par de idiomas (versão ou tradução?), a área do material, o tipo de arquivo, a ferramenta a ser utilizada, se houver, além de outros fatores, como feriados, fins de semana, etc.
A entrega do material traduzido deve ser feita impressa ou digitalizada?
A tradução só é entrega impressa no caso de traduções juramentadas. Em todos os demais casos, o recebimento e a entrega dos arquivos são feitos por email ou outra forma de envio online.
Você acha que é importante fazer estágio em uma empresa de tradução ou apenas a experiência da prática já é suficiente?
Eu acredito que qualquer tipo de experiência seja de extrema importância para o aprendizado pessoal. Um não desmerece o outro, mesmo porque o estágio não deixa de ser uma experiência prática. No entanto, é preciso ter cuidado com o termo “estágio”. Contanto que ele seja remunerado, não há problema. Jamais aceite trabalhos não remunerados, exceto se forem voluntários e por uma causa.
O que normalmente acontece é que muitas pessoas começam trabalhando dentro de agências exatamente por não encontrarem oportunidades como freelancer no início. Algo que também é válido, pois se aprende muito dentro de agências.

Essas eram as perguntas (um pouco reformuladas). Espero ter conseguido responder claramente a elas e que eu tenha ajudado a pessoa em questão, assim como outras.

Outras dúvidas?

26May2015

Guest post: Translation terminology

Posted in Guest post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Welcome back to our guest post series! I hope you are all having a good week so far.

How about taking that nice coffee/tea/juice/lunch break and read today’s guest post? Our guest today is Raphaël Toussaint.

Welcome, Raphaël!

Glossaries and terminology for freelance translators

Although I am quite confident that most if not all readers know what terminology is, here once again a quick and simplified definition:

Terminology is the vocabulary used in a specific domain, field or industry.

For most translators this means all the terms in their field(s) of specialisation which have a particular meaning in the concerned domain, as opposed to their general meaning (if both a generic and one or several uses exist).

It is however important to make a distinction between the different uses for terminology:

Academic
From an academic or research point of view, terminology work is often descriptive and attempts to be exhaustive (including detailed categorisation of terms); the idea is to draw a complete picture of the terminology in a specific domain.
Corporate
Terminology management in corporate environments tends to be prescriptive, i.e. a company uses terminology to specify which terms are to be used to convey a consistent brand image and which terms are forbidden in their content.
Translation
In the context of translation and localisation, terminology and its management tend to be closer to the corporate than the academic approach. This is linked to the fact that content to be translated often comes from companies. It is also interesting to note that terminology in this context is bi- or multilingual and that the quality of the source terminology can have a huge influence on the effort needed to produce high-quality translations.

Translators often receive termbases from translation agencies (and sometimes also from direct clients) the content of which has to be used during translation or revision. In a best case scenario, such a termbase is consistent within itself and with any related translation memories and exhaustive as far as the content to be translated is concerned. In real world projects, this doesn’t occur very often and freelance translators have different ways how to react:

Be annoyed and unhappy about the provided material and the fact that it will take more effort and time to provide a good translation (and additionally they loudly complain about it on social media – Lloyd has provided really useful info about that in the guest post Professionalism in the age of social media)
This approach obviously doesn’t help anybody because translators will need to invest additional time for each project for said client and will become more and more frustrated. The client doesn’t become aware of problems with their termbase and cannot improve the situation.
Add new terms to a personal glossary but don’t bother to inform the client
This way, translators can at least keep consistency among new terms but it helps remedying existing inconsistencies or other quality issues since the client isn’t aware of them.
Use existing termbase but offer suggestions for improving the termbase or adding new terms
Depending on the relation with the client or agency, translators can either just make suggestions while working with the existing terminology or they might have the freedom to implement improvements directly in the ongoing project.

Many freelance translators keep personal glossaries and this is a commendable and useful practice. A few things can make such a habit even more efficient:

It is preferable to keep distinct glossaries according to domains over having client-based glossaries. If you work in only one domain, a client-based approach makes more sense. In case you decide to keep only a single glossary, make sure to use attributes to be able to distinguish between domains and/or clients.
Choose the format of your glossaries wisely.
- Paper will be the least efficient or reusable form, but it can be helpful and quick to jot down something on a sheet of paper, as long as you input it properly in the glossary later on.
- Word documents are still quite popular, but it is difficult to categorize and sort terms in this format.
- The most used format seems to be spreadsheets and they indeed offer a certain flexibility when it comes to organising terms. The biggest disadvantage is that you still have to manually search and copy/paste a target term you want to use while translating. The same goes for entering new terms to your glossary. But rest assured, there are ways to handle these issues.
- Most CAT tools provide ways to look up and add terms directly from the translation interface. This is the most productive way of using and growing your glossaries. If you work with different CAT tools, compatibility however can be an issue, but more on a possible solution later on.
- Stand-alone terminology tools are obviously well suited to look up, manage and grow glossaries and termbases but not every translator will want to invest in a license (however useful in general this might be). Additionally not only each tool will play nicely with all the CAT tools out there, but if it can export termbase or glossary contents in an exchange format like .tbx or .xml, things aren’t too complicated.
Even if you don’t intend to make your glossaries fully fledged termbases, it can be useful to stick to some basic terminology management rules like using base forms (unless a specific form regularly occurs in the contents you translate), be consistent among terms and adding a definition and/or a context sentence to make sure the meaning and usage of an entry is clear, even if you don’t use a glossary for several weeks or months.

In case you prefer to work with spreadsheets or your CAT tool doesn’t allow using or updating glossaries, there are still ways of making glossaries more efficient. For SDL Trados Studio users, there is a one stop solution in form of a free OpenExchange application called “Glossary Converter” which lets you convert spreadsheets into various formats like .tbx, .sdltb or .tmx. The brilliant Jayne Fox and Paul Filkin have provided articles on how to use this app:

http://foxdocs.biz/BetweenTranslations/the-quick-way-to-convert-glossaries-and-termbases-between-excel-and-multiterm/
http://multifarious.filkin.com/2012/09/17/glossaries-made-easy/

Thank you, Raphaël, for accepting my invitation and kindly taking the time to write about such an useful topic for us, translators! 🙂

How do you handle your glossaries?

About the author

After several years as a technical translator, Raphaël Toussaint has become a certified terminology manager and expert for tools and solutions linked to translation needs at ITP nv. Always interested in the technical aspects of the translation and localisation industry, he actively uses social media to grow his knowledge and share his expertise.
Between finding unusual solutions to challenges in translation project workflows and training colleagues in the use of various TEnTs (Translation Environment Tools), Raphaël also attends international professional events and is involved in local meetups and workshops in Brussels where he lives and works.
You can find Raphaël amongst others on Twitter and LinkedIn.

28Apr2015

Guest post: Freelancer as a sole breadwinner

Posted in Freelance life, Guest post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Today, we should have the second part of Israel Alves de Souza Júnior’s guest post, but we had a change of plans. Stay tuned for his post next week. Meanwhile, I can assure you will love today’s guest. It is a huge pleasure to have her on our blog, since she is one of my role-models, besides being widely well-known in our profession. Please give a warm welcome to Marta Stelmaszak!

Welcome, Marta!

Freelance translator as a sole breadwinner: opportunities and challenges

The decision to go freelance may have different roots and causes. From sheer frustration with a working environment, to an entrepreneurial calling, professionals start their freelancing journey for a variety of reasons. Yet it hardly ever is a leap of faith. Freelancers, including many freelance translators I know in person, turn to running their own business often in situations where they can afford to – and of course that’s responsible, reasonable and safe.

The majority of freelance translators I know have a significant other who in part to the household expenses, or have themselves benefitted from previous careers in which they paid their student loans or mortgages off. There is, of course, nothing wrong with that and I never realised my situation was anyhow different until recently.

To give you a bit of background, I was supporting myself right through my higher education (I asked for it, leaving my country, parents and friends far behind), and jumped right into freelancing as my main and only source of income straight after graduating. For the past five, maybe six years, I’ve been a sole breadwinner for my one-person community. Now that it’s changed and I’m no longer sole, I’ve noticed a significant change in my circumstances. If you are a freelance translator who’s the main, or sole, breadwinner, I think you may have had similar experiences or thoughts.

Absolute freedom

On a positive note, if you’re a sole freelance translator, you can enjoy this absolute freedom to work any time you want, arrange your routine exactly the way you feel like and don’t feel like you’re affecting anyone around you. Truth to be told, it’s not solely applicable to sole freelancers, but if you have a partner, you’re most probably following some sort of a shared or negotiated schedule. Not that I miss it, but long gone are days where I’d pull an all-nighter or work right through the weekend with home food deliveries.

Survival instinct

Being a sole breadwinner, especially if you have others depending on you, can serve as a catalyst for your survival instinct. From my own experience, I know that it’s totally different to be faced with a situation where you have to do something about marketing your services or else you’ll be running out of money for rent, and the same situation where this means a slower month but it’s not a complete disaster. This survival instinct gives you strength to go out of your comfort zone and do things you haven’t thought you were capable of.

Determination

Another side effect is the determination you may accidentally develop as a sole freelancer. In my case, I knew that I had to find a way of growing my business and there were no other possibilities, nothing to fall back on if something goes wrong.

Health risks

On the flip side, all the sole freelance translators I know tend to be a bit neglecting when comes to their own health and condition. It’s so easy to stay up all night or just not eat properly, or work for 18 hours straight… I know I used to pay much less attention to my health and how I felt, always finding there were more important things to do, or issues that needed my attention. Of course, this was really damaging to my health, resulting in a long antibiotic treatment by the end of 2014.

More stress

I never felt I was particularly stressed back then, but now from a perspective of passing time and changed circumstances, I know just how nervous and overstressed I was on a day-to-day basis. Feast and famine periods, late payments, dealing with non-payers, currency fluctuations, these were recurrent topics in some of my worst nightmares. Sole freelancers tend to be exposed to these stress triggers much more, as of course they’d be affected more dramatically, but also there are very few people to share this worry with.

Workaholic tendencies

Do sole freelancers work more? This has proven to be the case in my scenario. I used to work much more than now, with lower productivity and generally less happy, but I did put more hours into my business. I secretly suspect I was a bit workaholic, while now I definitely have a much healthier attitude to work. What’s the push and what’s the pull?

If you’re a sole freelancer, have you experienced similar feelings or situations in your life? Do you agree with me?

Thank you so very much, Marta, for accepting my invitation and taking the time to write something to the blog! It is a huge pleasure to host you here, you being my role-model and all. 😀

I did have roughly the same experience as you: I used to work a lot more before than I do now. As I already told my readers over and over again, in my beginning, I used to work almost around the clock, sleeping threee to four hours a day at the most – when I slept. Nowadays, I work from 8 a.m. (or later, depending on my sleep needs) through 5 p.m., because I religiously go to gym every evening. I usually don’t work on weekends nor on holidays, except when necessary, of course. The benefits are way bigger than those of working too much.

Please do add your own experiences. 😉

About the author
Marta Stelmaszak is a Polish and English translator and interpreter specialising in law, IT, marketing and business. She is a member of the Management Committee of the Interpreting Division at the Chartered Institute of Linguists and of the International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters. Marta is also a qualified business mentor, a member of the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. In 2015, she has been selected by IPSE as one of top 15 freelancers in the UK and graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Marta runs the Business School for Translators, an online course and entrepreneurial blog for translators and interpreters and published a book. Marta is active on Twitter and Facebook, where she shares information related to the business aspects involved in being a translator and interpreter.

17Feb2015

Guest post: Common misconceptions about translators

Posted in Guest post by Carol's Adventures in Translation

Welcome back to our guest series! If you are from Brazil, you must be enjoying our Carnival holiday somehow. How about relaxing and reading the contribution of today’s guest? If you’re not enjoying it in Rio or in Salvador, that is, in which case you must have more interesting things to do. I don’t blame you. Just bookmark it for later. 😉

Our guest today is Emeline Jamoul, a translator from Belgium.

Welcome, Emeline!

Reclaiming the truth about our profession

It’s a universal truth that freelance translators are misunderstood creatures. Yes, translators have been around for thousands of years and we are probably doing one of the oldest jobs on earth, but that doesn’t mean that people are aware of our existence and purpose. If you’ve ever told someone what your job was, I’m sure you have faced a couple of answers worth their weight in gold. People always assume certain things about your career choices: either you are working as a freelancer because you are scared of the real world (hey, we have responsibilities too!) or because you happen to be bilingual.

I have been a freelance translator for 1 year and a half now, and in 18 months, the number of ridiculous comments I have heard regarding my job has done nothing but increase. Here are some of them, which I’m sure most of you must have heard too!

We only translate novels
To the eyes of common people, translators can only translate one type of material: novels. When I went to my doctor’s office last year, she asked me what I was doing now that I had graduated. When I told her I had become a freelance translator, she looked at me in awe and asked which novels I had translated. I had to disappoint her though – most translators don’t have the luxury to translate literature on a day-to-day basis even if that’s the dream of many!
Translators and interpreters are the same thing
We all cringe when we hear that someone is looking for a professional to “translate” one of their meetings. Blasphemy!
“Okay but… what is your real job?”
Because of course, working from home (in our PJs) is too good to be true. 🙂
“You’ll only translate user guides.”
One of my high school teachers told me that one. I still remember that day in class when we were all asked what we wanted to become when we were grown-ups – I was hesitating between journalist, translator or teacher. You can all imagine how naïve I must have been at the age of 13 – gullible enough to believe her when she told me that I would either translate user guides for the rest of my life or…
“Work at the European Union”
But this of course, was the job of a very select few. Okay, I’ll admit that she wasn’t too far from the truth on this one. But what about translating marketing documents? What about interpreting in hospitals? And translating international contracts? There is more to translating than user manuals and interpreting European affairs!
“Working from home is really not the same as working in an office.” (to be read that with a condescending tone)
No, in fact, it is much better. 🙂

And the list goes on and on. But what can we do about these common misconceptions about our job? If you look at the comments I have listed here, all of them stem from the same problem: ignorance about our profession. It is also our responsibilities to raise awareness about what it is really like to work as a freelance translator.

We should remind ourselves that many people are actually curious about what we do, and that it’s not so bad. Whenever I see question marks on my interlocutor’s faces, I make a point of elaborating, instead of saying “I just translate English texts into French.” I’m usually asked what and who I translate for, which clearly shows that most people don’t have any idea how and why translation is used. What better opportunity than to give a good (and accurate) first impression of our wonderful profession?

What about you, dear readers, which type of comments regarding your job have you faced so far?

Thank you for your kindly contribution to our blog, Emeline! 🙂 It’s a pleasure to host you here.

People indeed don’t quite understand what we do. They don’t understand the translation part neither the freelance part. It’s quite difficult to try to make them believe we don’t actually work on our PJs (I tried last Saturday to family – who should already be used to it – but it didn’t work).

About the author
Emeline Jamoul is a passionate English and Spanish into French translator. She mainly specializes in marketing, business and health. A self-confessed multitasker, Emeline is addicted to social media and has a soft post for African-American literature. You can contact her through her website or on Twitter.