10 THINGS I LEARNED

IN 8 YEARS AS
A TRANSLATOR

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 1
The "free" in "freelancer"
means "free to choose who
I work with, how much I
charge, when are where I
want to work". It does not
mean "free to work/be
paid as a slave".

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 2
You will not lose clients for
rejecting tasks when your
schedule is full. However, you
may lose them if you keep
accepting everything and
subcontracting other people to
do them (their quality may not
be the same as yours).

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 3
It's easier to increase an
higher rate than to
increase a lower rate.
Clients that pay low rates
will give you all kinds of
excuses not to raise them.

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 4
If a recurrent client/project feels
like a chore, it may not be worth
to continue the collaboration.
When you work on something that
is overly complicated or that you
are not enjoying, more mistakes
are bound to happen.

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 5
Social media and networking
play a huge role in a freelance
translator's success. They are
not your only options, but will
grant you many opportunities
you would not find otherwise.

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 6
Do not settle for average translations.
Always deliver projects as if they are
completely ready to be delivered to the
end client (as if no one else would
review them). The best agencies will
absolutely know if your translation
contains typos, mistranslations, wrong
punctuation, wrong dates and numbers,
etc., and this may ultimately lead to
ending their collaboration with you or
choosing better linguists.

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 7
The job of a proofreader is to improve
an overall great translation. Proofreaders
are NOT your safety net against bad
quality or laziness! As a translator, it is
your responsibility to research technical
terms extensively, spellcheck the entire
project properly and ask questions when
there is no context available.

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 8
Humbleness is a translator's best quality.
Learn from your own mistakes and listen
to the advice of your experienced
colleagues. If a reviewer corrects you
and they are absolutely right, be polite
to them and use this opportunity to
improve your quality. Also, NEVER lie to
a Project Manager about your
specializations or your resume.

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 9
Other translators are not your
competition. There is enough work for
everyone in the industry. The
responsibility of being successful is
yours alone. Take your colleague's
success as a way to keep improving as a
professional and become as good (or
even better) than them, but never think
of them as the villain.

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 10
Never stop learning! Invest in
Continuous Professional Development
(CPD), attend new webinars and
conferences, read books about the
translation industry and keep up-to-date
with the most recent translation
software. Show your clients that you are
constantly developing your skills.