Voting has begun for the annual Language Lovers 2012 competition, and I’m happy to say that Catherine Translates had made it, for the first time, to the Top 100 Language Professionals Blogs category. In the top 100! Wow!

The voting pages for each category are:
- Language Learning Blogs
- Language Professionals Blogs
- Language Facebook Pages
- Language Twitterers

So feel free to vote, and make sure to do it before May 28. I’ve already voted in the “Language Professionals Blogs” category (secret ;D) and in the “Language Twitterers” category.

What do you think of this competition?

Allison Wright, German & French & Portuguese into English translator

As one of many scatterlings of southern Africa, Allison Wright, a German/French/Portuguese into English translator, finally put down roots a few years ago in the Algarve, Portugal, from where she relishes every single day working now as a full-time freelance translator. Translation of this work of non-fiction was somewhat of a departure from her more usual engagement in financial, corporate, marketing and non-governmental texts since 1987.

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This guest post is about my German to English translation of a book entitled Rebsortenatlas Spanien und Portugal – Geschichte – Terroir – Ampelographie by Hans Jörg Böhm. I am going to discuss aspects of collaboration on a large non-fiction translation project and the idea that a combination of careful research, passionate interest and insistence upon perfection can result in a successful outcome.

Work began on 2 March 2011, and I signed off on the final proofs on 28 July 2011, about five weeks after submitting the “final” translation to the English revisor.

So, how, you may ask, does one get to translate such things in the first place? Am I a specialist on the subject of indigenous grapevine varieties on the Iberian Peninsula? No. Am I well-connected in the publishing world? No. Am I well-known in wine circles? No, once again. Is this even the book (or the language) I proposed to translate when I submitted my formal proposal to the author at the end of January 2011? Why, of course not! How, then?

Pardon the pun: I heard it on the grapevine.

I live in a village in the Algarve in Portugal. A series of haphazard connections and information that the author wanted an English translation prompted me to submit a proposal to him to translate his previous book, O Grande Livro das Castas (The Big Book on Grapevine Varieties) from Portuguese. This book (approximately 100,000 words) was, if you like, the precursor to what I ended up translating. It was a question of asking and receiving – albeit something entirely different to what I had envisaged.

My motivations

My motivation to translate the precursor to the Vine Atlas was two-fold. I know enough Portuguese to say that there are many bad translations from Portuguese into English being published daily in the local press and in countless brochures for the benefit of tourists. The bulk of this work is being done by people for whom English is not their mother tongue, and whose chief vocation in life is certainly not that of translator.

The thought of one of these “translators” getting their hands on O Grande Livro das Castas was like receiving a double dose of aspirin without the benefit of an accompanying glass of water! This general impression was rammed home by the fact that the published translation into English of the Abstract was unfortunate on so many levels that it presented me with a prime opportunity to show the author what a good translation should look like.

The second motivating factor stemmed from the gradual realisation that much of what is glorious and great and incredibly interesting in Portugal remains “hidden” from the English-speaking world. For want of translators, the English-speaking world does not benefit nearly enough from the cultural, historical and scientific wealth Portugal has to offer. In short, I believed the content of the book I wanted to translate needed a wider international audience.

Meeting the author

The author contacted me by telephone in response to my carefully drafted written proposal. Thus began our collaboration.

I first met the author in Lisbon 17 days after I had begun the translation in order to negotiate my contract (in Portuguese) with the publisher. The author collected me from the train station, and by the time we had reached the publishers, we had exchanged basic personal information and opinions on a wide range of subjects.

Working with the author, query by query

One month after the start of the translation, the author visited me at my home. We sat in my study for two hours while I went through all the queries I had with regard to the completed Part I of the book. He rather disparagingly called me a perfectionist. I took it as a compliment, of course. He left me with Parts II and III. I did not see the author again until mid-June, during which time he and I spent almost five days at his wine estate going through Parts I, II and III with a fine-tooth comb.

Going through the German revisions with the author

His German editor had made extensive revisions to the German, and it was important to ensure that the two texts corresponded. I had the singular pleasure of reading out aloud pages 88 to 162 of my translation, while the author followed the German text. Clearly his bilingualism was an advantage here. Queries and anomalies I had discovered in Part IV were also covered. As a test of my stamina at this late stage, I also received about another 2,000 words to translate by way of extra tables and text boxes (Surprise!) and the jacket cover (which was in Portuguese; I never saw the German!), and we had endless fun ensuring the figures and tables were correctly numbered and labelled.

Socialising with other collaborators

The author hosted a lunch at the end of this five-day marathon, attended by one of the collaborating authors who contributed much of Part I of the book, and the two layout and design men and their wives. This socialising stood us all in good stead when it came to signing off on the final proofs.

Making a plan

The translator has a job. It is, simply, to translate the book for a fee by a certain date – to satisfaction. In this case, to the author’s satisfaction. How you do it, and what you suffer in order to accomplish it, is of no consequence or interest to anyone. You do, however, need a plan.

Quantify

The first prerequisite is to be able to quantify what you have to do. I have been translating since 1987, so I have plenty of practice in estimating how many words are on a page. The trick is to learn what 100 words looks like, no matter what font is used. Then it is easy to gauge what 1,000 words looks like. It turns out that my estimate of O Grande Livro das Castas was accurate. What I did not anticipate is that the German successor book was going to be longer. And most of that extra length was contained in the last part of the book – the ampelography. This brings me to the fortuitousness of my next piece of advice.

Base output on 75% of your daily capacity

Before starting the project, plan your own delivery programme based on 75%, at most, of your average daily capacity. And I mean average. For instance, if I translate 1,000 words for nine days in a row, and 100 words on the tenth day, my daily average is not 1,000 words, it is 910 words. Do not be ambitious. Be honest. You will need this 25% contingency. It is easily soaked up by time spent on research, and the necessity for housework, foraging for food, and very occasional relaxation.

Keep track of daily progress

On a large project it is important to have a clear idea of your own progress – every single day. Determine in advance the number of hours you can sensibly work per day. Then you will know how much you can reasonably expect to translate per day, and per week. It is very motivating for me to mark the place in the text I need to get to by the end of the day, or the week. If bright pink highlighting works for you, use it. It is essential to pace yourself in this way to prevent feelings of disorientation and frustration. This is the “eating an elephant one bite at a time” approach.

Days off

You will also discover how many days in a row you can work full-time without a day off. My range is between 18 and 23 days, but it is probably best to make sure you have an entire day off once a fortnight at least. Burn-out is not an option.

Timesheets and scorecards

I kept a timesheet for the first month of the project. After that, it was not necessary; there was not much variation in the number of hours I worked, or the number of words I translated every day. I did keep a “scorecard” though and privately celebrated every time another 5% of the job had been completed.

Collaborating

As a translator of a big book, you are one tiny little cog in a giant machine. You have your part to play, and you do it. For most of the time, however, you are working alone. What you need to do is set up your own private collaborators, who have nothing to do with the contract itself.

Your collaborators are the people around you. Your partner, friends and family need a broad outline of your plan and regular updates on how things are going. I showed my landlord (not that he is a literary man) my complimentary copy of O Grand Livro das Castas to give him an idea of what I was doing and to advise him that money would be coming to him at strange times of the month. Collaborators are support people who help you achieve your objective.

Proofreading

I immediately employed a proofreader. Not a professional proofreader, but someone with a wide general knowledge whose honesty I could rely on. This person was briefed to find obvious typos, but more importantly, to mark passages of my translated texts that still sounded “too German”.

Every Friday, I would print out the week’s work and take the pages to her. In return, I would receive the revised pages of the previous week. Sometimes the thought of this brief “reality check” and chat over coffee was the only thing that kept me going.

Other commitments

Minor collaborators include your routine activities. If you always do something at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, continue to do it, especially if it gives you a chance to get away from the desk. Life does go on after completion of a large project; there is no reason to stop everything during the project. You do, however, have to achieve your daily targets, even if this means having a longer day to fit in your Wednesday afternoon commitment.

Existing clients

One other important consideration is collaboration with your existing clients. At the start of the project I only had a few clients I could call regular. Once I was certain that the project was mine, I let them all know. When the project was definitely over, I informed them. Some of those clients continue to give me regular work; others do not. If you think you can take on a project of this magnitude and continue with your regular clients, do bear in mind that a large project has a way of consuming your every waking moment (and half your dream life). This, I believe is a necessary part of the process we call achieving excellence. Sustained focused effort judiciously and intelligently applied produces excellence. Believe me, any distractions you allow will reflect in your work, and detract from achieving your objective.

Crazily, though, I did take on a new Pt-En client in early May, and spent a day and a half doing the job. Different subject, different language pair. A change is as good as a holiday, I thought, and indeed it did prove to be a sanity-preserver.

Research

On a project on a specific subject, you have to determine your main sources of research. I already knew from my “sample” translation of the Abstract that there were more than ample resources online. If I could not have found what I needed online, my first port of call would have been the author (who has an extensive private library). In fact, one term had me doing my nut in. I asked the author, and he had the term straight away – with conviction. Job done.

Online research, however, is not always free. Were I to negotiate the contract now, I may well have insisted on about €300 to be used specifically for subscription to trade journals for more rapid access to the answers I needed.

Immersion and active learning

Collaboration with one’s author is a fine thing indeed, but it is no substitute for work on one’s own – the kind of work which pushes the boundaries of your knowledge zone, your comfort zone, and even your method.

Immersion in the subject matter while conducting your research is a process of active learning. Even if we learn something in a foreign language, some part of our brain helps us understand it in terms of our mother tongue (hence the need for sleep!). The discernment one acquires as a result of active learning as well as the filtering process our brains do during sleep contribute to the quality and precision of the translated text. The effort can be enormous; the results are worth the effort.

Judging quality

One can never lose sight of the simple objective in this case: to produce a volume in English. The work has to pass the following standard: Would another professional translator in the same language pair, or a discerning reader familiar with this subject be able to tell that this is a translation? If the answer is an unequivocal “no” then – and only then – has the translation been successful.

Dealing with the quality of the source text

The other equally harsh question one must constantly ask: Would another specialist in this field accept this text as valid? Would he or she pick holes in it? Now, as a translator, one cannot be criticised for the quality of the content of the source text, but if the content is erroneous in any way, this has to be raised as an issue.

This is where research and collaboration meet. Simply put, if what you are translating does not make sense, you have to find someone (the author, or someone in his collaborative constellation) who can rewrite the passage so that it does. I can hear some people saying, “I am just the translator – that is not my responsibility”. Yes, it is. Your name is on the title page. Whatever is wrong with the translation – even if it is finely translated nonsense – will be your fault, and yours alone. Channels of command have to be observed in these cases, because this is what engenders the greatest amount of co-operation with you, the translator. This kind of collaboration requires tact, firmness, good timing, and a solid basis of fact (research backup). This could be one of the things that chews into your 25% contingency on time.

Bringing all past experiences to your translation

Collaboration does not only occur with people. In the translation process, it occurs with aspects of yourself.

You bring your whole life’s experience to each and every new experience you have, whether or not you are conscious of it. Similarly, with every new text you translate, you bring to that translation the experience of every single translation you have previously performed in your life. You also bring every other (non-translation) experience you have had.

On the surface, I was contracted as a German to English translator. The text itself has a sprinkling of French and Latin, and has Spanish and Portuguese placenames and names of historical figures, and others throughout. If there was an accent missing on a Portuguese place name, I put it back in. Typographical errors in all of the above languages were corrected and verified. Part of the job of a German to English translator? I do not know the answer to that question. Perfectionism? You bet!

Understanding how the author thinks

Next, is a rather nebulous factor: The native German author has lived in Portugal for the last 40 years, and his German has suffered somewhat as a result. He speaks Portuguese and English. The key to occasional strange word use was to say the word out loud as if it were Portuguese. Bingo! He had simply germanicised a Portuguese word. If I did not have the habit of reading aloud problem sentences, and if I had no knowledge of Portuguese, I would not have thought of that.

This phenomenon was not confined to the lexical level either. Sometimes, the ordering of thoughts in sentences followed a Portuguese pattern more than a German one, as did those lexical items which join thoughts from one sentence to another. This required an intuitive approach. I never raised this issue with the author, and I will not criticise him for it, because we all have our own linguistic idiosyncrasies which contribute to the dynamic nature of language itself. Being able to meet the author, converse with him on matters not necessarily related to the book and listen to how he spoke in English and Portuguese gave me an inkling as to “how he thinks” and was a valuable tool in deciphering a number of passages in this work.

Doing research in different languages

Now to the language of research. Let us remember that the broad subject was grapevines, not wine, yet the two are closely linked. Collaborating authors on this work were Spanish and Portuguese. Historically, it is not only these two nationalities which have contributed to the literature, but also the Italians, Germans and French in no particular order, and well as many others. This means that frequently I had a choice of language in which I could read background information. A typical route may have been to go from German to French and thence to the English term I required. Sometimes the only background information available to me was in Portuguese or Spanish. As I have already mentioned, Spanish is not one of my languages, but as many who know Portuguese will tell you, one can have a rudimentary understanding of Spanish if one knows Portuguese. There were various brief incursions into Latin poetry too, and these sorely tested my memory of fragments learned over 30 years ago. The latter also made me realise that only the dullest excerpts are chosen for the school syllabus.

Had I not been able to understand these languages, I would have been forced to engage in more collaboration with someone who could tell me in a language I understand what the information said. This would have been potentially tiresome and costly in terms of time, and may not have yielded the best answers.

Le mot juste

As translators, we conduct research for two basic reasons: to ensure we have a proper understanding of the text to be translated; and to ensure that we use the correct terminology in the target text.

The Yes! feeling of piecing the puzzle together is a very private one, and short-lived. Private, because, once again, no-one wants to know how long it took you to find le mot juste; short-lived because of the next terminological query further down the page. This is the painstaking part of translation where the only collaboration is between the text, you, and the text you are crafting into a translation. Woe betide anyone who disturbs you in these, the purest of moments!

My most valuable partner

My most valuable and cherished experience in the entire process was the true collaboration I experienced with the English revisor who was originally employed by the now bankrupt publisher, but whom the author himself paid to proofread the final translation.

As translator, I had the final say on the copy; something which I insisted on during contract negotiation. This meant that the revisor proofread the entire text, made occasional queries as to content, and returned the documents to me to accept or reject changes prior to my sending the final to the design and layout team at the publishers. She was efficient, professional, meticulous, and had a good sense of humour.

We met first on the telephone, had countless e-mail exchanges, and met in person at the launch. As a Portuguese and Spanish to English translator, she brought a wealth of cultural and linguistic knowledge to her work. Her relative distance from the text provided the impetus needed for it to become truly polished. This is something I freely acknowledge I could not have done on my own. In the spirit of collaboration, we both duly expressed to the author the excellence of our co-operation and the high mutual esteem which had developed as a result.

The final proofs

The next collaboration was perhaps the most difficult for me; signing off on the final proofs. The language shared by me, two layout and design men and the author was Portuguese. Any changes, therefore, had to be documented in Portuguese. This meant a fairly sharp learning curve for me. It is one thing to translate from Portuguese into English; it was quite another for me to express myself clearly in Portuguese when the state of the final proofs depended on it!

This was a type of mental gymnastics I had not performed before. I am glad of the experience and know that the two I collaborated with found it rewarding too. I am sure I made several linguistic gaffes; we all needed a bit of laughter by deadline stage and I did not mind being the one providing the humour. The fact that we had met in person at the author’s home in mid-June reveals that the author certainly knows a thing or two himself about successful collaboration.

Launching the German- and Portuguese-language versions

The launch of the published hardcover German and Portuguese versions took place at the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon on 15 September 2011.

In search of a publisher for the English-language version

Lack of funding has meant that the English translation, Vine Atlas of Spain and Portugal – History, Terroir and Ampelography is still seeking a publisher.

I have a soft cover copy of the English volume. Some discerning (English) readers have read it and given positive personal reviews.

I have continued my collaboration with the author and one or two others in the search for a publisher. Now, all the book needs is for the head of a major publishing firm to holiday in the Algarve this summer.

The grapevine can do the rest.

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I wonder if any of the above strikes a chord with fellow translators who have dealt with a similar project. We would welcome your comments and stories!

For the first time in my career as a translator, I was paid by PayPal.

This first-time client was courteous and professional, and it was a real pleasure to work with her. Bonus: She paid me within 24 hours of receiving my assignment.

My clients can pay in three different ways:

• cheque
• bank transfer
• PayPal

The PayPal fees, paid by yours truly, were as follows:

• 3.4% of the total amount
• €0.25 transaction fee

So I did lose a few euros. But I can accept that.

PayPal has its merits

Why do I accept PayPal?

• It makes life easier for the client.
• Because it’s so convenient, it encourages clients to pay quickly.
• I feel that I charge enough to make up for the commission.

When would I advise against using PayPal?

I think there are three cases in which I would avoid PayPal.

1. Regular clients

For regular clients, that 3.4% commission would start to add up. If a client appreciated the convenience of using PayPal, I would just add an extra fee, like an extra 2% or a surcharge of €20. Or I’d quote a little higher than usual.

2. Projects with a higher price tag

For more expensive projects, that 3.4% commission would start to add up immediately! Maybe if the order was for over €500, I’d list a small PayPal fee right upfront in the estimate and email.

3. Cheap clients

If the rate was borderline acceptable, PayPal would just add salt to my wounds.

Enough about me . . .

Any thoughts about payment methods? What types of payment do you accept? What types of payment do you not accept?

Parkinson’s Law: Are you a victim?

It also got me. Twice this month.

The definition of Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s Law comes from C. Northcote Parkinson who said in The Economist in 1955:

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

So when you’re given five days for a three-day project, you stretch it out.

First encounter: homework in financial translation

I’m taking a really hard financial translation course right now. A recent assignment was particularly long, technical, and demanding. Just before the deadline, our teacher took pity on us and gave us a one-week extension.

I wondered: Should I keep checking terms and revising it every night for another week?

Since my translation was as good as it could possibly get, I handed it in. On time. On the original due date.

Second encounter: writing and translating a white paper

A regular client asked me to create a four- to five-page white paper. I had a French-language text that I was supposed to adapt. I had to do research, come up with more content, find an effective quote or two, make sure all the pieces fit, and create a compelling piece that was promotional but not overbearing.

The deadline was flexible.

I really liked the topic and had no other translations lined up. I worked hard and was able to send in my first version more quickly than expected.

Of course I was tempted to endlessly revise it: Should I sleep on it another night? Should I expand that one part? Cut out that other part?

My white paper was sent in early. And once I got feedback, I worked intensely on the second and third versions and handed them in after a good night’s sleep. Even though I had extra time, I wanted to feel some “closure” and move on to other tasks.

Sometimes Parkinsons’s Law gets the better of me

I do drag things out due to

• dullness (administrative tasks and boring translations)
• difficulty (hard translations, marketing, prospecting)

Most of the time, it’s the second part that comes into play. When I have something particularly challenging to do and the deadline is flexible, I tend to:

• over-research
• over-plan
• over-write
• over-revise
• over-edit
• over-stress

Parkinson’s Law and you

What do you do when you’re given a generous turnaround time?

I’m curious about what goes on behind the scenes of other people’s blogs.

Are you a blogger and could you help me out?

Whether you’re a newcomer to the blogosphere or an old-timer, a translator or a non-translator, a freelancer or a nine-to-fiver, if you blog, please answer my questions in the comments. It’s always helpful to know about other bloggers’ practices.

1. Do you correct grammar and spelling in people’s comments?

2. Do you get generic praise so that people can link to their own sites?

3. Do you get emails from weirdos?

4. Do you have an editorial calendar?

5. Do you get plagiarized?

6. Do you ever run out of ideas?

7. Do you accept guest posts and/or write guest posts on other blogs?

8. Do you write with SEO in mind?

9. Do you buy your images from stock photo websites?

10. Do you think blogging is worthwhile investment?

Thanks for filling me in!

Juliette Scott is an English-French-Italian translator and interpreter based in Europe. She specializes in the legal field and blogs about translation and law at Words to Deeds. Thank you Juliette for this guest post about what to take on the road!

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As readers will know, Catherine’s blog is full of useful information for colleagues. So I decided to write about my “road kit” as an interpreter.

First to be packed is my iPad.

What a difference it makes in comparison to lugging around a laptop. On it, I have the equivalent of about 20 kg of dictionaries. I’ll name a few favourites:

• Ultralingua bilingual series
• Terminology (just love the elegant interface)
• Black’s Law

I can then check words when preparing, if the client has provided reference material or PowerPoints, as well as checking words for colleagues while they are “on”. The iPad also fits into a cramped booth much more easily than a laptop!

As many people have said, battery life is fantastic on the iPad (works all day long and still has plenty left), so no need to scrabble under the booth desk to find a plug. The cable is super-light too.

I use Dropbox, so when clients send me documents for an assignment, I can keep them there and if I want to read through anything on a plane journey without an Internet connection, I just download them to the iPad for the duration.

I carry a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad, especially when I attend conferences or courses for my own purposes, such as the CIUTI forum, and want to take notes. In booths I use the on-screen keyboard to keep things compact. I purchased a Waterfield Designs case for the keyboard, which is fantastically light and robust. Well worth $29.

The added advantage of the external keyboard is that it’s the same as my iMac desktop keyboard. So if I do have to type a lot, no getting used to a different one. When I’m not on the road, I use the iPad as a dictionary and second screen beside my iMac.

To keep the iPad upright, I love my marvellous TwelveSouth Compass stand. It is quite heavy (my only concession to added weight) but doesn’t move at all even when I jab clumsily away at the iPad. There’s a foldable case/stand with the new iPads of course, so you may prefer that.

Interpreters don’t always work in booths. Sometimes we do factory visits, and sometimes consecutive or simultaneous interpretation for speeches or in meetings. In those situations, we are not always given sound equipment. Fed up with arriving at the venue and having to strain to hear (“we forgot/didn’t realise you needed it, etc.”), two years ago I acquired a couple of very reasonably priced analogue microphones and receivers. This enables me to take them along as a backup. Whilst not being the quality of digital equipment such as industry standard Sennheiser, it is certainly so much better than no in-ear sound! I obtained my equipment from Sound Induction (UK).

A little tip to stave off infections, especially in winter months – when sharing microphones with speakers or colleagues, phone clean wipes are very handy, as is disinfectant hand gel.

By the way, when going through airport security, I discovered an added bonus of the microphones – instead of aggressive requests to show the contents of my bag, they now ask me, in awe, “Are you a journalist?” I always put them straight. ;-)

Talking of luggage, last year I invested in a Rimowa case, the size that is allowed in the plane, thus saving 3 kg on the spot! I know, you are thinking I’m obsessed with weight, but believe me, when going up and down the steps of the Métro it really makes a difference! Being a hard case, it also protects my electronic equipment.

And lastly, something much less “techie”. I take along these beautiful individually wrapped tea bags from Dammann Frères in Paris. This little luxury means that I can enjoy my favourite green tea instead of tasteless sludge in planes, airports and high-speed trains, not to mention being very soothing during breaks from interpreting.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this tour around my suitcase. Do share your own mobile tips too!

Just do it.

Think different.

Because I’m worth it.

 

Need a tagline? Sharpen your pencils!

I’ve got a thing for taglines. So after reading Nancy Friedman’s Building a Better Tagline: Part 1, I wondered, 

Do freelancers need taglines in order to better market themselves?

Taglines are something that many small businesses are equipped with. And we translators are just as creative as any other business owner, aren’t we?

OK, where can I get a tagline?

As Nancy Friedman says in Building a Better Tagline: Part 2, you should ask yourself what makes your company special. Then start listing your tagline ideas. Say them out loud. Once you’ve come up with a few that seem right, or maybe just one that sent off firecrackers, sleep on it, and ask other people what they think.

Tagline inspiration from colleagues

Instead of sleeping last night, I scouted around the net for good translator taglines.

1. Tess Whitty, Swedish Translation Services

Bringing the Swedish Market to You

This tagline has clarity and focus. It’s all about what the client wants: business from Swedish customers.

2. Catherine Christaki, Lingua Greca

you create we translate

Being a rhyme, it has a nice ring to it, and I like the parallel structure.

3. Céline Graciet, Naked Translations

Perfect English, now available in French.

Very clever! And she managed to get her working languages in there.

4. Anne De Freyman of ADF Translate

accuracy delivery fluency

I like this triplet idea (and it reminds me of Liberté Egalité Fraternité). The -y suffix on each word works well, and it sounds nice when said aloud.

5. Marta Stelmaszak, Websites for Translators

Mark your presence

This is a fantastic tagline. It’s got punch, and the imperative form works well. It’s perfect for her website design business. I think three-word taglines and slogans are particularly effective. Think: Just do it. Yes we can.

Translating taglines

So far in my translation career I’ve translated one single and lonely tagline. It was similar to Tess Whitty’s tagline, in the sense that it was pretty straightforward. If I remember correctly I came up with a shortlist of about five possible taglines, and then my client made the final choice. I’d love to work on more taglines and slogans in the future.

Where do taglines go?

I think your tagline should be at the very least on your website. My tagline (“Every word matters. Chaque mot compte.”) is on my:

• website
• blog
• LinkedIn profile
• Twitter bio
• business card

I don’t put it on my email signature. That would be overdoing it!

Taglines and branding

I think that a good tagline (along with great translation skills and customer service, specialization, the right domain name, and focused website copy) can help with branding yourself and getting noticed. (For more on branding for translators, see Jennifer Bikkál Horne’s interview with Marcela Jenney.)

What do you think? Do freelance translators need taglines to better market themselves? What is your tagline? How did you come up with it?

And who has translated a tagline or slogan before?

To play chess well, you must be able to:

• visualize
• memorize
• recognize patterns
• use logic
• plan ahead
• accept the consequences of your actions

Aren’t chess players a lot like freelance translators?

In both my Canadian and French families, we play chess. I lose more than I win, but I attempt to put up a good fight.

We play in English and French. But being bilingual in the language of chess doesn’t really matter unless you like to read about chess (like me). And no matter what language a chess player speaks, he’s sure to understand “checkmate”!

Nevertheless, English speakers who play in French should take note of the following terms:

• A queen is a dame (not a reine).
• A bishop is a fou (not an évêque).
• A rook is a tour (not a château).

If you’re a chess nut, you might like this:

If you know the language of chess, you can add more terms in your language to the above list (even if you’re not Magnus Carlsen). Get in touch via the comments, and I’ll fill in another column of this glossary.

Your turn!

Nadia Price, English-French translator, interpreter and blogger

Nadia Price is a freelance English-French translator and interpreter. She’s from Alsace, France, and she’s been living in the States since 2002. Nadia blogs about the French language at Le mot du (bon)jour and enjoys hiking, horseback-riding, and baking Alsatian desserts. Thanks Nadia for this guest post!

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If you have any type of business background, you know that starting a business, even as a freelancer, means writing up a business plan. In my mind, it also means taking risks, investing in equipment, raising capital, and giving up the security that comes with being an employee and receiving a bi-weekly paycheck.

I wanted to get in the saddle of freelancing little by little, step by step. So I’m still working as an employee for a large firm as a French-English phone interpreter. At the same time, I run my freelance translation business. Like all businesses, it’s taking time to develop. Therefore, I have chosen to roughly adhere to the following “plan”:

YEAR 1 | 2012

1. Education: Continue classes towards the NYU Professional Certificate of Translation, English into French. My goals are to: improve my translation skills; learn new specializations; obtain the credentials needed to establish myself as a translator (estimated completion: May 2013).
2. Social networking: Develop my blog; grow my network of peers, potential clients (other than just through ProZ) and contacts; develop my online marketing skills; participate in industry-specific LinkedIn groups; learn through industry newsletters, websites and blogs.
3. Professional networking: Attend the ATA local chapter conference in April; plan to attend the annual ATA conference in November or another language-specific translators’ conference; establish local connections and potential clients at international networking events.
4. Improve translation skills: Practice, practice, practice… Translate as much as possible, including for NGOs and non-profits, focusing on quality over speed. Create good working habits first, gather essential tools and resources, and only later, increase speed to prepare for the realities of the translation world.
5. Establish a small client-base: Acquire 4-5 consistent clients with subject matters, turnaround times and formats I can handle on top of full-time interpreting. Cuddle these clients and offer my best, always!

YEAR 2 | 2013

1. Education: Complete my NYU Certificate, and look for continuing education on CAT tools, areas of specialization, and interpreting.
2. Social networking & professional networking: Continue these activities but increase collaborative efforts for publishing. Also upgrade my ATA membership from student to professional membership once I have my certificate in hand.
3. Cut down interpreting schedule: Make the jump and go part-time with interpreting, in order to start taking on more sizable translation projects and accommodate tight deadlines.
4. Grow my client-base in areas of specialties: Acquire additional clients but mainly, specialize based on certificate courses and experience gained over the first year. Approach direct clients rather than just agencies.
5. Invest in new software and hardware: After having accumulated some income from my translation projects in year 1, re-invest those funds into new computer equipment (2 screens for easy proofreading, new PC tower and laptop), CAT tools (I currently have Fluency only, but will need Trados…), bookkeeping software (Quickbooks or Money) and specialized dictionaries or tools.

With this plan in mind, I believe that developing an actual business plan with all the numbers and required details will come into play during year 2. At that point, I will have to consult an accountant about state taxes and consider incorporating myself, purchasing insurance, estimating Profit & Loss . . . The good part is that the initial investment is quite low, and I can keep reinvesting revenue into better equipment and tools.

Other considerations would be retirement planning (the company I interpret for does offer a 401k, so I need to see about keeping it even when I go part-time) and health insurance costs (personally, I am lucky enough to be covered by my husband’s insurance). In year 3, I am hoping to also gain more work as an on-site consecutive interpreter, and then eventually work 100% as an independent contractor.

Thankfully, I have been on the other side of translation, working as a project manager and proofreader for an agency. So I know that there are some aspects of the business we may not think about that will really affect our cash flow, such as collections. That has to be taken into account in the business plan. Business is not a hard science, so it is important to include some buffers for worst-case scenarios.

I look forward to reading your comments and getting acquainted!

What is your own experience with building your freelance business:

• How did you get started?
• When did you write up a business plan, and did you follow it?
• What advice would you share with a newbie like me?

Related articles:

• Business plans for translators
• ATA Business Practices

Despite the instability of freelancing, I’m (mostly) happy being my own boss. I like making my own schedule, taking charge of my professional development, and working on interesting projects. This infographic is a bit of downer, though. But it’s worth looking at because overly positive thinking or “mandatory optimism or cheerfulness” will serve no freelancer.

Created by: Masters Degree

What do you think of these statistics? What do you think are the biggest pitfalls of freelancing? Add your thoughts in the comments.