Advice on non-paid part in proofreading job? विषय पोस्ट करनेवाला व्यक्ति: S. D.
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S. D.
संयुक्त राज्य अमरीका
Local time: 06:47
अंग्रेजी से जापानी
Hi to all translators! I would like to know how you all feel and what you would do if you were in my situation.
I have been working for this translation agency about 1.5 years. They were giving me ongoing translation/proofreading jobs for English to Japanese projects. About 6 months ago, PM started asking translators to add some more extra Japanese that we would think trigger some particular AI's reply (this was the instruction from the end-client.) The end-client gave us some examp... See more Hi to all translators! I would like to know how you all feel and what you would do if you were in my situation.
I have been working for this translation agency about 1.5 years. They were giving me ongoing translation/proofreading jobs for English to Japanese projects. About 6 months ago, PM started asking translators to add some more extra Japanese that we would think trigger some particular AI's reply (this was the instruction from the end-client.) The end-client gave us some examples, but we still need to edit or write (sometimes come up with some ideas) these sample questions to make it sense. PM told us that they pay translators $25 per hour for this additional work. For each file, I usually spent 1-2 hours depending on the size and complexity of file.
However, one day I noticed that they do not pay for "proofreading" these extra Japanese. Whenever I receive proofreading jobs for these particular type of work, I still need to read, edit mistakes (grammar, typo, awkward expression, etc.) in these extra questions although there is no original English to compare with.
When I noticed that I have been proofreading these for free of charge, I was going to point it out to PM but I decided not to because they have been giving me lots of ongoing jobs. I thought that I could just do this free proofreading part as complementary job due to the volume that I get from other jobs through this agency. However, all I have been receiving these past 2 months are this proofreading jobs. I do not know what happened (I received no complaint from PM or end-client about the quality of my job) to the other jobs that I have been receiving through this agency. I do get paid for proofreading Japanese texts where there is original English to check with but not for Japanese that do not have original English. Does it make sense?
I started thinking that it is time to ask if they can start paying me for proofreading extra Japanese although original is not there. I do not understand why only translators get paid but not proofreaders.... If I request for payment for that particular part, it would only be like quarter of whatever amount the translator spent to add extra work (probably $5-$7/hour?), so am I too cheap? But this is weekly job and it adds up as well. Their proofreading rate is already too low ($0.02) but I have been doing that due to the volume I receive and also it is not difficult subject. Should I still keep proofreading this extra part for free so that I can still keep this agency in good term? I appreciate if you can share some thoughts. Thank you so much in advance!
PS: What I do not like the most is that this PM and her agency do not recognize that I am doing this for free.
I do some small tasks with no charge for other agencies as they keep giving me jobs on regular basis. I will be glad to help them when needed and they do appreciate my help. However, this agency that I have been providing free part of proofreading job seems to believe that I should do it without charge for long time and take it for granted... this is the part I do not like.
[Edited at 2019-02-04 02:19 GMT]
[Edited at 2019-02-04 03:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I don’t provide services for free. Occasionally I might decide to offer long-standing clients the odd freebie. I do some volunteer translation from time to time for some United Nations agencies and Translators Without Borders. If you start offering your services for free it’s almost impossible to reverse course. My advice? Look for other clients…
| | | | Kathy Saranpa 
फिनलैंड
Local time: 13:47
सदस्य (2003)
स्वीडी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
It's tempting to be 'nice' to clients so that they will continue to give you work, but they will respect you more if you show that you value your services. The next time they ask you to proofread, you should tell them that you have a minimum hourly fee of XX, or quote them your price for the job they are asking you to do. It's up to us professional translators to ensure that rates don't deteriorate, and providing free services works against that.
| | | | Kay Denney
फ्रांस
Local time: 12:47
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
What stands out for me as the part where things went wrong is right here:
S. D. wrote:
However, one day I noticed that they do not pay for "proofreading" these extra Japanese.
As I see it, when I am offered a job I negotiate the price depending on the work involved. I'll make out an estimate. I work out how much time and effort will be required then I let the client know how much it will cost. This may be an educated guess if there are tasks for which I bill according to time spent, but I tell them the upper limit, beyond which I will not work without consulting further with them, and usually I end up billing less than what I tell them. If they like what I offer, they give me the job, then at the end of the month I bill them for what I did. They then have to pay me exactly what I have billed. So at no point do I find out that I'm doing anything for free, unless I missed something out when analysing the text at estimate stage, in which case either I suck it up as a learning experience to be more careful, or I get back to the client to apologise and explain that I will need to be paid more.
All this to explain that I remain in charge at all times. I kind of get the impression that for this case you have described, it's the agency generating bills for you in their system. Some agencies do this kind of thing and you do have to check carefully to make sure everything you do is included. If not, you get back to the PM and point out any omissions. You can be forgiving some of the time. I just did an ultra-urgent thing for a good client and spontaneously did not add extra for the fact that it was very urgent, as a goodwill gesture because they had just recommended me to another company in the same line of business. Other than that, you have to bill for all your time or you might find yourself with no time left for better paying clients.
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Thayenga
जर्मनी
Local time: 12:47
सदस्य (2009)
अंग्रेजी से जर्मन
+ ...
| Free services | Feb 4, 2019 |
That you've noticed too late that they're not paying you for your service, was taken advantage of. If they thought about it at all, then they were happy to have found an LSP who doesn't charge them for the work you did for them.
As our colleagues have pointed out already, you need to set your hourly rate for proofreading. Offering 0.02 per word is much too low for any proofreading job, even though it only involves the translated text.
Christmas is over, so no more free ... See more That you've noticed too late that they're not paying you for your service, was taken advantage of. If they thought about it at all, then they were happy to have found an LSP who doesn't charge them for the work you did for them.
As our colleagues have pointed out already, you need to set your hourly rate for proofreading. Offering 0.02 per word is much too low for any proofreading job, even though it only involves the translated text.
Christmas is over, so no more free gifts. ▲ Collapse
| | | | S. D.
संयुक्त राज्य अमरीका
Local time: 06:47
अंग्रेजी से जापानी
विषय आरंभकर्ता
Thank you everyone for reading my long post and sharing your suggestions. I will explain to PM today so that I get paid for this non-paid part from now on. I will keep posted here. Again, I value everyone's opinions and thank you for taking time to read and reply to me!
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
कनाडा
Local time: 04:47
डच से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
| Agree with Kay | Feb 4, 2019 |
Time spent on proofreading you own work should be included in your quote/price. Since you are already paid per hour, this is easy to do - just add the time needed/spent to the number of hours quoted/invoiced. It should not appear as a separate expense for the client, so they can't object to it.
[Edited at 2019-02-04 16:18 GMT]
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Reviewing a text is as laborious as translating, so do not waste your time with agency that does not recognize your work
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| A reflection on giving "free extras" | Feb 5, 2019 |
The problem with "being generous to a trusted client" is that they may not even notice. I strongly suspect that on the occasions when I have decided that a brief paragraph/last-minute change/extra sentence is "on the house", the client won't realise this unless I point this out, and that normally feels rather clumsy.
There are two solutions to this as I see it, the first being simply not to give these perks. The second might be to include the item on your bill, but to bill it with ... See more The problem with "being generous to a trusted client" is that they may not even notice. I strongly suspect that on the occasions when I have decided that a brief paragraph/last-minute change/extra sentence is "on the house", the client won't realise this unless I point this out, and that normally feels rather clumsy.
There are two solutions to this as I see it, the first being simply not to give these perks. The second might be to include the item on your bill, but to bill it with a 100% discount. Then at least there is record of you having done the work.
A lot of S. D.'s problem arises from not identifying the extra work from the very beginning. ▲ Collapse
| | | | S. D.
संयुक्त राज्य अमरीका
Local time: 06:47
अंग्रेजी से जापानी
विषय आरंभकर्ता | I agree with everyone here | Feb 5, 2019 |
Thank you again for sharing what you think. Yes, I do agree with everyone's opinion and all make sense. First, it was totally my mistake that I did not notice I have been doing this extra work for free from the beginning! Even after I realized it, I chose not to ask for the payment due to the other good jobs that they have been giving me. I know I was dumb and unprofessional. I learned my lesson well.
I sent email yesterday to the PM explaining that I will start charging my minimum... See more Thank you again for sharing what you think. Yes, I do agree with everyone's opinion and all make sense. First, it was totally my mistake that I did not notice I have been doing this extra work for free from the beginning! Even after I realized it, I chose not to ask for the payment due to the other good jobs that they have been giving me. I know I was dumb and unprofessional. I learned my lesson well.
I sent email yesterday to the PM explaining that I will start charging my minimum fee for the proofreading extra Japanese. NO reply at all... I usually receive this proofreading job every Monday or Tuesday, but I hear nothing from her.
I guess she decided not to give this work to me anymore and instead assign this to other linguists who do this extra work for free. Not sure the reason but I actually feel better now. The translation was just getting worse and worse to edit lately plus no pay for extra work, so it was really good time to say good-bye to this work.
In case I hear from her again, I will post the update. Otherwise, I thank you all so much for your help and suggestions that you shared here! ▲ Collapse
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