| विषय में पृष्ठों की संख्या: < [1 2 3] > | Is this rate reasonable for a large project? विषय पोस्ट करनेवाला व्यक्ति: Claudia Vale
|
|---|
Marc P (X) 
Local time: 15:47
जर्मन से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
| No laughing matter | Aug 15, 2006 |
Piotr Wargan wrote:
...translators lack business and marketing knowledge, and thus are easy targets for those who 'laugh all the way'
Piotr is right. Freelance translation involves running a business, and you can't run a business by simply charging what your customers tell you to charge.
Marc
| | | | Claudia Vale
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
विषय आरंभकर्ता | You are rght. | Aug 15, 2006 |
Piotr Wargan wrote:
Claudia Vale wrote:
Ever get the feeling those agencies are laughing all the way to the bank?
Hello,
This paper has some very good conclusions: translators lack business and marketing knowledge, and thus are easy targets for those who 'lough all the way' 
We will not reach the 'plumber's rate' but have to work towards a decent one.
Have a nice day,
Piotr
The problem is, if we say no to a price, the agency offers the job to someone else. We don't seem to have any bargaining power at all. There is always someone who will accept a lower rate.
You have a good day too.
| | | | Claudia Vale
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
विषय आरंभकर्ता
MarcPrior wrote:
Piotr Wargan wrote:
...translators lack business and marketing knowledge, and thus are easy targets for those who 'laugh all the way'
Piotr is right. Freelance translation involves running a business, and you can't run a business by simply charging what your customers tell you to charge.
Marc
but how do you stop them from moving onto someone cheaper?
| | | | Claudia Vale
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
विषय आरंभकर्ता | Interesting to hear about rates in Spain. | Aug 15, 2006 |
Irene Schlotter wrote:
Hi Claudia, first of all: 20.000 words are not a large or larger job. 100.000 words are. For 0.03 per word you end up earning more if you serve beers at a bar, and that is a kind of job you definitely di d not study for, right? I live in Spain and prices are pathetically low, but never has anyone offered me to TRANSLATE for that rate. Rates always oscillated around 0.05 or sometimes higher per word, but that depends on the language combination. Mine is English/French/Spanish to German. The jobs offered at 0.03 were not-so-funny proofreading jobs which I usually declined. Anyway, this price is NOT standard and - quite honestly - I cannot imagine that any moderately ambitious or serious translator is willing to work for it unless he/she does not have any other option. This price is strictly not professional. So-called special prices are only worthwhile with long-term clients you have been working with for years, but not with a company you don't even know. When quoting or sending rates you may want to add that your prices are variable depending on volume/nature of the project. This leaves space for (up- and down-) negotiating without inviting agencies to offer dump prices. As I said: For 0.03 I would not budge.
[Edited at 2006-08-15 09:56]
I will definitely stick to my guns in future, although it means losing jobs. In what respect would your rate vary according to the volume of the job?
| | |
|
|
|
Steffen Walter
जर्मनी
Local time: 15:47
सदस्य (2002)
अंग्रेजी से जर्मन
+ ...
| That remains to be proven, Claudia | Aug 15, 2006 |
Claudia Vale wrote:
We don't seem to have any bargaining power at all. There is always someone who will accept a lower rate.
How do you know, Claudia? They might as well end up finding nobody doing such jobs for them, or at least not to a decent quality standard.
But this is just a matter of different market segments - forget the rock-bottom cheapos (they are not worth the hassle anyway) and aim for higher rates in the medium to long term.
Best,
Steffen
| | | | Claudia Vale
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
विषय आरंभकर्ता | That's a good point. | Aug 15, 2006 |
Steffen Walter wrote:
Claudia Vale wrote:
We don't seem to have any bargaining power at all. There is always someone who will accept a lower rate.
How do you know, Claudia? They might as well end up finding nobody doing such jobs for them, or at least not to a decent quality standard.
But this is just a matter of different market segments - forget the rock-bottom cheapos (they are not worth the hassle anyway) and aim for higher rates in the medium to long term.
Best,
Steffen
They may well not find anyone decent to do the job at that rate. All good advice - thanks!
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 15:47
जर्मन से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
| Is this rate reasonable for a large project? | Aug 15, 2006 |
Claudia Vale wrote:
but how do you stop them from moving onto someone cheaper?
You don't. If you're not losing jobs at least some of the time, you're too cheap.
Marc
| | | | | Unknown agency | Aug 15, 2006 |
I tried to find this not very wise agency (no names...) on the Internet but I could only find references to a machine translation company based in Finland with broken links. No refs on BB either.
That would already be a reason to decline the job.
Secondly, you will acquire bargaining power when you are a translator with a specialisation. It will take time and effort, that is all.
If you have to acquire experience at lower rates, that is always a possibility (although n... See more I tried to find this not very wise agency (no names...) on the Internet but I could only find references to a machine translation company based in Finland with broken links. No refs on BB either.
That would already be a reason to decline the job.
Secondly, you will acquire bargaining power when you are a translator with a specialisation. It will take time and effort, that is all.
If you have to acquire experience at lower rates, that is always a possibility (although not always a good idea) - but then 22,000 words is too big a project to tie yourself up with. Unless it has many reps and figures which are paid at the same price....
Thirdly, you have not lost a job but the agency has lost a translator - and maybe a client. Just think, what translator would be willing to do a good job for that kind of money?
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Claudia Vale wrote:
It's easy to feel a bit isolated when working from home so I'm glad I raised this issue on the forum. [/quote]
The feeling of not being alone in your 'home-office' - that's the greatest side of this site
[/quote]
It's relatively early days for me (I became a freelancer last year) so I still have a lot to learn. I think you are right when you say it's not always a good idea to pitch myself too low, even at the beginning. I'm a really diligent and hardworking translator so I deserve better!
[/quote]
About starting as a freelance: think of it in terms of evolution. The start may be difficult, but that is normal in all walks of life.
Tell all your friends that you are translating and as they may need translation (e.g. for their companies?) and know other people who may be interested in your language pair you may get your first direct clients. With these 'precious ones' go for top quality for a price you feel right for your service.
Good luck!
Piotr
PS An interesting paper from the previous century is here:
http://www.ncata.org/doc/Nov99.pdf
| | | | Claudia Vale
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
विषय आरंभकर्ता | Thanks Piotr | Aug 15, 2006 |
Piotr Wargan wrote:
Claudia Vale wrote:
It's easy to feel a bit isolated when working from home so I'm glad I raised this issue on the forum.
The feeling of not being alone in your 'home-office' - that's the greatest side of this site
[/quote]
It's relatively early days for me (I became a freelancer last year) so I still have a lot to learn. I think you are right when you say it's not always a good idea to pitch myself too low, even at the beginning. I'm a really diligent and hardworking translator so I deserve better!
[/quote]
About starting as a freelance: think of it in terms of evolution. The start may be difficult, but that is normal in all walks of life.
Tell all your friends that you are translating and as they may need translation (e.g. for their companies?) and know other people who may be interested in your language pair you may get your first direct clients. With these 'precious ones' go for top quality for a price you feel right for your service.
Good luck!
Piotr
PS An interesting paper from the previous century is here:
http://www.ncata.org/doc/Nov99.pdf
[/quote]
Interesting article. )
| | | | Claudia Vale
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
विषय आरंभकर्ता
Claudia Vale wrote:
Piotr Wargan wrote:
Claudia Vale wrote:
It's easy to feel a bit isolated when working from home so I'm glad I raised this issue on the forum.
The feeling of not being alone in your 'home-office' - that's the greatest side of this site
It's relatively early days for me (I became a freelancer last year) so I still have a lot to learn. I think you are right when you say it's not always a good idea to pitch myself too low, even at the beginning. I'm a really diligent and hardworking translator so I deserve better!
[/quote]
About starting as a freelance: think of it in terms of evolution. The start may be difficult, but that is normal in all walks of life.
Tell all your friends that you are translating and as they may need translation (e.g. for their companies?) and know other people who may be interested in your language pair you may get your first direct clients. With these 'precious ones' go for top quality for a price you feel right for your service.
Good luck!
Piotr
PS An interesting paper from the previous century is here:
http://www.ncata.org/doc/Nov99.pdf
[/quote]
Interesting article.) [/quote]
Whoops! My smiley face came out a bit wrong!
| | |
|
|
|
| Give them a kick up the ****** | Aug 15, 2006 |
Hi Claudia,
I am sure you have enough answers by now for it to be obvious to you that you should decline the work.
You have to work out, perhaps with the help of the Proz rates calculator, what the lowest amount per hour that you can afford to work for is. Then, in hard times, you can charge that lowest amount, but normally charge above it.
Manually, you determine your expected annual income as a professional. Determine this in line with salaries of other p... See more Hi Claudia,
I am sure you have enough answers by now for it to be obvious to you that you should decline the work.
You have to work out, perhaps with the help of the Proz rates calculator, what the lowest amount per hour that you can afford to work for is. Then, in hard times, you can charge that lowest amount, but normally charge above it.
Manually, you determine your expected annual income as a professional. Determine this in line with salaries of other professionals in your country having a university degree (they do not necessarily have to be translators). Expect to have business expenses of at least 20% per year. Add 20% to your expected professional annual salary. Divide this amount by 46 weeks, to determine how much you need to earn per week.
Once you have your weekly figure, distribute it among the hours in a week at your leisure, not forgetting to allow time for your accounts and administration, as well as time for eating, sleeping, shopping, etc. You will find out in this way how much you have to earn at least per hour. Below that amount you can't work for anybody, because you can't afford the time.
The number of words you can translate and proofread per hour is equal to the amount you need to earn per hour. If this figure is 500, you need to get XXX (your hourly rate) for every 500 words.
Astrid ▲ Collapse
| | | |
Dear Claudia,
As the others said, the rate is too low. What are you left with after you subtract your expenses (living, taxes) and your aggravation. Not much.
I would just take an afternoon or so off and then come back. You'll see, there is most likely another much more lucrative job waiting for you. Hang in there!
Something else, I am not sure that you can mention their name in this open forum, but perhaps a moderator can correct me on this.
... See more Dear Claudia,
As the others said, the rate is too low. What are you left with after you subtract your expenses (living, taxes) and your aggravation. Not much.
I would just take an afternoon or so off and then come back. You'll see, there is most likely another much more lucrative job waiting for you. Hang in there!
Something else, I am not sure that you can mention their name in this open forum, but perhaps a moderator can correct me on this.
Good luck from sunny Suriname!
Lucinda ▲ Collapse
| | | | Claudia Vale
यूनाइटेड किंगडम
फ्रांसीसी से अंग्रेजी
+ ...
विषय आरंभकर्ता | Thank you all for your comments | Aug 15, 2006 |
You've been really helpful and supportive. Have a nice evening!
| | | | | विषय में पृष्ठों की संख्या: < [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Is this rate reasonable for a large project? | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
