| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | Are my translation rates too high? Seeking feedback on pricing strategy Thread poster: Alisha Rice
|
|---|
Alisha Rice 
United States
Local time: 13:33
Member (Jun 2024)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | "Are my translation rates too high?" | Jul 30 |
I think we had one course on the topic of freelance translator and I probably was told what a direct client was and just forgot. As I said in previous posts, since not everyone goes into this business, this isn't a course that is offered but I will suggest it as an optional course for future students to take because I think it is essential to know things like different rates to charge and what rates you charge based on your language pairs since these are basic things to know. As far as the tra... See more I think we had one course on the topic of freelance translator and I probably was told what a direct client was and just forgot. As I said in previous posts, since not everyone goes into this business, this isn't a course that is offered but I will suggest it as an optional course for future students to take because I think it is essential to know things like different rates to charge and what rates you charge based on your language pairs since these are basic things to know. As far as the translation industry, I know I am not willing to work insane hours just to get by. I don't know if this is how this industry operates. If that means having to work over 40 hours a week, then it means that translators are working their asses off and still not getting paid well enough. I know this is not new news. I never have asked yet how many hours a week does a typical freelancer work. I would be curious to know. ▲ Collapse
| | | | IrinaN
United States
Local time: 15:33
English to Russian
+ ...
Alisha Rice wrote:
I think it is essential to know things like different rates to charge and what rates you charge based on your language pairs since these are basic things to know.
I never have asked yet how many hours a week does a typical freelancer work. I would be curious to know.
1. I would rephrase your statement. "I think it is essential for a freelancer to understand that he/she is supposed to know beforehand that freelancing means running a business, which, in turn, requires mandatory knowledge of the state of the market, forecasting and economics of the chosen business."
All of the above is freelancer's problem and duty, no different from any other small business starters. That's all there is to that "special course." Are you aware that before teaching anything outside of his/her linguistic qualifications as a separate course, any professor must obtain an appropriate MA?
***What are the qualifications for teaching economics?
The primary qualifications for becoming an economics teacher include a college degree in a relevant area, such as economics or finance. The degree you need depends on where you plan to work, but most colleges prefer applicants who have a master's degree or a doctorate in economics.***
And even in a form of a short informal advise...
Your professor will not be teaching you any specific rates, which would be absurd from the start. I'm not even sure they follow any market trends. Or, if they do, they must dread it... Most importantly, they won't be cutting the fruit-bearing branch they are sitting on only to explain that your future as a surviving and successful freelancer looks pretty uncertain, to put it mildly, but you still have to pay for your education. It is very possible that those academic Translation Studies professors are just as worried about their future as translators are . I bet my last skirt that their programs are still based on training government, UN and the like translators. Then, just like any other graduate in any other field, you'll either get there or will have to somehow take care of your future on your own.
2. Freelancer works as many hours as needed/required/desired or... scraped. Depends on your position on the market. There is no such thing as a typical freelancer's business day. I occasionally worked 50-60-hour weeks but those weeks, filled with being madly in love with what I did and still do (the interpretation part), good rates and full workload have been providing me with a steady 6-digit annual income from translation and interpretation combined. Some colleagues disparage working "after hours" or on weekends and even maintain office hours while being freelancers, which is an oxymoron in my book. Some even regard us, abnormal hours' workers as bottom-feeders who can't get it during "normal hours" and pick up leftovers after them simply because they are unavailable. I forgive them for they no not what they are doing:-). I find it to be jaw-dropping and a total lack of freedom as implied in FREElancing, but people have kids, spouses, other family obligations or friends who work normal official hours, or old habits, or whatever. I love to work on weekends and relax on weekdays. Afterhours is not even in my vocabulary.
BTW, I am waiting for vetting or rejection of 3 more posts for 3 to 6 days, respectively, so I'm not sure if you'll read this one at all.
[Edited at 2024-07-31 11:36 GMT]
| | | | B&B FinTrans
Germany
Local time: 22:33
Member
English to German
| There is method in this madness | Jul 31 |
Christel Zipfel wrote:
by the fact that future translators are not taught the basics of their professional life in university courses, i.e. bookkeeping, rates and so on, which are however vital to their work! Over the years, I've read utterly ludicrous discussions here, with people telling us in all seriousness that they live on 3 cents/word (in Europe), but they didn't even know how much taxes and other expenses they had to pay and therefore how much money they needed; obviously they had no idea how to start and run a business that is supposed to be economically viable for more than a few months. Not to mention the need to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at such rates, which might be the only way to survive in such circumstances. Nobody had taught them, and they were not able to understand the problem on their own, too bad for them. Moreover, they were quite arrogant and even accused the other participants of lying when stating that they were charging higher rates because "nobody will ever pay more than 3 cents/word"!
That's not your case, Alicia, it's just an example, because fortunately you have realised that it's impossible to make a living with similar rates. But you still had to do your own research.
And you didn't know either what "direct customer" means. This is another of the basics of our business, along with the different rates for agencies and direct customers, which I think every graduate in translation should know. Of course, it is not your fault if you have not been taught this.
Anyway, I think these are serious shortcomings that those students will have to face once they are ready to start their own business. And which, sooner or later, will affect all of us when they (or many of them) offer their insane rates because they don't know any better... 
True, but there is method in this madness, for it opens a whole world of selling shovels, picks, hopes and illusions to the diggers in the uranium mines of translation, and as long as the money flows to the right places, there is no need to change the system.
[Edited at 2024-07-31 07:03 GMT]
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:33
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| This mindset may be part of the problem | Jul 31 |
Alisha Rice wrote:
If that means having to work over 40 hours a week, then it means that translators are working their asses off and still not getting paid well enough.
The verb you are looking for is "charge". This isn't linguistic nit-picking but rather a crucial distinction. Independent businesses charge other businesses for their goods or services. Freelance translators do not "get paid" because they are contractors, not employees. They do not receive a salary from the client, and therefore are not entitled to a minimum wage or other employee benefits. There is no "fair" rate, only the rate that the market - or more accurately one of its thousands of subdivisions and niches - will bear.
Regards,
Dan
| | |
|
|
|
Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 22:33
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
I just wanted to add that a translation degree prepares students for the job of translator, not the job of self-employed translator. Being self-employed has its own characteristics that have little to do with translation itself, so I believe it's rather normal that translation students aren't prepared for a self-employed life. Imagine teachers having to inform students about rates that are really all over the place and might be changing one year to another.
People also seem to belie... See more I just wanted to add that a translation degree prepares students for the job of translator, not the job of self-employed translator. Being self-employed has its own characteristics that have little to do with translation itself, so I believe it's rather normal that translation students aren't prepared for a self-employed life. Imagine teachers having to inform students about rates that are really all over the place and might be changing one year to another.
People also seem to believe that it's obvious that translators start a (fulltime) freelancing career. I've never understood that and remain convinced that the biggest pitfall for junior translators is being self-employed itself. Without any experience you are in a terribly weak position. ▲ Collapse
| | | | James Salter
Spain
Local time: 22:33
Member (2011)
Spanish to English
| Forget about rates, it's your earnings per hour that count | Jul 31 |
Rates are so flexible that you need to be focusing on how much of an output you can manage per hour, and how much you are making in that hour. You should be aiming for between 50 euros and 100 euros, or the equivalent in dollars, in my experience.
| | | | Lucy Leite
Spain
Local time: 22:33
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| A few things you don't learn in school | Jul 31 |
I just want to add a note: being a successful translator involves other skills apart from delivering excellent translations. It involves excellent time-management not to miss a deadline, maintaining a good relationship with clients, working in partnership with them, being responsive and reliable, so on and so forth. These are all skills you don't learn in school even if they're mentioned in books. You learn them from practice. Over the years, I've heard from more than one client that they came b... See more I just want to add a note: being a successful translator involves other skills apart from delivering excellent translations. It involves excellent time-management not to miss a deadline, maintaining a good relationship with clients, working in partnership with them, being responsive and reliable, so on and so forth. These are all skills you don't learn in school even if they're mentioned in books. You learn them from practice. Over the years, I've heard from more than one client that they came back to me because of my attitude, even if my rates weren't the lowest.
Another skill you will certainly need right now if you've just graduated is patience. A lot of patience...
Good luck with that!
.
[Edited at 2024-07-31 09:50 GMT]
[Edited at 2024-07-31 09:50 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | JaneD
Sweden
Local time: 22:33
Member (2009)
Swedish to English
+ ...
| An essential lesson | Jul 31 |
James Salter wrote:
Rates are so flexible that you need to be focusing on how much of an output you can manage per hour, and how much you are making in that hour. You should be aiming for between 50 euros and 100 euros, or the equivalent in dollars, in my experience.
Exactly this. It doesn't actually matter whether the client is paying you 0.05€ a word or 0.50€ a word. If the former is giving you stuff that you can translate very quickly while the latter takes you a week to translate a single sentence, the "bad" word rate could actually be fine.
The problem with this is that, at the start of your translation career, you're likely to be slow. So your hourly rate for an averagely difficult text won't be very good. However, you can still track your time and learn which projects to avoid. As James says, you should be aiming for 50€+, but an hourly rate of 30€ is fine when you're starting out, because you will get quicker. But I remember taking on a translation & transcription project right back when I was first translating and ending up being paid something like 5€ an hour because it was so hard/I was so slow. Never again!
| | |
|
|
|
Alisha Rice wrote:
You just delve into a topic I am completely unfamiiar with. I use MemoQ right now because Trados Studio is too expensive for me. I didn't even think about these things such as exact matches and fuzzy matches and how the rates works. It seems super complicated. So far I have not had companies approach me about this. When it comes to using a translation tool, not even 100% matches don't necessarily mean they are right. Do companies assume that using 100% matches mean you are working at a faster rate, so they want to pay you less? Using a translation tool helps you in your translation process, but now it seems to me that you are indicating companies now want to base rates on providing you with a project that already has specific types of matches. I am a bit confused about how that all works. Maybe people can chime in on this. I still won't drop my rates for Spanish below .10 cents per word. I still feel that is pretty low. Maybe if I still don't get any bites on jobs, I will have to lower it even more.
It's not complicated, once you get used to it.
Yes, translation agencies will commonly pay a fraction (usually quite a low fraction) of your rate for 100% matches, and a higher fraction
for 'fuzzy matches'. As you say, 100% matches are not necessarily correct so you can get shafted but I think you'll be lucky to find agencies who don't insist on this.
If you can find direct clients you may be in a better position to insist on your full word rate regardless of matches and repetitions. Having said that, a lot of direct clients use CAT tools, know all about fuzzy matches, and are just as keen as agencies to keep their costs low.
Have you thought about applying to translation agencies for employed roles? I agree with Lieven that you are in a weak position going straight into freelancing if you don't know the basics of how things work.
| | | | Paula Miguel
Portugal
Local time: 21:33
Member (2021)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Freelancer Translator Survey 2023 | Jul 31 |
Hi Alisha,
Check the Freelance Translator Survey 2023 for valuable insights about rates and other relevant topics. You can find it in Inbox Translation; ITI has also posted a link on Linkedin. I hope it helps
| | | | | Handy guide to pricing | Jul 31 |
Not enough work: Rate too high
Too much work: Rate too low
| | | | | You have summed up everything I wanted to write here | Aug 2 |
Christopher Schröder wrote:
Not enough work: Rate too high
Too much work: Rate too low
It is really easy. What has worked for me for more than 18 years, was first finding work and then increasing my rates until I was getting too much negative feedback.
| | |
|
|
|
kd42
Estonia
Local time: 23:33
English to Russian
| 3 cents a word is an incomplete picture | Aug 3 |
Christel Zipfel wrote:
people telling us in all seriousness that they live on 3 cents/word (in Europe), but they didn't even know how much
If you translate 6-8k words daily, you can live decently in Europe.
| | | |
Christopher Schröder wrote:
Not enough work: Rate too high
Too much work: Rate too low
Certainly a rule of thumb that you often hear in the context of client negotiations: if everyone accepts every offer you make, you're charging too little; if no-one ever contracts with you, you're charging too much.
Interesting parallel perhaps with those of us who until not so long ago were jogging along relatively comfortably with a decent client base and nary a care in the world (possibly a little complacent), and then suddenly demand drops off a cliff. You're right here too, I suspect: our rate, although unchanged, has become too high because we're suddenly competing with a free service.
Yeah, sure, it's not as good as the stuff I do, and it won't point out errors/inconsistencies and all the other features a reasonable human translator provides, but you can't sell Bentleys to people who only want bicycles, or to re-use my analogy from the other day, hand-woven baskets to people who are happy using plastic bags.
| | | | | Seeking Feedback on My Translation Rates | Aug 5 |
I would appreciate any input as I assess my translation rates at the moment. Although I've based my price on industry norms, I'm not sure if my target market will find them to be too expensive. I try to strike a balance between competing and getting paid fairly for my abilities. Your advice would be greatly appreciated if you have knowledge of current market trends or have experience with translation pricing. What aspects are taken into account when determining your rates? I would be grateful fo... See more I would appreciate any input as I assess my translation rates at the moment. Although I've based my price on industry norms, I'm not sure if my target market will find them to be too expensive. I try to strike a balance between competing and getting paid fairly for my abilities. Your advice would be greatly appreciated if you have knowledge of current market trends or have experience with translation pricing. What aspects are taken into account when determining your rates? I would be grateful for any guidance on how to better communicate value to clients or modify pricing. Many thanks ahead of time ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Are my translation rates too high? Seeking feedback on pricing strategy | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
