Phil Hand wrote:
Whatever you do, don't fall into this weird modern thing of thinking that emails need to be replied to within half an hour or you're dead. Nothing is that urgent. If it is, a phone call is needed.
Don't get me wrong: making sure you still have occasional access to your e-mail from your phone isn't the same as saying you have to be constantly monitoring it.
I would disagree slightly about the phone call maybe: if I am not in a convenient position to answer an e-mail within a couple of hours, then a phone call is also not going to be convenient for me, and if it's an urgent question about a document, the same reasoning of not being able to see the document etc will also apply while making a phone call.
Phil Hand wrote:
There are two kinds of clients. If your client is an agency, they have a lot of translators they work with, and they will not miss you.
Though, don't underestimate that you may be the preferred translator for that agency/job. A good agency that values its good translators may actually miss you!
Phil Hand wrote:
But if you're trying to cultivate direct clients, it's a little bit different. Often you're the only translator they're working with, and you generally do need to make yourself available for them if you want to keep their exclusive business.
This is a good point, and maybe my point of view comes from working regularly with direct clients in addition to agencies. Also, direct clients are often actually the ones in less of a rush and happy to wait a few more days for the translation if you send them a quick personalised message explaining that you're busy just at the moment.
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