Customer Reviews

How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It has long been very difficult to get information about careers in foreign languages: translation, interpreting, etc. Even at the college level, most foreign language departments are focused on purely academic subjects such as literature, grammar, etc., and few instructors can provide guidance to their students about what they can actually DO with their education once they complete it. This book does an excellent job of filling that need. I have been a full-time free-lance professional technical translator for over ten years, and I had a rocky road getting where I am today. I wish I had had a book like this to guide me when I was younger.

To make things clear right from the beginning, this book is not about teaching you how to translate, this book is about managing your business as a freelance translator.

I read it in one go and I found it very informative on a lot of very useful things. It's the basic knowledge any freelancer should know.

Well written and easy to read (complete with a glossary of jargon terms), "How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator" is a good first step in the business. I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering a career, or to anyone who happens to be bilingual.

The definition of a translator is a person who translates written messages from one language to another. Unfortunately, when you study to become one in college, you do not learn the business side of it. There is no textbook or class on that subject. It is just not part of the college cursus. They only teach you to become an in-house translator.You usually try to get some experience first before you start your freelance business.

So, when you are not prepared at all, you waste time, energy, and money in setting your business in doing so. By taking Corinne's class ( yes, she even offers an online class (6-weeks) to support her book) and reading her book: you avoid all that. As a new freelance translator, this is the PERFECT class to take before starting working. Gradually, Corinne will explain to you what to do and how to do it. One piece of advice though: ORGANIZATION. Without it, you will not go very far. I know... by experience.

Good Luck and Enjoy the book and ....the class.

The author obviously knows a lot about the subject, and does a good job of covering all the important aspects of the business. However, the book is a bit short, sacrificing depth for breadth. It's a good resource, though.

This is a pretty good compendium of information for people interested in translation, but it spends a little long on certain advice that just feels like filler (to prevent scheduling conflicts, use a calendar? Not exactly revelatory) and skips over other things I would like to know more about (for example, more sample translator resumes and more about the right way to go about asking for informational interviews would be nice). Also, not a whole lot of information specific to Asian translations, and some of the information that is there is incomplete (for example, the omission of counting by characters in the original document for Chinese and Japanese documents seems pretty glaring to me).

This book has become an invaluable resource to me as I begin my career as a translator. It clearly explains the business side to running a freelance business, which isn't something one spends a lot of time discussing in undergrad courses, and is only touched on in Master's degree courses. My copy is highlighted from cover to cover and I know it will be my go-to for any future business questions. I would have liked a section discussing our options and/or obligations for paying taxes, though, but maybe that's being saved for a future edition?

This is a great book for beginning translators or just as an overview of the profession. Back when I could remember the languages I actually learned (before losing them due to not using them) I had thought about becoming a translator. This book made me realize I still wasn't ready at that point, but it still remains a great book for those who may be at a sufficient proficiency level for translation/interpretation work.

The beginning of the book has an introduction that explains why one would want to work as a free-lance translator. She outlines how to be your own boss and work from home, and what the average salary might be for a free-lancer.

Chapter one is an overview of the business of freelancing itself. Such topics as translator vs. interpreter, the different types of work environments, and the different tasks that a translator might come across are listed in this area. As well, she lists out the links and information for obtaining certification and joining professional associations related to the business.

Chapter two covers how to start the business and get a client base. Most importantly, she goes over how to detail your resume for a specific position, and how to make it more relatable for the country you are sending it to (resumes are different in different areas of the world). She also tells a little bit about the other skill sets necessary to run your own business aside from just knowing how to translate.

Home Office Setup is gone over in the third chapter and while this seems like a useless chapter for those used to working in an office, it does have some important information in it. Most specifically, she includes sections on Translation Memory Software, non-western character sets, speech recognition software, and system programs; she also includes where to get these programs and even lists some links to some free software.

Chapter four goes over how to set up your rates, what contracts you should enter into, and the terms of service you should set up if working directly with clients. If you don't read any other chapter read this one! It lists some very important ways to protect yourself legally and provide protection from liability.

The last chapter covers business growth. This includes tax planning, how to raise rates with existing clients, and ways to please your client and establish a good business relationship.

The fun doesn't end there though. There are a ton of resources in the back with links, agencies, and a lot of other useful information for those in translation. While this isn't the most in-depth book, and there is a lot of common sense information, it is entirely appropriate for those getting an idea about the business or those interested in how it works. And if it turns out that this job isn't for you, the book gives you some great resources for language users in general for outside of translation work.

How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator
Copyright 2006
141 pages including resources, glossary, etc.

Review by M. Reynard 2011

This is, quite simply, a great book. Although I wish it covered machine translation and interpretation a bit more (as many Brazilian translators are also interpreters), it covers nearly all other aspects of the business very effectively and clearly, with a solid foundation of common sense behind every printed word.

As a direct result of reading her book, I've also become an avid reader of the author's blog, Thoughts on Translation. The baglog of blog posts, every bit as interesting and useful as those found on the book, will keep me entertained long after I've finished the book. Highly recommended!

A concise but thorough handbook for anyone interested in becoming a freelance translator. It can easily be read in one sitting, but it covers all the bases, from the professional side (resume writing/client retention) to the personal (setting up a home office/keeping track of finances). An engaging read, and a big help for anyone new to freelance translating!

This book has a lot of easy to read information. It has tips on how to organize a home office, how to manage time and lots of examples of correspondence between a beginning freelancer and potential clients. Useful and pertinent.