Comments on: Lowering your translation rates: why/why not

By: Japanese Translation

Japanese Translation — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:57:45 +0000

I am very pleased to find this site. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
Thanks……

By: Nina R. Davis

Nina R. Davis — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:20:38 +0000

Excellent post, thank you!

I’m an English-Hebrew, Hebrew-English translator. Yes, I had more work when my rates were lower. But I had to spend more days and hours a month working. The idea is to work less hours, not more, for the same pay.

As has been said here, once you’ve lowered your prices, it’s difficult to raise them again.

In a pinch, if it’s a customer you trust and want to keep, you can agree on a temporary, small discount. But make it crystal clear that the lower rate will be in effect until such-and-such a date, when you will re-evaluate the situation.

By: Kayoko Mitsui

Kayoko Mitsui — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:17:57 +0000

TransPerfect is notoriously known as a low-rate, low-quality agency among Japanese-English translators in Japan. TP’s project managers seem to care only for the lowest possible rate for the quickest possible turnaround time, and they certainly do not care for, or they are incapable of discerning, the quality of translation.

By: Alex Kent

Alex Kent — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:57:58 +0000

I am a Japanese-English translator and I came across your website because I have been frustrated for years with some of the big agencies, notably Transperfect. They are always putting pressure on linguists to cut rates to the bone. My good friend, also a Japanese have an English translator, has long said that he refuses to join the “race to the bottom,” and I agree with him. While I have been unable to raise rates significantly for years, I have not had to discount them very much, either. I would be interested to hear of the experiences of other Japanese-English translators out there. I sure wish that we translators could band together….

By: Global Watchtower says sky not falling on freelancers « Thoughts On Translation

Thu, 07 May 2009 16:12:41 +0000

[...] Better yet, although “large numbers” of respondents reported feeling pressured to lower their rates, more than three quarters said that they did not plan to charge less during the upcoming quarter. [...]

By: Oggi tocca a me parlare della crisi « Traduzioni e altre storie

Oggi tocca a me parlare della crisi « Traduzioni e altre storie — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:36:46 +0000

[...] pagina la dice lunga), anche dall’altra parte dell’Atlantico: leggete, per esempio, questo e questo post di Corinen McKay, o quanto ha sostenuto Jill [...]

By: Perché non abbassare le tariffe

Perché non abbassare le tariffe — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 08:31:44 +0000

[...] making me make bad business choices.” Corinne McKay, “Thoughts On Translation”: Lowering your translation rates: why/why not “Lately it seems that many freelancers are considering lowering their rates because of the [...]

By: Lowering your translation rates, continued « Thoughts On Translation

Lowering your translation rates, continued « Thoughts On Translation — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:33:55 +0000

[...] 18, 2009 by Corinne McKay There were so many excellent comments on my last post about translation rates that I think the topic deserves another post. First, thank [...]

By: Atenea Acevedo

Atenea Acevedo — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:51:45 +0000

Thanks for the outstanding post. I, too, find myself working for less clients but in overall better conditions (rates, deadlines, payment promptness). It could also be that after almost 10 years in the profession I’ve reached a good standing and feel prepared to deal with critical times if need be. Rest, fun and other projects are as high a priority as the translator in me.

By: Everyone’s talking about rates these days « Musings from an overworked translator

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:22:09 +0000

[...] 2009 Posted by jillsommer in Business practices, Random musings. trackback Corinne’s post Lowering your translation rates: why/why not has taken the translation industry by storm (or maybe just the people I follow on Twitter ). [...]