If you’re a freelancer, you probably conduct price negotiations with clients or potential clients almost every day of your professional life. For translators, especially translators who work with agencies, these negotiations often come down to a difference of one or two cents. Your minimum rate is 15 cents per word and the client will only [...]
Archive for the ‘Freelancing’ Category
Two cents, or $10,000?
Posted in Freelancing, Money, Rates on February 13, 2012 | 27 Comments »
A few financial management tips
Posted in Freelancing, Money on January 18, 2012 | 11 Comments »
After working all day on my business taxes (year-end and fourth quarter…I need a mocha!), my thoughts are firmly stuck in the financial realm. So let’s stick with that topic and talk about some tips for managing your freelance finances. Some of these are US-specific and some apply worldwide, so especially if you’re an overseas [...]
My favorite mistake
Posted in Freelancing, Getting started as a translator, Productivity, Professional development on January 9, 2012 | 13 Comments »
No, not the Sheryl Crow song, the Newsweek/Daily Beast Column. Maybe I just love reading about other people’s mistakes, but the last-page “My Favorite Mistake” essay is my favorite part of the redesigned Newsweek. Written by famous people of various flavors, these columns just reinforce the fact that whether it’s Madeleine Albright wearing her “three [...]
Update on communication tools
Posted in Freelancing, Professional associations, Working from home on December 20, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Back in March, I wrote a post about my search for a different office phone setup. I had been using a custom ring number (inexpensive but doesn’t allow separate outgoing messages for the home and office numbers) and had excluded the option of a business cell phone, simply because I dislike carrying and talking on [...]
5 things to do before 2012
Posted in Freelancing, Marketing, Money, Productivity, Rates, Working from home on December 5, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Hello readers! Thoughts on Translation is back from an incredible two weeks in Costa Rica: we visited Corcovado National Park and the Arenal volcano area and it was truly amazing. I highly recommend Corcovado Adventures Tent Camp and the Sirena ranger station for a truly off-the-beaten-track experience. Think wild tapirs wandering down the beach and [...]
ATA conference topic: low payers
Posted in Freelancing, Money, Rates on November 3, 2011 | 33 Comments »
Amazingly enough in this economy, my sense from the ATA conference is that most freelancers are very happy with their work volume and income levels. Especially as compared with the gloom and doom of the US economy (maybe even the world economy?), I think we’re doing quite well. 2011 has brought me as much work [...]
The ten essentials of freelance translation
Posted in Freelancing, Productivity, Working from home on September 22, 2011 | 21 Comments »
There’s something about the number 10. Not just the connotation of “perfect 10,” but the number has an undeniable appeal. This year’s American Translators Association Translation Company Division conference was focused on the number 10 (10 sessions that each featured 10 tips on a certain topic), and people really seemed to enjoy the manageable scale [...]
The second half
Posted in Freelancing, Professional development, Working from home on September 9, 2011 | 15 Comments »
International Translation Day is coming up at the end of this month; this year’s theme is Translation: Bridging Cultures (I like it!). Karmically enough, ITD is also my (and my husband’s…is that karmic enough for you?) birthday, and this year it’s a big one. Although I don’t think I’m in mid-life crisis mode over turning [...]
What types of incentives work best for you?
Posted in Freelancing, Productivity on June 20, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Especially when you work on your own, incentives can be an important part of succeeding in business (and in life, for that matter!). It’s important to figure out what kinds of incentives work for you, so that you can use them to advantage. For example, you might encounter some of the following types of incentives [...]
Staying comfortable in the office
Posted in Freelancing, Productivity, Working from home on April 22, 2011 | 24 Comments »
One of the appealing aspects of working from home is that you’re free to configure your work environment however you want, especially if you have a dedicated office room in your house. Readers, what are some of your favorite strategies/configurations/products for staying happy and comfortable in your office? I recently gave my office a thorough [...]
-
If you enjoy Corinne’s blog, check out her book!
Corinne McKay is an ATA-certified French to English translator specializing in international development, law and non-fiction books. She launched Thoughts on Translation in February, 2008 as a way to connect and share ideas with freelance translators around the world.
-
What’s new on Thoughts on Translation?
