Beware the Blue Board January 11, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Translation Sites.5 comments
Kevin at Translation Tribulations has brought to light more questionable behavior at Proz.com in a post entitled “How low can ProZ go?“. I wanted to post it here in case some of you don’t read his blog (and if you don’t, why not? It’s very informative!). Apparently ProZ is supporting corruption in the Blue Board ratings by banning certain posts for arbitrary reasons. The person making the accusation illustrates her argument by presenting her recent history with a slow payer and her attempt to post a negative rating. It gives me pause to wonder just how accurate the Blue Board is. I’m glad I rely on Payment Practices, Zahlungspraxis and WPPF (WorldPaymentPracticesFree) over the Blue Board. Payment Practices does not censor ratings unless libelous claims are made. Rating are based on “just the facts.” Apparently the ratings on the Blue Board should be taken with a grain of salt. Definitely give Kevin’s post a read.
All play and no work makes Jill a grumpy, lazy person January 11, 2012
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices.7 comments
I preach on here about enjoying the lulls, but I am in the middle of a month-long lull and am now totally over it. After working full-time at a law firm for 3 weeks (end date was Dec. 4) and translating a large medical job at night (delivered on Dec. 2nd) I was ready for a break. I enjoyed the run-up to the holidays, because for the first time in a long time I was able to get my shopping done, relax and read some books. I translated probably 4 or 5 texts in December, all fairly small (under 1000 words). Thanks heavens for my financial cushion or I would be seriously sweating bullets.
Don’t get me wrong – I thoroughly enjoyed the holidays with my family and attending holiday events like the Messiah Sing. But I’m ready to get back to it! In the past work has picked up again fairly quickly after the holidays, but my lull just keeps on yawning on. My finances are ready for the tax accountant, my office is organized, and my files are ready for 2012.
I had a business meeting yesterday with a potential new client. It promises to be quite challenging and quite lucrative, but I will most likely have to give up working from home. I’m not sure how I feel about the idea, but at this point I might just be ready for a change. In any event, I am sick and tired of not having any work. There’s only so much lying around I can do without going absolutely stir crazy and getting a wee bit depressed. Come on, Universe…
The ABCs of Traveling December 29, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Random musings.7 comments
One of the blogs I follow recently posted this fun little meme. Travel blogs are nominating other travel blogs, but I encourage my fellow linguist bloggers to just post this with their own info. I had a lot of fun reminiscing about my past travels while doing this.
Age you went on your first international trip
19. I was a junior in college and lived abroad in Salzburg, Austria for a year. It may have also been the first time I had ever been on a plane. Up until then we had always driven to our destinations.
Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where
I really like Grimbergen, Leffe or Duvel from Belgium. The first time I drank it was obviously in Belgium. I’m pleased that they are now available at some bars and grocery stores here in Cleveland.
Cuisine (favorite)
Czech – although Italian is a close second. I just love those Bohemian bread dumplings (knedliky).
Destinations: favorite, least favorite and why
Favorite destination is Prague. I’ve been there four times. It’s a magical city, with the castle overlooking the winding streets and the Charles Bridge. I love the food, architecture and the river. My second favorite destination is New Orleans. Awesome location, awesome food, awesome music, and a fun culture.
I have yet to find my least favorite destination.
Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”
Christmas in Germany and Austria. The Christmas markets are a lot of fun, and there is hot spiced wine to keep you warm.
Favorite mode of transportation
The train. I have been all over Europe on the train, from Italy to Norway, Paris to Budapest and everywhere in between. I’ve even been to New York City several times on the train. It is relaxing to just watch the countryside go by.
Greatest feeling while traveling
The adventure of discovering new places, new food and new traditions.
Hottest place you’ve traveled to
Cancun, Mexico.
Incredible service you’ve experienced and where
The service at the resort in Mexico was really good. Usually I stay at middle-class locations or youth hostels, so staying at a resort where you could eat overlooking the ocean or get any kind of fresh juice you wanted (watermelon!) was pretty awesome.
Journey that took the longest
The night I spent on the train traveling through East Germany was the longest night of my life. It may not have been a long trip, but it sure felt like it. I’ve never been so cold…
Keepsake from your travels
I try to buy a piece of jewelry or accessory from each location. I cherish my framed piece of lace from Bruges, Belgium because it is one of the first keepsakes I ever bought.
Let-down sight: why and where
Slovakia. Lots of East Block architecture and not many restaurants to choose from. We got out of there pretty quick.
Moment where you fell in love with travel
My first trip to Austria in 1989.
Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in
We stayed at several nice hotels during my AYA year abroad. The nicest one was the Hotel Ambassador in Berlin. They gave some of our group the penthouse, and we had a pool party.
Obsession: what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?
The buildings. I love all the different building styles out there.
Passport stamps: how many and from where?
Nearly all of my stamps are from Europe or the US. I’m on my third passport, so I have no clue how many I’ve ended up with over the years.
Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where
We traveled the United States a lot in an RV with my grandmother when I was a kid. We visited lots of quirky roadside attractions (and campgrounds) with the RV. I think the quirkiest was some dinosaur roadside attraction. I think that is where I bought Mexican jumping beans from some tourist trap store. We also stopped at the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of North Dakota thirty years ago. It still isn’t finished, so you can imagine how it looked back then.
Recommended sight, event or experience
Christmas in New York City. Everyone should experience it at least once. If you buy tickets for Broadway and Radio City Music Hall in July you can get some awesome seats.
Splurge: something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling
A good meal. I have enjoyed a lot of memorable meals – both good and bad. But a good meal is something you remember as making your trip worthwhile. Eating a muffaletta on a bank of the Mississippi, enjoying the most amazing slice of pizza in Florence, raclette in the Latin Quarter and duck at an amazing brasserie in Paris when all my roommate wanted to eat was McDonald’s, the pork and dumplings in Prague, eating bread with Swiss cheese covered with jam for breakfast in Norway, and the tortellini in Finale Ligura were ones that stand out the most.
And of course Belgian chocolates.
Touristy thing you’ve done
I went on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg with a bunch of Australians who had lived in Austria for years. It was a riot. I toured the salt mines of Salzburg, sliding down the big wooden slide and floating across the underground salty lake. I remember taking a boat to see the Wisconsin Dells (and toured an iron ore mine) with my Aunt Birdie, Grandma G and my sister. I climbed in the Berlin Wall. If you are a tourist you should do touristy things.
Unforgettable travel memory
Chopping at the Berlin Wall in February 1990. I toured Haus der Geschichte (Museum of History) ten years later and heard the sound of hammers on the Wall before I saw the video, and it gave me chills.
Visas: how many and for where?
About 5 German residency visas total.
Wine: best glass of wine while traveling and where?
I’ve had some good wine over the years. The most memorable evening was in Vienna with my study abroad group. It was a warm evening, and we enjoyed the new wine at a Heurige.
eXcellent view and from where?
The view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower from Montparnasse was pretty spectacular. The Grand Canyon wasn’t too shabby either.
Years spent traveling?
As kids, we spent many summers traveling all over the U.S. in an RV with my grandmother (Maine, Vermont, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin). My family drove to New Jersey every summer (the Shore to visit my mother’s godparents and to visit my grandmother). One of my dad’s best friends lives in Niagara Falls. I lived abroad for a total of seven years. I have seen lots of sights in the U.S. and abroad, so pretty much most of my life has involved trips of one sort or another.
Zealous sports fans and where?
Everyone should experience a German soccer game. It just can’t be described.
I don’t have a plan – and that’s okay too December 20, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Uncategorized.10 comments
A lot of my colleagues are posting about end-of-the-year reviews and marketing and business plans. I don’t have a plan, and I’m okay with that. Everyone always talks about having goals and working toward those goals. My only goal is to consistently deliver quality translations to my clients and keep them happy. If you are like me and don’t have a plan and don’t have any desire to draw up a plan, that’s okay. I look at my bottom line at the end of the year compared to the year before and if it is about the same or a little more it’s been a good year. This year my income is about the same as it was the year before, so I’m completely content.
Tonight begins Chanukah, and the Christmas season is also upon us. I have a fun day lined up with my nieces tomorrow and am spending as much time with family and friends as I can. I hope you all are blessed enough to do the same. I wish you all a happy holiday season.
Advice for a new translator on job hunting December 6, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Translation.57 comments
I received an interesting comment from Martha, a new translator. I felt this was important enough that it shouldn’t be buried on a page no one will see. Martha has agreed to my posting it here for everyone to comment on. I particularly hope that some of my former students will share their insights (May, Justin, Emily, etc.) since they broke into the market more recently and are busy in their own rights.
I have to say that as a new translator, I’ve read these ideas to keep rates standard 100 times but find it very difficult to find any work at all if I can’t show I have much experience in any field yet. Does anyone have a good strategy of how to hunt for potential jobs (besides proZ.com)? I thought working for one agency and showing them that I could complete a quality translation would be an effective way to start and yet I finished a large project for my first employer and am now questioning whether I’ll be paid a dime for it or anything I’ve done since. Other translation agencies do not seem to be interested once they find out I have limited knowledge of a trial version of a CAT tool and have only offered small and sporadic work so I’m starting to feel overwhelmed. Do you seasoned translators have any suggestions?
Here are ten tips from me to get started. I hope others can share what worked for them.
1. Start marketing yourself to as many translation agencies and/or direct clients as you can. They won’t know you are available if they don’t know you exist. I wrote a guest blog post at Naked Translations explaining how I broke into the U.S. market when I moved back from Germany in 2001. Think about what makes you stand out from all the other translators out there looking for clients and highlight it to new clients.
2. Get active on the local, national and international levels. I was the president of the Northeast Ohio Translators Association for eight years. Not only was I the face of NOTA to local and regional businesses, I established good relations with my NOTA members (both agencies and freelancers) and kept urging my members to act professional at all times. I also highly recommend attending some of the smaller ATA regional conferences that are more specialized in the fields you work in or would like to work in. At the national and international level I attend (and present at) the ATA conference every year, am active on various translation listservs in the U.S. and Germany (word of mouth and referrals from colleagues who are too busy are VERY helpful – both when you are starting out and once you are established and you have a lull), maintain this blog, and use social media like Twitter, XING and LinkedIn. I have also written articles for our local newsletter (the NOTA BENE) and the ATA Chronicle. People actually do remember them years later.
3. Have you read Corinne McKay’s book, How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator, or Judy and Dagmar Jenner’s The Entrepreneurial Linguist yet? Both offer valuable advice for new and experienced translators alike.
4. Use a full version of your CAT tool – not a trial version. There are some excellent tools out there like Fluency or OmegaT that do not cost an arm and a leg (in fact, OmegaT is free!). Once you start earning more money you can consider branching out and purchasing one of the more expensive translation environment tools (if you feel you need to). This is where I feel sites like Proz.com can come in handy, because they occasionally offer group buys that make a software like MemoQ more affordable.
5. Stay strong on price. I just announced to my favorite client that I was raising my word rate by $0.01, and they were okay with it. Quality agencies are willing to pay for quality work. Don’t let yourself be beaten down by the bottom feeders. Have you spent any time on No Peanuts! for Translators? They offer some convincing arguments you can use when you are pressured by a lower paying agency.
6. Be sure to check out the agencies on non-payment sites like Payment Practices, Translator-Client Review, the ProZ.com Blue Board and Translatorscafe’s Hall of Shame. Get on non-payment listservs like WPPF and Zahlungspraxis (in German). This ensures you won’t be taken in by unscrupulous non-payers who prey on (desperate/less-informed) translators.
7. Take some college courses to expand your knowledge and experience in the field you are interested in and let potential clients know you have taken them. You don’t need to get a degree, but it shows you are interested in becoming a better translator. For example, Kent State University offers classes that they consider their core requirements (Translation Theory, Documents in Multilingual Contexts, Terminology and Computer Applications, and hands-on translation courses in the practice of translation, sci-tech-med, legal-commercial and literary-cultural).
8. Consider working on holidays, weekends and during the professional conferences (and advertising that fact) until you establish yourself. Many agencies scramble to find translators when their established translators are not available, and if you do a good job and impress them they will come back.
9. Be prepared to work hard. It takes about a year to establish yourself. Consider taking on a part-time job until you start becoming busier.
10. Most importantly, keep your existing clients very happy with quality work (hire a proofreader if you have to) and deliver quickly (if not early).
Working with pets December 6, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.10 comments
Working from home as a translator presents all kinds of challenges: Do you call or email your client? Do you get up and shower or work all day in your pajamas? Do you feel guilty when you go to the grocery store at 10:00 a.m. the day before a holiday to beat the crush of pre-holiday meal preparation? But, for me, the greatest challenge is working around animals.
Being home all day, every day is very conducive to pet ownership. Most office drones don’t have that luxury and envy us. We don’t have to make sure someone is home in eight hours to let the dog out, and we can take the pets to the vet in the middle of the day if needed.
Having a pet can be very rewarding. I find it especially helpful, because it forces me to get away from my computer to take a walk or clean up after her. My white, fluffy dog is especially good at going out into the backyard and rolling in something dark and stinky, so that also forces me to bathe at least once a day, if not more.
Another bonus is that I actually meet my neighbors while walking the dog. I lived in my old apartment for three years before I got my dog and didn’t know any of my neighbors because I was holed up in the house all day and night. That changed as soon as I got Lily. We suddenly knew everyone and would have doggie play dates and walks with the Golden Retriever across the street.
I found having one pet wasn’t enough, so when my dog found a starving kitten in the backyard last summer we took her in to join our pack. Now Bailey helps me translate by walking or laying across my keyboard and adding brand-new words or deleting whole paragraphs because she is hungry or bored. I do occasionally throw her out of the office when I am doing something that requires focus, like balancing my accounts or credit card statements, and she stands at the door plaintively wailing her dissatisfaction while the dog scratches at it. This ensures that I finish as quickly as possible to restore some peace. As soon as I finish and open the door, the cat and dog both come bounding in to rejoin me, and all is forgiven.
You need to have a sense of humor if you have pets as coworkers – and a watchful eye. My cat especially loves checking out whatever beverage I am enjoying by pulling the glass down for an eye-level view. I have to anticipate her moves to ensure I don’t suddenly have a waterlogged keyboard.
I’ve come to rely on my pets to keep me company and to offer the occasional (much-appreciated) distraction. There is nothing more relaxing in the middle of a particularly stressful day than having to take a break to rub my cat’s tummy or throw my dog’s sheep down the hallway for a game of Fetch. Now if you’ll excuse me, the dog park is calling…
Update: This post was my contribution to Alejandro Moreno-Ramos’ book. Mox’s Illustrated Guide to Freelance Translation is now available for purchase for just €19.95. I can’t wait to receive my copy! Now if you’ll excuse me, my coffee is calling…
Non-payer warning: Ecole USA November 30, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Scam alert.7 comments
A word of warning against a notorious non-payer (there are quite a few – this one is my personal cross to bear…)
The company operates under the names EGS / Ecole USA / ecoleusa.com / Ecole Global Solutions. I like to call them Dear Client:. They don’t pay their bills. My unpaid invoice for $59.08 is 7 months overdue. Payment was due on April 11, 2011. They have given me nothing but excuses every time I contact them. You can read their excuses for why they can’t afford to pay a $59.08 invoice here, here and here. Their comment about there being a “global crisis around the world” had me rolling on the floor laughing. That’s good stuff! They are banned from posting jobs on Proz.com, but that doesn’t mean they won’t contact you directly. My hope is that translators will google them after being contacted and see this blog post as one of their hits.
I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of this one unpaid invoice – my very first non-payment – four blog posts (not including this one). 🙂 Luckily I never let the amount get too large. When they contacted me in July with another small job I said no because they hadn’t paid my first invoice. It is more of an irritation than it is a hardship, because I was so proud that I had never been stiffed on a job in 16 years. I’ll probably just write the invoice off as a loss when I do my taxes next April (when it will be a year overdue). But who knows what will happen – maybe they will google themselves and see this post and pay me 🙂 And maybe tomorrow pigs will fly…
Update: this blog post is the fourth hit when you google “Ecole USA”. I’ve succeeded!
Agencies and their online “time saving” sites November 27, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Random musings.20 comments
It is 5 PM on a Sunday. I have a 500 word press release that is due tomorrow morning. I unfortunately won’t be delivering it, because I have been locked out of my agency’s website. I input an incorrect password three times and am now locked out for 24 hours. And since it is Sunday, it is a small client, and the client is in Germany, they don’t have tech support working today. I admit that I hold most of the blame in this, because I waited until Sunday night to translate the document. However, why do agencies believe that we will remember all the login information for their sites? I have about 30 clients. Those clients who have their own websites all have assigned me a unique user name and password. It’s enough to drive anyone truly batty. I have learned my lesson and have now started a master list on my hard drive of all the sites and the respective user names and passwords, but I really shouldn’t have to do this, should I? Oh, did I mention that the site only works with Internet Explorer, which is a browser I never use and therefore don’t have a password management tool like LastPass installed on it? It would have been much easier for this client to just attach the file to the e-mail last week… Maybe if I’m lucky they will be able to send me the file at 2 a.m. when they get into the office. After all, sleep is overrated and I guess I don’t need a good night’s sleep to function at the law firm tomorrow…
Update: the client sent me the files last night and I woke up at 6:30 to translate it. The file is now delivered, and I won’t be billing for it. I hate when I screw up like this, but luckily it doesn’t happen that often…
P.S.: I already use LastPass, but it is an add-on in Firefox. I will be looking into a standalone version.
Ten things for which I am thankful November 14, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Random musings.add a comment
1. I’m thankful for a roof over my head under which I can work when and how I want.
2. I’m thankful for money in the bank, because it affords me the ability to say no to outrageous job offers.
3. I’m thankful for the Internet. If it weren’t for the Internet I wouldn’t be able to work from home with clients all over the world (and so affordably).
4. I’m thankful for my smartphone, because it allows me to run errands and not miss important e-mails.
5. I’m thankful that I’ve gotten to travel so much. I think that visiting other countries has broadened my horizons and made me a much more interesting and understanding person.
6. I’m thankful for my health – although I need to really start exercising more so I don’t lose it…
7. I’m thankful for my pets who give me unconditional love and offer stress relief (Just the simple and relaxing act of petting your cat or dog can reduce stress, hypertension and lower your blood pressure).
8. I’m thankful for my family and friends, because they help keep my life balanced.
9. I’m thankful for the beauty of nature in all its wonderful seasons. I choose to live in a state that has seasons. I don’t think I could handle living somewhere like Arizona, Florida or Texas where it is constantly the same boring weather. I love all four seasons, but fall is perhaps my favorite. Walking through leaves that crunch underfoot (and jumping in leaf piles when I was younger), the smell of leaves and bonfires burning, apple cider, the beauty of the changing leaves. I love every minute of it. I love spring when the leaves start to bud and then spring forth. I love summer and lazy days spent reading on my front porch. I love winter and the beauty of a fresh snowfall – and twinkle lights illuminating the night at Christmas.
And last but not least…
10. I’m thankful for chocolate.
Theft at conferences November 10, 2011
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in ATA, Business practices, Random musings.3 comments
This post deals with several recent experiences I learned about that occurred at the latest ATA conference, but it can apply to conferences in general. When people are at a conference they tend to act as if they are in a bubble and nothing bad can happen. This is not the case. One should behave at a conference in the same way as one would in a foreign country or even at home – with some caution.
One member of the Business Practices listserv was furious when her computer bag was stolen out of the room where the listserv was holding a happy hour. She had placed it on the floor next to the bartender station. After reporting the theft to hotel security, they found it 15 minutes later “on the 3rd floor, in an empty closed room, with all the zippers opened, conference materials left alone but [the] laptop was gone.” She was then upset with the way the hotel handled the situation because they would not give her the incident report because it was “confidential Marriott property,” claimed they did not have security cameras (although they initially told her they would check the cameras) and did not report the incident to the police. She felt the Marriott was covering the incident up and asked people to contact her if they saw any suspicious activity.
OK, first of all, shame on her for leaving her bag unattended. I always remind the first-time conference attendees to be aware of their valuables and to look back when they leave their seat, room, etc. to make sure they have not left anything behind. I never let my laptop or purse out of my sight – or in fact out of my hands or off my shoulder. I would never in a million years leave it unattended next to a bartender station or anywhere else. The fact is that hotels in general are public locations, and anyone can come in off the street and blend into the crowd. Hotels warn theirs guests to protect valuables from hotel thieves by using the room safe and hiding expensive clothes under casual clothes. Why wouldn’t one think that an open room in a hotel bar would be fair game to thieves? Secondly, the hotel has a right to be skeptical of claims of theft, no matter how indignant the guest is. According to an online article entitled Protecting Valuables From Hotel Thieves, “[i]tems reported stolen from hotel rooms frequently turn up in the guest’s possession. And there is the not-uncommon possibility that the guest’s claim may be fraudulent.” I’m sure this was not the case here, but it helps to put yourself in the hotel’s shoes.
And may I remind my fellow conference attendees once again not to wear their conference name badges outside the hotel?!?! I can’t tell you how many people I saw walking outside or in the adjacent shopping malls wearing their conference name badges. Luckily the neighborhood was safe (unlike the neighborhood in Atlanta in 2002). If you are wearing your conference badge outside the hotel you might as well be carrying a sign saying “Hey, I’m a tourist. Please feel free to rob me.”
Finally, I was very upset to hear that one of our members had all her resumes, business cards and the plastic stand deliberately stolen/removed from the German table in the Job Marketplace. She went to get a copy of her resume for a potential client on Friday late afternoon or early evening, and it was nowhere to be found. How could someone do such a thing to a colleague? No matter how you feel about a person, you don’t do something like this and mess with their ability to work. I find this behavior childish and unprofessional. Whoever did this, shame on you!
I would like to conclude by saying that the ATA staff does a great job organizing these conferences for us, but one should never expect them to police the attendees’ behavior. It is up to us to act professional and be mindful of our surroundings.
Musings from an overworked translator 