Musings from an overworked translator

Just because there’s a “free trial” doesn’t mean you should abuse it July 2, 2010

Translators are a notoriously cheap bunch. Our job affords us the luxury of having low overhead for our businesses. All we really need is a computer, an e-mail address and Internet access, and we are in business. We don’t need to buy lots of suits or pay for gas to drive to work. We don’t have to spend money on lunches out or $4 lattes every day unless we choose to do so. Once a dictionary is purchased it usually doesn’t need to be repurchased for quite some time. Face it, we are truly lucky. This unfortunately leads us to feel that we can cheap out on all kinds of aspects of our job. Every year someone complains about the price of the ATA conference, when other professional conferences can run up to three times as much. Translators also have a reputation for cutting corners with software licenses, hotels during the conference, the cost of CEUs, meals, etc. [Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a saint either. I’ve done this as well.]

Corinne McKay told me last year that her very helpful book, How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator, had been scanned by some anonymous translator and put on some overseas website for download. It had been downloaded 3,000 times by the time she learned of it. I was absolutely aghast. When you download shareware or an e-book instead of buying it you aren’t sticking it to “The Man.” You are most likely stealing from someone just like you – someone who works from home in their comfy clothes and probably has a family to support.

I have just learned of yet another way a translator has tried to save $13-20 by signing up for a free trial service four times in three years (twice within two months). Shareware (also referred to as a “free trial” or “trial version”) is described by Wikipedia as “usually [being] offered either with certain features only available after the license is purchased, or as a full version but for a limited trial period of time. Once the trial period has passed the program may stop running until a license is purchased.”

Now, a free trial for a service like Payment Practices gives you free full access to the database; however, it should not be abused. That is just really tacky. Payment Practices is not like other payment lists, because there is a database that users can search. Other listservs run through Yahoogroups, which is conveniently delivered to your e-mail inbox but whose Archive search function is seriously lacking. It also doesn’t occasionally remove unfavorable reviews when an agency objects, unlike another Board out there a lot of translators use that shall remain nameless. The list owner, Ted, has invested a lot of time and money into developing the Payment Practices website and data engine. He doesn’t run the site for profit. He is a translator just like you or me – but he has a good vision and truly wants to help freelance translators avoid non-payment. Paying the $19.99 subscription fee (there’s a 25% discount for ATA members) to use the site and avoid potential non-paying clients is a no-brain move if you ask me.

To be a professional you need to invest in your business. It takes money to make money. $20 a year is not a lot in the grand scheme of things. I consider my $15 a year to be one of the best investments I make all year – especially if it saves me from one potential non-paying new customer. Abusing shareware, subscription fees and license fees is stealing, and stealing from anyone – be it software companies or other translators – is just plain wrong. And be happy you work in a job that allows you to live so cheaply.

Stupid payment terms July 1, 2010

We’ve all experienced stupid payment terms, such as payment in 90 days end of month, payment on the 15th of the month after the invoice has been issued, payment after the end client pays your client, lump sum payment after the invoices total a specified amount, etc. However, this one really takes the cake. I’m also pretty sure that it is illegal.

Someone on the WPPF listserv has a client whose payment is contingent on their providing the translator with more work. WHAT?!?!? Who would agree to a payment term like that? First of all, we as translators have no control over when an agency will give us more work. We can try to be as easy to work with and friendly as possible, but if an agency doesn’t get work in our language pair for a while or decides not to work with us we have no control over that. And even if the agency did send you more work, who knows if you would be available to accept the job.

Never mind the fact that the translator did the work and should be paid for said work in a timely manner.

It is very important to find out the payment terms before accepting a job so that you aren’t stuck with a stupid payment term. And if you want to share some of the stupid payment terms you have encountered, feel free to do so in the comments. I know there are lots more out there…

On a more personal note: happy Canada Day to my Canadian readers, and I hope the U.S.-based translators all enjoy the long July 4th weekend. I know I plan to!

How to recognize a scam June 24, 2010

One of the most common questions I get from beginning translators is how to tell if a job request is a scam. I developed a PowerPoint presentation for the KSU grad students several years ago and thought I would share some of the tips with you so you don’t fall for a scam.

The most common warning signs:

• Offer advanced payment (which the “client” would overpay and/or then claim a change in plans and ask you to “return” the overpayment.)
• Spelling and grammar errors
• Capitalized information suggest form letter
• No contact information (freemail account like Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.)
• Not much concrete information offered about the job
• Wife, daughter, etc. does not speak English and is coming to the U.S. for a shopping trip, conference, etc.
• Require the purchase of software (my one agency client that also sells a TEnT supplies me with the software and license for free, so you should not be expected to buy software as a prerequisite to work with a client. We are freelancers and as such should be “free” to choose which tools we use)

I find most legitimate job requests give lots of detailed information about the job, offer concrete contact information, do not suggest payment up front, and usually do not use a freemail account. Gmail is an exception to that rule.

Some agencies aren’t as forthcoming with information as they should be and do have project managers who may not be the best spellers, so a job request from an agency may in fact be legitimate. Any agency that is upstanding will have its own domain or will pay for their Internet access. You can quickly check their payment record on a site like Payment Practices or Translator Client Review (PP costs $19.99 a year for non-ATA members and $14.99 for ATA members and TCR costs $12.99 – money very well spent!). I published a post on payment practice lists a while back, but it is still fairly current. If you aren’t following one or two of them you really should!

If you do get a job request from an individual that perhaps doesn’t fit all the criteria, but your gut tells you it is most likely legitimate, there is nothing wrong with requesting payment in advance.

If you have any other tips for new (and even experienced) translators to help recognize a scam please share them in the comments.

Freelance Folder: How to overcome freelancing stress June 17, 2010

We all know freelancing can be stressful. The ebb and flow of freelancing can sometimes be hard to deal with. If you are busy, you have lots of work and deadlines to contend with. Jobs can sometimes fall through the cracks. Your work-life balance suffers. If you have a day or two with no translation requests, you worry when the next job will come (and if it will come in at all) and might even worry about how you will pay the bills if business slows down significantly. Freelance Folder published a must-read post on How to Overcome Freelancing Stress that offers “Seven Tips for Reducing Your Freelancing Stress.” It is a must-read for every freelancer and contains tips for dealing with common stressors such as client conflict and not finding enough clients. You might find a solution you haven’t thought of to one of your biggest stressors. If you feel something is missing that affects translators in particular and have found a solution, please share it here in the comments.