Suggestions on How to Become Established as a Freelance Translator

Rates

Competition is fierce!

The question of rates is a big bone of contention within the translation profession. Many new translators enter the field every year and competition is fierce. It is regrettable, yet understandable, that a lot of budding translators try to enter the market by undercutting the competition. Another "problem" is that quite a few translators don't work full time but regard translating as something of a hobby: There are retired teachers who like to "keep a hand in", housewives who wish to earn some pocket money, students who think it's a good way of earning a bit of money while becoming qualified - I recently (February 2008) had a mail from a foreign student, offering to work for £20(!) per 1000 words - and then there are those, especially in literary translations, who translate for the love of literature or the perceived prestige of translating a work of fiction. How many plumbers do you know who'd fit a new central heating system at cost and at minimum wage level? - Which is what a surprising number of people working in the translation industry seem to be willing to do.

Factors to be Taken into Account when Setting Prices

So, how much should you charge for your translation service? Well, that depends on the service you are offering:

• The language pair you are working in, even the direction you are working in can make a difference: For example there are obviously not many native German speakers living in England compared to the amount of native English speakers. So you can charge more when you are translating into German; the rarer the language, the higher the rate that can be charged.
• Degree of difficulty/the subject of specialisation: The more specialised the subject matter, the fewer people will be qualified and/or willing to undertake the translation, so the price rises accordingly.
• Weekend/evening work: A lot of clients claim that their work is urgent. But you will find that as soon as you mention additional fees for out-of-hours' work, suddenly next Wednesday will do. Alternatively, if it is really that urgent, clients are happy to pay you for your willingness to meet their deadline - so don't sacrifice your weekend for nothing!
• Layout: Most texts nowadays come in electronic format, so that you can simply overtype them. Thus the original layout it easily maintained. If you receive file formats that are not overwritable or hard copies (e.g. birth certificates, exam certificates etc.), it will take you considerable time to mimic the original layout. So you must factor it into your price.
• Number of files to work from: Larger jobs sometimes come in dozens of relatively small files. That may be convenient for the client, for the translator it means a lot of time is being spent on downloading, uploading, opening and closing, finding a similar sentence in a different document... This additional administrative time must be reflected in the price.
• File format: Most files come in Microsoft Word in my experience. If you are asked to work in Excel or PowerPoint or any other software, consider the implications. Can you work in these formats as quickly as in your usual one? - I find that working in different formats requires more time, hence I factor it in.
• Affordability: It is not realistic to charge a little old lady who wants a Christmas card from some German relative translated a minimum fee of, say, £25. Such a quote will simply not be accepted. On the other end of the spectrum, if a company stands to make millions of pounds from the business proposal you are to translate, they will be willing and able to pay a good price for your excellent service.
• Certification: To be able to certify the accuracy of a translated birth certificate or other official document, the translator should be qualified to translate between the two languages in question and be a member of a professional association (e.g. the Chartered Institute of Linguists). It costs you to become qualified and to be a member of at least one of the relevant institutes. This cost must be reflected in your price.

The above mentioned factors are probably the most important ones when pitching your price but the list is by no means complete.

So, how do you Work out a Competitive Price?

I still haven’t mentioned any concrete prices. Why not? Because I do not know which of the above factors apply to you! My prices for English to German translations, for example, range from £50 per 1000 words for a private client who lets me translate her private correspondence with German friends and relatives - easy, interesting and pleasant work, virtually no vocabulary research - to £100 or more per 1000 words for a business client with a semi-specialised text to be done to a tight schedule.

To work out the price range you could charge, spend some time on researching the going local rate for translation work in your language pair(s) and area of specialisation. Ring up various agencies asking them for a quote, then talk to freelance translators and ask them what they charge. That will give you an indication of how much (or how little) you can expect. When you apply for work to an agency, they usually ask for your rate. If you are significantly more expensive than the average translator, you will find no work; if you are significantly cheaper than average, you are helping to spoil the market rates and will work for peanuts. Aim to be competitive but not "cheap"!

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©2005 Ms Mechtild Testroet MCIL Dip Trans IoL BDÜ
 
English-German translator of most commercial texts; certification of birth, marriage and school leaver's certificates, divorce papers etc.
 
Tel +44 (0)1769 581823
Contact me