Cipriana Leme - Translations - Advice for Translators

How do I start?

Many people interested in becoming a professional translator ask me how I started and where to get clients, so I decided to list some basic rules and advice:

1) Choose an area you know well. Try not to be tempted or persuaded into accepting work that you simply do not know enough about or do not feel comfortable with. Translating is an ever-learning profession and you might even specialize in areas you knew little about, but that always depends on client participation and support.

2) Choose your language pairs. You must always translate into your mother tongue and never to a foreign language even if you consider yourself fluent. For example, if you studied English but are Brazilian, your language pairs should be only English-Portuguese, and never Portuguese-English.

3) Set a price for your work and try not to lower it in times of need. The official price of a translation might seem high for many potential clients, but remember that many translators charge these prices. You can charge less at the beginning, but charging too little devaluates the profession and you will find yourself working too much and making too little You also run the risk of losing clients when you raise prices after gaining experience. It is always better to charge a decent price and work a bit less.

4) Prepare a curriculum with all relevant information, including language pairs, and work experience and activities in the profession (that are sometimes more important than educational background). Also include a list of areas in which you can work.

5) Register your CV in translation websites and send your CV to translation agencies. Results will take a while but be patient. Most jobs come from agencies or professionals who are desperate, so if you work well they will add you to their staff or phone books for future work. It took me about a year to get fixed clients in Brazil.

6) Ask someone to proofread your work. CAT tools like Trados, etc. are not necessary unless you are ready to cough up a thousand bucks and do a training course. Translators have been working without them for years and, if you have a good memory, you can work without these tools. Invest in dictionaries, books on translation and courses that are a lot more useful.

7) If possible, build a website like this one or invest in a web designer. It is a powerful work resource and the only way to effectively attract other translators and potential clients.

8) Set up an office in a corner of your house with a good, fast computer and a reliable internet connection. The internet is the most wonderful translation tool available, giving you access to unlimited information, reference material, dictionaries, and translation forums in case of sticky words. If you can't afford broadband, choose at least two dial-up providers in case one of the fails!

9) After the first translation, try to set a maximum number of words you can handle in a day. My limit is 4000 words for technical translations, but I once produced 10,000 words in an area I knew well. When you accept work you must know how many words you can translate in order to set and accept a deadline. Always remember that a translator can never miss a deadline. If you think the deadline it too tight for you, talk to the client before you accept, or do not accept it at all. Clients are always grateful for your honesty. It is better to reject work than to lose a client forever.

10) Build your own glossary. I write all new words on paper when I am translating and then write them into my own glossary in .xls. format. Each client prefers certain terms and words, and you gain extra points if you remember them.

11) Decide whether you want to be a full-time or part-time translator. If you want to be a part-time translator, set a timetable that is comfortable for you, and keep it. Answers to quotes have to be immediate and you must be ready to take on work at a moments notice, within that timetable and sometimes beyond it. If you are ready to become a full-time translator, be prepared to work long hard hours at maximum pressure, and then spend days and days with no work, sometimes even entire months. Use the free time to update your glossary, register in new translator directories, contact old clients, study and improve your language skills.

12) Start now by writing your CV and registering in all the translator websites on the useful links page. If you live in Brazil, register at www.tradutores.com (24 reais for three-month subscription) to get quotes sent directly to your mailbox. This service has been very useful and assures a constant work-flow. The website also has interesting links for translators in Brazil.

A (very) short translation glossary for beginners

freelance	a professional that is not employed by any company and works independently.
source language	the language in which the original text is written.
target language	the language to which the original text must be translated (hopefully by you).
language pairs	the languages you work with, written in pairs from source to target (PortBR-EngUK, means you translate from Brazilian Portuguese to British English, for example).
CAT tools	Computer Aided Translation. For a presentation on CAT tools, click here. For general information and advice on CAT tools, click here.
out-company	A term used in translation agencies when referring to a freelance translator that is not employed by the agency, and is given work only when the workload for in-company translators is excessive. In-company translators in Brazil get paid less than out-company translators.
in-company	The opposite of out-company. A translator that is employed by an agency or company and must work for a specific number of hours a day.

Basic Requirements

Your own work space, with a fast, reliable and preferably unshared computer, and a fast internet connection.
Reasonably good computer skills, especially with word processing and data base software. You have to know how to use word count, language options, format options, and editing tools, and how to create and edit tables, graphs, etc.
Lots of common sense, creativity and some intelligence! When faced with a word or sentence you know does not sound right, you have to be able to turn the sentence round, think of a better way of putting it, so as to be "faithful" to the original. This is the reason why translators should never translate into a language that is not their mother tongue.
Advanced grammar skills. To improve grammar, use the thousands of on-line English Language tests. Grammar skills are absolutely essential when translating literary work.
Advanced writing skills. It's no use becoming a translator if you make loads of spelling mistakes or are unable to write a decent business letter.
A real interest in languages and love for knowledge. Translating implies constant research, an incredible amount of vocabulary and terminology, lots of doubts and thousands of questions. Don't be afraid of using translator forums like Wordreference and Proz (see Useful Links) to ask question about terms you can't find anywhere else. You also have to build a glossary with all the new words, and bookmark dictionary links.
Spare time. It's no use trying to translate if you need to do the housework, fetch the kids or go to the bank. You must be able to concentrate exclusively on your work for at least 6 hours a day (or on the days you are working) without interruptions.

Always remember that translation is basically an experience-based profession. You must establish your own technique but the quality of your work will largely depend on your experience. Be patient, try something simple at first and see how it goes. Ask other translators for their opinion and accept corrections and comments gracefully! You might panic when faced with your first semi-technical translation, but as you start working the terminology slowly becomes familiar and easier to understand. Look for examples, read lots of related material on the internet. Believe me, internet will be one of your most precious tools, use it!

I hope my advice has been useful. For more information or help, please contact me.