By Perry Zamek

Also in this series:

“I’m reviewing the situation…” (Fagin, in Oliver) – Part 2

“I’m reviewing the situation…” (Fagin, in Oliver) – Part 3

Over the next few weeks, I’d like to discuss a few questions that each of us should ask ourselves – as professional translators – every so often.

The answers to these questions may lead you to make some changes, or you may be satisfied with where you are at. But it’s worth taking the time to think about these issues.

Here are the first two questions:

• How long have I been a professional translator?
• When was the last time I looked at the mix of my clients, to see whether there are those for whom it is no longer profitable or worthwhile to work?

How long have I been a professional translator?

Let me emphasize the importance of the word “professional” here. Most of us don’t do translation in order to have a little income on the side. We do this work as our primary income generator, and that means that we have to conduct ourselves as a professionals – on-time delivery, quality work, proper relations with clients, good business skills, and so on. As we work in the profession, we gain more experience and we hone our skills even more. I’m sure that some of us would look back at translations we did some years ago and be embarrassed by the errors or poor terminology. Also, it is likely that a document that would have taken a certain amount of time to translate back then, would now take less time, either because of familiarity with the material or through the use of templates or CAT tools. In my own case, having built an extensive collection of template documents, I can save a great deal of time by simply knowing where to find the most appropriate template for the document now before me. All this experience and knowledge has to be worth something.

When was the last time I looked at the mix of my clients, to see whether there are those for whom it is no longer profitable or worthwhile to work?

Some clients send small jobs, in which each word requires research, consideration, weighing up the options. And yet they might not be pleased if they have to pay for all the time involved – after all, a page is a page is a page (Not so, I’m afraid.). Other clients will send a document at 11:00 at night, and call at 8:00 the next morning asking why you haven’t sent the translation yet! (I do have a life.)

If we haven’t been able to educate those clients as to the value of the effort we put into their translations, or the value of our personal time, then maybe we need to consider a parting of the ways. After all, if it takes 2 hours to earn X shekels from client A, with all their questions and comments and edits, while client B is happy to pay X shekels for half an hour’s work, wouldn’t you want to work with client B, and have an hour and a half available to you for other things? And wouldn’t you want to work with a client who, if they do send an email late at night, will start with an apology for the late hour.

On the other hand, some of us have clients who send us plenty of work, of the type we enjoy doing, and which pays well. How should we respond to the occasional request from those clients for something a little bit outside of the ordinary? I know that I would try to find a solution – either by taking on the work at my usual rates, in spite of the complexity (it’s a trade-off), or by subcontracting to a colleague who has more of the requisite experience/knowledge, even if I would make no profit on it.

Again, there are no hard and fast rules – the important thing is to spend a little time thinking about these and other issues. We don’t have to think about them constantly, but we do need to come back to them every so often.

In the next installment we will look at some more of these “every so often” questions.