 Fire Ant  Worker Bee | |
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The Bottom Lineby Fire Ant & Worker Bee | ||
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Q: I am a freelance translator with an office in my home and a reasonably successful business serving clients in the UK and the Netherlands. The other day I was caught off guard when a client phoned me out of the blue and insisted on dropping in to review a text in person (he happened to be in the neighbourhood, and the text was urgent). It was a chastening experience—not for the text itself and our discussion, which went very well, but because my office is a shambles, with papers papers papers and files files files as far as the eye can see. I will spare you the details, but from the look on this man's face as he crossed the threshold, I don't think my frantic hoovering accomplished much. I've lectured myself and pulled up my socks (sort of) but am realistic, too: I am not a tidy person, and there is no way my working environment is going to become a slick, clean operation with a place for everything and everything in its place. I know that visits from my clients are likely to remain rare, but never want to go through that stress and embarrassment again. Have you got any strategies for dealing with clients who pop in unannounced? Litter Bug
If your untidiness is grease and cockroaches, we can't help. But we can identify with paper clutter build-up, along with that sinking feeling as the doorbell rings. Successful techniques we have observed firsthand depend on the size of your office, the size of the cluttered patch, and advance notice. If you can, intercept the visitor at the doorstep, pretexting a prior visitor (e.g., your tax inspector has just shown up for a spot-check of your books, you'd like to leave him/her to work in peace, shall we retire to the café opposite?). If this is impossible, your aim must be to lead the visitor quickly past the clutter to a clear desktop or other surface at which you will be working, then focus attention on the job at hand. To do this, we have five suggestions (note that for options 3 to 5, you will have to buy in supplies in advance):
FA & WB
Q: I'm in the process of switching from per-word to per-hour pricing. So far I've simply done an estimate of time spent on each job, but I realize I'm not too accurate (e.g., often forget to note phone calls, then feel obliged to deduct more time than I actually spent while distracted). How can I get this on a sounder basis? Tick Tock
A: Dear Tick, A contact suggests Time Stamp, a free software package that you can download at http://www.syntap.com/products_timestamp.htm. You click to start and stop (i.e., when your phone rings and when you hang up, or when a client-intruder arrives and leaves). You can even indicate your hourly rate, in which case it calculates the amount per job automatically. Try it and report back, please. FA & WB Q: A common phenomenon at translator associations around the world is that translators who don't have enough work, or who feel threatened by competition from translators in other countries, or who are simply disgruntled with their own feelings of being underappreciated, start attacking their association, accusing it of being the source of all their woes, and espousing anti-foreigner policies that are the very antithesis of what one would expect from folks who make their living from the communication between peoples and cultures. Why do they waste so much energy fighting their association instead of working to improve their own lots, e.g. by marketing, networking, improving their skills, going where the clients are, etc. Any thoughts? Puzzled in Peoria
Dear Puzzled, Peoria, eh ? Well, we've observed this "our association is leading us all over the cliff, rise up fellow lemmings!" phenomenon on three continents since January 2004. And before that just about every year for as long as we've been in the business, generally peaking as annual general meetings roll around. Which is only natural. Assuming such campaigns are not somehow linked to global warming or sunspot activity, our first reaction is simply that change is a scary thing and all the scarier for people who feel they have little influence over trends shaping their lives. It's a lot easier to react within one's comfort zone (against the "translation industry big guys" as represented by regional or national translator associations) than it is to take a long, hard look at how individual behaviors contribute to the outside world's view of translation providers as a whole. Well, we would say that, wouldn't we, since our niche is giving concrete advice to individual correspondents with specific problems or queries. Mind you, we often recommend collective action through associations. The main problem we have with single-issue militants is that however earnestly their case starts out, 99% of the time it ends up painting all opponents as either hopelessly naive or part of a global conspiracy. That is generally unproductive. But you wanted our opinion, right? Two points:
As one old-timer comments, "I have a soft spot for vocal gadflies as long as they are well-informed, intelligent and committed. But the license for criticism comes with the understanding that the gadfly must be willing and able to pick up the torch and show how it's properly carried." FA & WB Q: I am an English teacher in China—Chinese with English as my foreign language. I have read quite a bit of literature on translation, gradually gaining confidence that I may contribute to your magazine. To tell you frankly and honestly, I have two purposes in my mind right now, one being to share my ideas with all translators worldwide and the other being to raise my profile among my colleagues. So please tell me how I can contribute if I have an article completed later on? Willing Contributor
For information on contributions to this magazine, see http://www.accurapid.com/journal/26editor.htm. Keep in mind that the purpose of Translation Journal is providing working translators with useful information (to others, not just yourself and your career in China). Letters to the Editor are always welcome, says Gabe Bokor, but must state the writer's name and location to be considered for publication. Q: It's all very well to talk about raising prices and targeting premium segments, but that is light-years from the daily experience of the vast majority of translators. I should know: I have the knowledge, the diplomas (PhD), the experience (18 years). I log long hours and always deliver excellent work on time. But I haven't been able to raise my prices for eight years, and am losing work to cheaper suppliers abroad all the time. The reason is simple: the agencies I work for refuse to negotiate, and they are the ones who call the shots. I am one person; you have only to look at their advertising budgets and influence. I have studied for years to get where I am, but sometimes I wonder why I've bothered (except that I love languages). I sincerely believe that I deserve better, as do the many translators like me who are struggling in good faith but not able to make ends meet. Failing a guaranteed minimum price, with sanctions for agencies that go below this, I see no solution. Our national translators' association should get out of bed with the agencies that are responsible for this state of affairs. It should be working to establish this minimum price, rather than organizing conferences that are far too expensive for most members to attend. Unfair
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