Practical Tips for Document Word Count

Practical Tips for Document Word Count As a freelancer, you will be receiving files in different file formats for translation. Since you are generally paid according to the number of words in the source text you would generally be expected to produce an invoice which states the number of words that are present in the original text and calculate the exact amount that needs to be paid multiplying the number of words with the amount paid per word. The problem arises if the file sent to you is a PDF document. If the PDF file has not been sourced from a scan, it is possible to convert this into text file and calculate the number of words. Since most PDF documents are scanned, it is not possible to calculate the exact number of words as it can be done in a .DOC file or a text file. Here are few practical tips that will help you if you are faced up with such a situation. 1. The easiest method is to request your client to send in a copy of the file that is in an editable version. But, in many cases this is not possible as it may not be available in this form. 2. Another simple alternative to use is to inform the client prior to taking up the project that you will be charging by the hour as it is not possible to get an exact word count. 3. Another practical method to get an approximate of the number of words is to randomly count the number of words in few particular lines and arrive at an average word count per line and then multiply it with the number of lines in the document to arrive at a final figure. 4. Another simple method is to inform the client that you would be taking the word count of the finished translation as it cannot be found out from source. However, this may not be accepted by many clients. 5. If you do not want to rely on any of the methods enlisted above, then you will need to invest in special software (Optical Character Recognition- OCR) to help you out. E.g.: Omnipage Pro, ReadIris Pro, Abbyy, Practicount, Anycount, etc. These simple and practical methods will definitely solve the problems of getting a word count on any PDF file formats that you might receive in the future.

8 Essential Tips to Ensure Quality

Essential Tips to Ensure Quality In a world of fierce competition, the one factor that separates the leaders is the ability to provide work that has been completed with great efficiency and quality. The work of these people speaks tomes by itself and helps them stand apart on a pedestal. So, what is it that these people concentrate on that makes them so different and special? Quality is a very important factor that needs to be maintained in order to excel in the work that you do. So, how do you ensure quality in the work that you do? If you follow some simple guidelines while taking up and executing any project anyone can incorporate quality in their work too. Quality assurance does not start once the translation is completed but begins much before right from the time the project is being discussed and is completed only at the end of the project. 1. Discuss with the client before hand what needs to be accomplished and what the requirements of the project are. If you feel that you cannot meet the client’s needs refuse to take up the project then and there. 2. Ask the client for a preview of what needs to be done. Take up the work only if it falls within the purview of your specialization. 3. Build a detailed glossary containing the terminology specific to the client. Ask the client for reference material if it is available with them. 4. If any doubts remain due to bad source material or indecipherable material, discuss with the client and get it clarified. 5. Use software tools such as Trados while translating which will help in preventing unwanted errors and omissions in translations. 6. Perform a review of your work once the translation is completed. 7. Use the services of a proofreader, if permissible to check the quality of your work and to check the correctness of grammar, syntax, spellings, etc. 8. Check with the client if everything is to their satisfaction and be open to make changes if found necessary. A little extra time and effort put in the right direction will help you provide quality work and you will be definitely crowned one among the cream of the creed of freelancers.

Tips for Better Subtitling

Tips for Better Subtitling Many of you might have observed that even though the translation in subtitles is quite good you often have great difficulty in reading through it and following the plot of what you are viewing. This is because the person placing the subtitles has just put them in without giving any consideration to certain important aspects of subtitling. While burning subtitles after a translation, it is important to keep in mind a few things in mind such that it becomes easy for the viewer to read the subtitles easily and follow what is being conveyed. The translation should be concise and apt and communicate what needs to be understood as simple as possible. For easy reading it is important not to place too many characters in a line while subtitling. Also, it is important to bear in mind the average speed at which the viewers can read through the subtitles, yet it should match the speed at which things are transpiring on the screen. As grammar is important to any translation, proper division of the lines is necessary for subtitling. This enables the viewer to read through the subtitles with ease and yet can see what is happening on the screen. If proper division of lines is not maintained, it will just end up like a jumble of sentences causing undue confusion to the viewer. If the entire text cannot be placed in one line, then the division of lines has to be performed. The best way to divide lines is after a punctuation mark and prior to conjunctions (and, because, or, etc) and prepositions (for, in, on, etc). A few other things to remember is not to break down names, abbreviations, numbers, phrases, etc that will make it difficult for the viewer to understand what is being conveyed. The best method to follow while subtitling is to think of whether the target audience will be able to read through your subtitles in the manner in which they are appearing along with following the events on screen.

6 tips to Improvise on Your Success

Photo Credit Alfaneque A Few Pointers to Improvise on Your Success As a freelancer who has been in the industry for quite sometime, many of you would at some point reach a stage where the level of earnings is not increasing any more because there is absolutely no way in which more projects can be taken up in addition to the existing work simultaneously. So, the question arises as to how to improve and get on to the next level. Here are a few suggestions that may help if you are facing the same kind of dilemma as mentioned above: 1. One method to improve the earnings would be take up work from better paying clients. If you are working for agencies, it is better to look for direct clients as the amount earned through them will be much higher than what is paid out through agencies. 2. If there is any scope for you to increase your rates to your existing clients try and do it. 3. You can by yourself look at starting a new agency where in you can employ a few translators and improve the volume of your business. But, here you will be faced up with the task of managing administrative work and the possibility of you carrying on with translation work comes down drastically. So take up this option only if you are ready for this. 4. You can even try to rope in more clients and outsource some of the new work to some others in the field. But, this carries the risk of you getting blamed for any shoddy work that the person whom you have outsourced the work to does. 5. You can try to form a team of like-minded freelancers who will work in tandem with you for various projects that you may have. Here the greatest drawback is finding such people to work with you. 6. To break free from the monotony, you can even try to put in your skills in some other fields such as teaching at a university or training some newcomers to your field. But, this again carries the limitations of time and you can take it up only if you can devote the time needed to do this. Remember, there are no shortcuts to success. Whatever route you take up, it needs the required time and efforts to nurture it to fruition.

6 Tips to Get Better Rates for Proofreading

Photo Credit just us-3 Tips to Get Better Rates for Proofreading There are many freelancers who have been in translation but would like to test new waters by taking up projects for proofreading or editing. At this juncture, many of you might be faced up with the trouble of knowing what the ideal rates for this kind of work is and what you have quoted is right or not. The information listed below should help you out while providing quotes for jobs such as proofreading and will ensure that you do not lose out on your earnings. 1. Primarily, you should know the difference between proofreading and editing. Proofreading involves just checking for grammatical, spelling and syntax errors while editing involves checking for expressions in the language. So proofreading is less time-consuming than editing. Look for what the project is asking for while providing quotes. 2. Get a preview before accepting the job. Proofreading should involve very little editing and a well-translated document should take just a quarter of the time required to translate. Refuse the job after a preview, if you see too many mistakes that need to be edited or if there is a need to retranslate. 3. Go through all the details of the contract before you accept the project. Look for the fine print that may spring at you and leave you in an unfavorable position. 4. Negotiate for an hourly rate rather than a per word rate as the former is more profitable if you are handling a document with a lot of errors. 5. If you are not able to negotiate an hourly rate, try to work out a rate that is around 30-50% of the rate you charge for translation. 6. If you are doing a final proofreading, the agency might ask you to do the work for a much lower rate than the first proofing. This should not be acceptable as even this requires equal amount of time and effort as the first proofreading. Keep these simple points in mind always while taking up any proofreading work. This will not only fetch you the right price it will enable you to go through the deal without a second thought.it

6 Tips on Taking Mega Projects

Few Pointers on Taking Mega Projects Many of you might have faced the dilemma of being asked to give a quote for a substantially huge project like translating an entire book but when you offered your services at your regular rates, you might have been rejected for the work. This might have made you wonder whether you should quote for a bigger project at a lesser price than your normal rate. While working out a deal, it should be done such that it is at an advantage to you and not vice versa. For this to happen, you need to remember a few points enlisted here while considering a large project: 1. First and foremost you need to remember that a huge project is not necessarily a big advantage to you. Even though it may look like a lifetime opportunity, you need to look at the project carefully before you give the go ahead. 2. If the future project has a very tight deadline, it may affect the other jobs that you may be currently handling as you would not be able to give time for them. So accept the deal at lower rates only if the deadline will enable you to accomplish other jobs to make up for the losses. 3. See if you can work some other factors in your favor that will justify the reduction of rates. Many book translations will allow the mention of your name as the person handling the job. This may work to your advantage while searching for other offers. 4. Try to check if this current offer can lead up to other projects such as these. If so, then it may do some help sacrificing a little to gain more in the long run. 5. Do not compromise your position with the other clients that you are working for in order to complete this new offer. This could a one-time affair and you may be left with no work once it is completed. 6. Showing the ability to handle a big project might be a self-advertising tool to help you land up new projects of that magnitude. Think in these terms too before deciding. Working on a huge project is definitely a dream come true for many of us. But, what needs to be remembered is that “All that glitters is not gold”.

8 tips to Avoid Payment Default

8 tips to Avoid Payment Default While it is definitely not fair to generalize, you should always be on the safer side and be careful to avoid falling prey to the dirty tricks of many scammers and cheaters that are present waiting to rip you off. There are many of them who will get the work done and then refuse to pay under the pretext of your work being shoddy or not up to the mark. In order to avoid falling prey to such cheap methods employed by a few bad apples it is necessary to follow a few simple methods that are enlisted: 1. Check out the profile of the agency before you accept any work from them. It is always better to accept work from people who have good credibility ratings. 2. If you are not for any reason able to check upon the credibility of the agency, it is better to first ask for a proper contract that will make them liable if they default on payments. 3. Ascertain that the contract contains all the details of the project and the deadlines and terms and due date of payment. 4. If you still suspect the credibility of the agency, either refuse to take up the work or if you still want to take it up ask for upfront payments or payments in parts as and when the work gets completed. 5. Keep in constant touch with the agency and send in reminders if the payment is due beyond the due dates. 6. If the agency refuses payment under the guise of bad quality although you are sure that the quality of the work is good, tell them that you will leave bad feedbacks on translator websites that is bound to affect the credibility of the agency in future projects. 7. If they still refuse payment, you can go ahead with using sites such as http://www.ripoffreport.com and file for a rip off report and provide them with a copy. It may influence them to pay you the money owed. 8. If nothing works, use the contract to take up legal action against the agency. This is generally a difficult procedure if you are living far away from the other party but definitely not impossible.

8 Useful Pointers for Notations in Interpretation

Photo Credit thorinside 8 Useful Pointers for Notations in Interpretation Unlike translation, interpretation is much more difficult as you do not get any time to go and perform research through a dictionary or any other means to get your work done. This necessitates you to be much more proficient and be able to remember lot of things on the go. For easing down the work, many resort to notations to help them remember what they need to convey. Here are some useful pointers in aiding you to develop an effective note taking system that will make your job much simpler and more adept: 1. Go through some useful books that are available on the subject in order to help you understand good methods for note taking. Some good books that are available on this subject include Jean-Francois Rozan’s Book Note taking in Consecutive Interpreting and Andrew Gillies’ Book Note taking for Consecutive Interpreting- A Short Course. 2. Develop your skills by constant practice. Use some videos of some speeches for conducting your practice sessions. 3. In interpretation, you need to concentrate on conveying the meaning and not the words. So, try to hone your skills in doing this. 4. While taking down notes, it is important not to put in too many details in one page as you should be able to understand what you need to convey by just a brief peep into the written material. 5. You can develop your own abbreviations, symbols or pictures for notations but use something that you can easily remember. Some information for this can also be found in the books that are available on this subject. 6. Take down important details such as numbers, names, etc that are the most difficult things to recollect from memory. 7. Linking the sentences together is also important. For this, your note taking should be able to help you get the right links between sentences to keep your interpretation flowing smooth and fluent. 8. Be sure to take down details such as the speaker quoting somebody else or the sequence in which the speaker lists out something. Remember, constant training and practice is what makes you perfect. Strive to be better and developing personalized skills will make your job much easier and more enjoyable.

Tips for freelance translators

Tips for freelance translators One is very eager to establish himself as a freelance translator the moment that one completes the translation training programs at the university level. But this can be quite a difficult proposition as the translation market is extremely competitive and the business complicated. The following are some very important tips that can help you to make a name for yourself in this sphere. · It is not a good idea to present oneself as a freelance translator right at the outset. The best option would be to get a job at a firm that would be full time. This would also help you to gain the necessary practical experience that is a must for almost all professional services. · If this is not available you can also opt for the post of an unpaid trainee. Maybe this organization does not have the necessary resources to hire you but it can provide you with the necessary experience in an environment that is absolutely commercial. Moreover this traineeship may act as a springboard if you are really interested in setting up a career in this business. · Working at a translation agency would help you to whet your skills for a number of years and this would also help you to increase your client base. You can also get for yourself a part time contract and then put in the rest of your time in searching for other prospective clients and work for them. But one aspect should be absolutely clear and that is there should not be a conflict of interests with your boss. · You can also send your detailed resume to the various governmental organizations, translation companies giving a detailed description of your experiences and also your willingness to work as a freelance translator.

Tips to follow Freelance Translation Ethics

Tips to follow Freelance Translation Ethics Generally people think that freelance translation jobs require little or no ethics at all. However, since this profession deals with clients and other people, freelance translators need to maintain certain standard ethics. Even though it is not easy to point out unethical behavior in freelance translation services, there are a number of ways to keep out from them. There are various forms of unethical behavior in the field of freelance translation services. Freelance translators attempt their best to meet the given deadline on time and candidly replies back to the client on what they can achieve within the given timeframe. It is unethical to avoid informing the clients in situations when you are unable to meet the deadline, as the clients may also have their own deadlines. Disrespecting deadlines can only bring downfall to your freelance translation service. Always try to keep information of your client confidential. Also, avoid overcharging the clients once the freelance translation rates are quoted. There are a lot of clients who are new to the business and have little knowledge on calculating translation fees. Avoid the temptation to overcharge ignorant clients. This may temporarily earn you a few extra dollars, but will also pave the path of your doom in freelance translation services. Any profession can face these ethical issues and the profession of translation is no exception. Freelance translators should be well aware of the ethical issues that can pop up so that they can work to avoid them. Being ethical should be one of the prime responsibilities of freelance translators.

Tips to Increase Business for Online Freelance Translators

As an online freelance translator, you are persistently working to acquire new clients. Using the power of the Internet has made the task all the more easy. However, there are a few techniques and tips which you can employ to obtain maximum online help in receiving clients. As an online freelance translator, you should have an email address of your own to communicate with prospective clients. You also need a little investment on your part to develop a website of your own for carrying out freelance translation business. It need not be a fancy one, but should contain sufficient information that you want to convey to your potential clients. Even though having your own website may not initially bring in hundreds of clients, it will at least lend a professional touch to your online freelance translation business. Create an email signature block stating your area of specialization and your website. This increases chances of potential client in locating you. Also, try to participate in online blogs and forums as much as possible since it is the quickest way to spread your name as an online freelance translator. Writing articles online is another way of sharing information with the online community and letting them know of your website and translation business. Communication from one end of the world to the other is just a button-push away! Just by sitting beside your computer, you can bid on new projects, decide the terms and conditions, work on translation and deliver this work back to the client. Time is money, and the time you save can be spent on search for new clients. This will certainly give your business a well-desired start to succeed in future.